Hong Leong, TID place top bid of S$181.86 million or S$1,755 psf ppr for Orchard plot

[SINGAPORE] A plum 99-year private housing site with a coveted Orchard Boulevard address drew five bids at a state tender that closed on Thursday (Oct 29).

The top bid of S$181.86 million, or S$1,755 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr), came from a partnership between Hong Leong Holdings unit Intrepid Investments and TID Residential.

The highest bid was 8.3 per cent above the second highest offer of S$167.85 million (S$1,620 psf ppr), which was placed by a fully owned unit of Global Resource Construction (GRC Group).

Listed on the Singapore Exchange mainboard, the group is involved in construction, civil engineering and sustainable infrastructure solutions.

GRC is largely controlled by Tang Organization (formerly known as Chip Eng Seng Corporation), which is fully owned by property tycoon couple Gordon and Celine Tang.

The top top bid was 30 per cent above the lowest bid of S$1,350 psf ppr, which came from a consortium that includes Macly Group, Roxy Development Partners and Kimly Construction.

Also bidding at the tender was a group comprising BBR Development, Quarz Capital Group and a unit of Switzerland-based Volare Group, which offered S$160.72 million or S$1,551 psf ppr.

A Wing Tai unit bid S$152.39 million or nearly S$1,471 psf ppr for the site.

Analysts polled by The Business Times this week had predicted that two to eight bids would be submitted, so the number of bids received was within the forecast.

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The top bid was closer to the lower end of the $1,650 psf ppr to S$1,950 psf ppr that the analysts had predicted.

Tricia Song, CBRE head of research for Singapore and South-east Asia, said: “Nonetheless, this is still one of the highest land rates for prime Core Central Region (CCR) locations in recent years, reflecting developer confidence in prime well-located projects.”

The 37,006 sq ft site can generate about 110 private homes.

Mogul.sg chief research officer Nicholas Mak said: “This is one of the few vacant residential sites in the Orchard Boulevard area available for sale.”

Some property consultants had noted that besides the site’s prestigious district 10 residential location and proximity to the Orchard Boulevard MRT station on the Thomson-East Coast line, its relatively small scale lowers the financial commitment required. This was expected to widen the pool of potential bidders.

However, some developers may have decided to be more cautious in view of potential competition from private housing launches in the CCR.

PropNex head of research and content Wong Siew Ying said that while the five bids point to healthy interest in the site, the spread of bids may reflect some concerns about upcoming launch supply.

Since last November, five prime government land sales (GLS) sites have been sold, but the projects on them have yet to be launched.

These plots – in Bukit Timah Road (next to the Newton MRT interchange), Peck Hay Road, River Valley Green (Parcel C), Holland Plain and Dunearn Road – could offer more than 1,700 new private homes in the CCR, Wong noted.

Song of CBRE noted that the tender closing for the Orchard Boulevard site came amid lukewarm responses to some recent new private residential project launches and expectations of higher interest rates.

The nearest 99-year private housing GLS site sold in the area is the plot that is being developed into Upperhouse at Orchard Boulevard.

Zoned residential with commercial on the first storey, the plot is in front of Orchard Boulevard MRT station. It received four bids when its tender closed in 2024. A tie-up between UOL Group and Singapore Land bagged the site for S$1,617 psf ppr.

Before that, the residential plot on which now stands the Cuscaden Reserve project attracted nine bids at a GLS tender in 2018. It was sold for S$2,377 psf ppr.

CBRE’s Song highlighted more recent CCR sites sold at tender closings in June this year: the Peck Hay Road plot in Newton and River Valley Green (Parcel C), which sold for S$1,865 psf ppr and S$1,730 psf ppr, respectively. Each site received four bids.

A PropNex analysis of data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority downloaded on Thursday showed that 83 per cent or 249 units of the Upperhouse’s 301 units have been sold at an average price of S$3,405 psf since its launch in July 2025.

Of the units sold, 28 were transacted this year at an average price of S$3,599 psf.

Analysts expect the project on the latest Orchard Boulevard site to be launched at an average price between S$3,400 and S$3,800 psf.