TWO residential development sites at Lentor Gardens and Lentor Central have been launched for sale under the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme.
The Lentor Gardens parcel, on the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s confirmed list, sits on 21,866.7 square metres (sq m), with a maximum gross floor area (GFA) of 45,921 sq m, and is expected to yield about 530 housing units. These units could span eight storeys under low-rise zone requirements, or 16 storeys under the mid-rise zone.
The Lentor Central site spans an area of 14,703.2 sq m and has a maximum GFA of 41,169 sq m. The site is estimated to yield about 475 housing units across five storeys under the low-rise zone. The Lentor Central parcel comes under the reserve list, and will only be released for sale if a developer submits an acceptable offer in the state land tender.
Analysts expect interest in the latest tender to be lukewarm, with two to five bids anticipated for the Lentor Gardens parcel and a top bid of between S$1,050 psf ppr and S$1,150 psf ppr. Wong Siew Ying, head of research and content, PropNex Realty, said the top bid for Lentor Gardens could come in the S$519 million to S$544 million range, or between S$1,050 and S$1,100 psf ppr. They do not see the Lentor Central site being released for sale.
Huttons Asia’s senior director of research Lee Sze Teck said while the Lentor district is “shaping up as a private residential enclave”, “the risks are also perceived to be higher with at least three projects to be launched within the next two years”.
These include the Lentor Modern and Lentor Hills Residences, as well as another land parcel in Lentor Central that was awarded to Yanlord Land Group : Z25 +2.98% last month.
Citing the tightening of housing loan limits in the latest round of property cooling measures, Steven Tan, chief executive of OrangeTee & Tie, said the reduced loans available to buyers may affect the price of future launches in this area.
Tan noted that the recent September tender for Lentor sites drew fewer-than-expected bids. There were three bids for a Lentor Central parcel which sold at S$1,108 psf ppr, while Lentor Hills Road (Parcel B) drew only two bids and sold for S$1,130 psf ppr.
The tender for the confirmed Lentor Gardens site will close on Apr 4, 2023.