While developers have the need to replenish their land bank, the 5-year ABSD timeline and the slower sales rate are forcing them to be circumspect in bidding for land. The new ABSD clawback rate is just an olive branch and it is still better to sell out all the units within 5 years. Furthermore, the high interest rate adds to the cost of acquiring land.
The Canberra Crescent site saw 3 bidders and a top bid of $793 psf ppr.
The Canberra Crescent site is very close to Bukit Canberra integrated hub which offers a wide range of amenities from a gym and sports hall, hawker centre and a swimming pool. The Canberra MRT station is a ten minutes’ walk away and there are 2 primary schools within 1km of the site.
This bid is more than 10% higher than the land bids for recent EC land parcels. This is not surprising as the last two private residential sites in Canberra sold in March 2020 also had land bids which were more than 10% higher than the land bid for a Canberra EC site.
The De Souza Avenue site attracted a top bid of $841 psf ppr from Sustained Land.
This site is very close to the Bukit Batok Nature Park and Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. It is a short bus ride to Beauty World transformation and MRT station. The popular Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary School is nearby as well.
The Zion Road (Parcel B) was triggered for sale at $1,080 psf ppr and received a top bid of $1,304 psf ppr from Allgreen. The top bid sits in between River Valley Green (Parcel A) and Zion Road (Parcel A).
The site is in an excellent location, just above the Havelock MRT station and opposite Great World City mall and Great World MRT station. It will benefit from the upcoming retail space at the neighbouring site. River Valley Primary School is a short walk away. The island site creates a sense of exclusivity.
The higher land bid for Zion Road (Parcel B) vis-à-vis Zion Road (Parcel A) is likely due to the absence of long stay serviced apartments (SA2).
