A consortium comprising SC Global Developments, New World Development and Far East Consortium International, beat eight other developers/consortiums with its bid of $410 million for a residential site in Cuscaden Road. The nine bids garnered for the Cuscaden Road site signal developers’ continued interest in prime development sites. The top bid translates to $2,377 per square foot per plot ratio (psf/plot ratio) and could likely translate to a launch price between $3,300 and $3,600 psf for the future project, which is in line with the current pricing of freehold luxury projects like New Futura and Gramercy Park. The winning bid also serves to affirm developers’ confidence in the luxury segment. The return of foreign buyers would further expand the buyer base for such luxury products. One project which would benefit from this is 3 Orchard-By-The-Park, which is launch ready and could test the market at the $4,000 psf mark. For the Mattar Road site, the bid is close to that of Woodleigh Lane which was awarded to CEL for $1,100 psf/plot ratio in July 2017. The new condo, named Park Colonial, will be launched soon. Silat Avenue attracted only one bid by UIC/UOL/Kheng Leong at $1,138 psf/plot ratio. The lack of response from developers could be due to its huge quantum (above $1 billion) and the units are capped at 1,125 units. Since 1 bid is not a true representation of market value, whether the site will be awarded to the UIC group will depend on the Chief Valuer’s decision.
