23 Dec 2021
The site can potentially yield about 375 executive condominium units. (Image: Housing and Development Board)
SINGAPORE: The Housing and Development Board (HDB) on Thursday (Dec 23) launched a tender for an executive condominium site on Bukit Batok West Avenue 8.
The site, which can potentially yield about 375 units, was put up for sale under the Confirmed List of the Government Land Sales (GLS) Programme for the second half of this year, said HDB in a news release.
The area measures 12,449.3 sqm - about the size of nearly two football fields - and has a lease period of 99 years.
The tender will close at noon on Mar 8, 2022.
It will be batched with a residential site at Dairy Farm Walk, which was launched by the Urban Redevelopment Authority in October under the Confirmed List of 2H2021 GLS Programme, HDB said.
Prospective tenderers may send enquiries to HDB by email.
Mr Lee Sze Teck, senior director of research at Huttons' Asia, noted that there was an award for the development of an executive condominium in a similar site in nearby Tengah Garden Walk in June 2021.
"The vicinity offers plenty of amenities, such as supermarkets and food and beverage outlets in the commercial space at Le Quest Mall and upcoming amenities at the new Tengah estate," said Mr Lee.
"It is within a five minute's drive to the Pan Island Expressway."
With 7,788 HDB flats completed from 2015 to 2018, it will offer a "potential pool of HDB upgraders" for the new executive condominium when it is launched for sale in 2023, he added.
The site could see more interest from developers as buyers are not affected by the increase in Additional Buyers' Stamp Duty (ABSD), he said, adding that the estimated bid for the site is between S$580 and S$630 per square foot per plot ratio, with up to 10 bidders.
Last week, the government announced a series of measures to cool the private residential and HDB resale markets.
These include raising ABSD rates, tightening the Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) threshold and lowering the Loan-to-Value (LTV) limit for loans from HDB.
The measures to cool the private and public housing markets are meant to "promote continued housing affordability", said the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of National Development and the Monetary Authority of Singapore in a joint press release.
The agencies said that the measures for private residential are calibrated to dampen broad-based demand, especially from those purchasing property for investment rather than owner occupation.