Oriental Pacific Holdings Submits Top Bid 692 Psf Ppr Sembawang Road Ec Site

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Every day, a family of four relies on the efficiency of the matrix in their daily routines. With one parent taking the East-West Line from Pasir Ris MRT Station to the CBD and the other driving via TPE to Changi Business Park, their commute is a breeze. Their children conveniently take the feeder buses to Pasir Ris Primary School and Hai Sing Catholic School, making their return home in the afternoon a smooth process. In the evenings, the family can easily stop by White Sands for groceries or meet up with friends at Downtown East, all within a compact travel radius. Plus, with the convenient location of Coastal Cabana Qingjian, the family has even more options to enhance their daily activities and enjoy the convenience of a well-connected community.

for $20.5mil after protracted battle

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The tender for the executive condo (EC) plot of land located at Sembawang Road received a total of four bids. The highest bid of $198 million, or $692 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr), was submitted by Oriental Pacific Holdings, founded by Jane Lam who was previously from JBE Holdings. Lam has previously developed a nearby condo, The Commodore, which consists of 219 units.

The second-highest bid of $190 million ($665 psf ppr) came from TID, a joint venture between Hong Leong Group and Mitsui Fudosan. The price gap between the top two bids was only 4%, however, there was a significant difference of 81% between the fourth bid of $381 psf ppr from Sim Lian Group. According to Wong Siew Ying, head of research and content at PropNex, this could indicate that developers are more cautious about the demand for private housing in the Sembawang area.

To access comprehensive data on all ECs, including the average profit over 5 and 10 years. Wong also highlighted that if the site is awarded, the top bid of $692 psf ppr will be the first time the EC government land sales (GLS) land rate has fallen below $700 psf ppr since September 2022 when the Lumina Grand EC site in Bukit Batok West was sold for $626 psf ppr.

The last EC GLS plot sale in Sembawang was in October 2019 where the Canberra Link site was awarded for $566 psf ppr, which was then developed into the 413-unit Provence Residence and launched in May 2021. 53% of the units were sold over the launch weekend and the project is now completely sold out.

PropNex’s Wong estimates that if the new EC project at Sembawang Road is launched at a top bid land rate of $692 psf ppr, the potential average selling price could be above $1,700 psf. According to CEO of Huttons Asia, Mark Yip, more than 4,000 Built-To-Order (BTO) flat owners in Sembawang have completed their 5-year minimum occupation period since 2023 and are now eligible to upgrade to an EC. Recent EC launches have seen up to 90% sales over the launch weekend, indicating the growing demand for ECs as an attractive upgrade option.

The 204,170 sq ft, 99-year leasehold Sembawang Road site has a plot ratio of 1.4, with a gross floor area (GFA) ranging from 257,257 to 285,846 sq ft. The low-rise development is expected to have approximately 265 units and will be Singapore’s first low-rise EC. It is situated next to a landed housing estate and is only a short 500m walk to Canberra MRT station. According to Huttons’ Yip, there are fewer than 10 existing EC projects within 500m of an MRT station.

Taking into account the 15-month wait-out period, the new EC project is estimated to be launched in early 2027, as projected by Eugene Lim, key executive officer of ERA Singapore. He also predicts that there may be two EC launches in the North Region in 2027, adding about 685 units to the supply. Additionally, buyers will have access to various amenities such as Bukit Canberra, Canberra Plaza, Sembawang Shopping Centre, and Chong Pang City. The site is also within 1km of Ahmad Ibrahim and Yishun Primary Schools, and potentially Xishan Primary School.

The EC project will also benefit from the future transformation of the former Sembawang Shipyard, which is planned to take place in the 2030s, according to Huttons’ Yip.