The Urban Redevelopment Authority has just closed the land tender for a site at Bukit Timah Road under the 2H2025 Government Land Sales (GLS) programme. The site can yield approximately 340 units.

There were eight bids received for this plot, which was above our expectations. The highest bid was from HH Investment Private Limited, at a bid price of S$566,291,712 or around S$1,820 psf ppr. This was above our estimates, and was 12.3 per cent higher than the next highest bid from Hoi Hup Realty Pte Ltd and Sunway Developments Pte. Ltd., which was S$504,380,000 or around S$1,621 psf ppr. The highest bid was also above the winning bid for the closest CCR land parcel at Orchard Boulevard awarded in February 2024 at a land rate of S$1,617 psf ppr, and is the highest land rate submitted since the site at Cuscaden Road was awarded in May 2018 at a land rate of S$2,377 psf ppr.

Various factors may have contributed to the strong response to the land tender. This is the first site to be released under the urban transformation of the Newton area, based on the Draft Master Plan 2025. The site is located next to Newton MRT Interchange, providing excellent connectivity via access to two MRT lines, and is near numerous primary schools. Newton Food Centre and the Orchard Road shopping belt is a short distance away. New amenities will also be built in the area introducing new mixed developments and green spaces.

A land parcel of this nature is a rarity. The palatable size of the land parcel helped keep the overall price quantum at a manageable level for a prime CCR site. The site also stood out as one of the more well-connected land parcels, especially within the CCR. With no GLS sites released for sale in Newton in almost 30 years, pent-up demand for new homes here may be strong.

There have also not been any major new project launches in the vicinity since Kopar at Newton and Klimt Cairnhill, and other nearby projects such as Pullman Residences Newton and Perfect Ten also fully sold, despite being less conveniently located. With the strong performance of recent RCR and CCR launches such as Skye at Holland, Penrith, Zyon Grand, River Green, and Promenade Peak, developers may have been confident of the current market in maintaining the momentum of new home sales, especially with potential pent-up demand for homes here. Even slightly further away, there are also no other new launches with major remaining inventory to contend with. The latest new launch nearby, UpperHouse at Orchard Boulevard, has just 99 units out 301 units unsold as of September’s monthly new sales data. Given the excellent locational attributes and lack of supply, we expect strong sales when the future project is launched.