GuocoLand-led JV submits highest bid of $900 psf ppr for Faber Walk GLS site

SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - The tender for the Government Land Sale (GLS) residential site at Faber Walk closed on Nov 19 with three bids. The highest bid of $349.858 million or $900 psf per plot ratio (ppr) was submitted by a joint venture comprising GuocoLand, TID Residential (a joint venture between Hong Leong Holdings and Mitsui Fudosan) and Intrepid Investments (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hong Leong Holdings.

Located in Clementi, the 99-year leasehold 277,659 sq ft site can be developed into a new 400-unit residential project with a maximum gross floor area (GFA) of 388,728 sq ft. It is zoned for non-landed residential use.

The GLS site is adjacent to the Faber Heights landed housing estate, surrounded by greenery and near the Rail Corridor. This could have been the main draw for GuocoLand, based on their purchase of the 344,700 sq ft, 99-year leasehold site along Upper Thomson in April this year. GuocoLand and joint venture partner Hong Leong Holding submitted the sole bid for the site and won it with a bid of $779.6 million ($900 psf ppr).

“If awarded, we plan to build a waterfront development comprising several low-rise blocks with up to 403 residential units in this private residential enclave," says a GuocoLand spokesman. "After our recent projects in the CBD, the East and the North of Singapore with our Lentor Hills projects and our upcoming project at Upper Thomson Road, we look forward to introducing GuocoLand’s developments in the West of Singapore."

According to GuocoLand, the site is close to employment nodes such as Jurong Lake District, which is expected to bring in 100,000 new jobs, the International Business Park and Jurong Innovation District. In addition, the site is near established schools such as Nan Hua Primary School, Nan Hua High Schools, NUS High School of Math & Science, institutions of higher education such as the National University of Singapore, as well as several international schools.

Residents of the future development will be able to walk to the upcoming Jurong Town Hall MRT station on the Jurong Region Line, just one stop from the Jurong East MRT interchange station, adds the spokesman. The site is also close to a host of amenities and nature parks, including the upcoming Old Jurong Line Nature Trail, which is part of an 18km green recreational network within the new Clementi Nature Corridor connecting residents to the Jurong Lake Gardens and the Rail Corridor,” adds the GuocoLand spokesman.

The top bid of $900 psf ppr is 8.9% above the second highest bid of $827 psf ppr submitted by Singapore-based, privately held JBE Holdings controlled by property developer Patrick Lam. JBE’s previous development was the 219-unit The Commodore. Launched in Nov 2021, the 99-year leasehold condo near the Canberra MRT Station is fully sold. The third and lowest bid of $728 psf ppr was submitted by a consortium comprising Santarli Realty, Apex Asia Development and Soon Li Heng.

The difference between the first and second highest bid points to the developer’s strong interest and competitive positioning in securing the site, says Mohan Sandrasegeran, head of research and data analytics at SRI.

However, he notes that the Faber Walk site received just half the number of bids for the Clementi Avenue 1 GLS site, which received six bids at the close of the tender in November 2023. A joint venture between CSC Land Group and MCL Land won the 178,066 sq ft, 99-year leasehold site with a $1,250 psf ppr bid.

Sandrasegeran attributes the fewer bids for the Faber Walk GLS site’s lower plot ratio of 1.4, compared to Clementi Avenue 1’s plot ratio of 3.5. “This lower plot ratio limits the potential building height and reduces the site’s overall development yield,” he says.

Mark Yip, CEO of Huttons Asia, says the bid of $900 psf ppr is higher than the $850 psf ppr paid for the 99-year leasehold Park West condo site, which was sold en bloc in 2018.

The take-up at recent launches in Nov 2024 may point to improving market sentiments, says Yip. “Furthermore, the outlook on interest rates appears to be on the downtrend, which may see more buyers investing in property. This could have led to the confident bid for the last parcel of land in the Faber private residential enclave.”

The last GLS site sold in the area was at West Coast Vale, when City Developments won a land parcel with a bid of $472.4 million ($800 psf ppr) in February 2018. The project (Whistler Grand) was launched in November 2018 and fully sold in October 2021. The overall average selling price achieved was more than $1,430 psf ppr.

Ismail Gafoor, CEO of PropNex, reckons developers’ interest in the Faber Walk GLS site could be due to the positive launch performance of the three condo projects along West Coast Vale: the 752-unit Parc Riviera by EL Development, followed by the 520-unit Twin Vew by CSC Land Group and the 716-unit Whistler Grand. All three are fully sold.

At a land rate of $900 psf ppr, Gafoor estimates that the average selling price of future homes at the latest Faber Walk site could potentially come in at around $2,200 psf. The Faber Walk GLS site is minutes’ away from the Clementi MRT station on the East-West Line. It’s also near the Ayer Rajah and Pan Island expressways.