The public tender for a residential site at Mount Vernon Road received only five bids, as developers remain cautious after the additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) was implemented last month.
“Response to the tender of the residential site at Mount Vernon reflects the cautious attitude of developers following the latest property measures introduced in December 2011 and in anticipation of a slowing economy in 2012,” said Li Hiaw Ho, Executive Director at CBRE Research.
“Only five bids were submitted for the site even though it is a very accessible location. This is fewer than the eight bids garnered for the site directly opposite the subject site in April 2011.”
A consortium comprising TID Residential Pte Ltd, Intrepid Investments Pte Ltd and Sunmaster Holdings Pte Ltd offered the highest bid of S$388.106 million, which translates to around S$495 psf ppr.
“The bid is 7.6 percent and 10.9 percent higher than the second and third bids, respectively. It is also 20.2 percent below the S$620.61 psf ppr paid for the nearby site located at Bartley Road when it was sold in April 2011,” commented Chia Siew Chuin, Director of Research & Advisory at Colliers International.
The second highest bid was jointly offered by Opal Star Pte Ltd and Lum Chang Building Contractors Pte Ltd at S$360.8 million. Multi Wealth (Singapore) Pte Ltd submitted the third highest bid at S$350 million, while MCL Land Limited and Mezzo Development offered the lowest bids at S$293 million and S$250.8 million respectively.
Launched for sale on 29 November 2011, the 99-year leasehold site has a land area of 20,810.9 sq m and a maximum permissible gross floor area (GFA) of 72,839 sq m. It is situated adjacent to Bartley MRT station and flanked by Bartley Secondary School and the Gurkha Contingent barracks.
Li said a condo development of around “20 storeys comprising some 800 units can be built on the site.”
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