BT : Green Lodge tender receives 'a few' bids

Business Times - 14 Jan 2010

Green Lodge tender receives 'a few' bids

THE tender for the collective sale of Green Lodge at Toh Tuck Road closed yesterday afternoon but it is not clear if a winner for the site has emerged.

BT understands that there were 'a few' bids for the freehold parcel, but marketing agent Newman & Goh was tight-lipped over the results of the tender. It is conducting due diligence and has imposed a blackout period in the meantime.

The 80-unit Green Lodge, spanning 151,075 sq ft with a plot ratio of 1.4, was put up for sale at end-December last year. The asking price stood at $135 million, and including a development charge of around $9.5 million, the price worked out to $683 per sq ft per plot ratio.

The winning developer would be able to launch a project with around 211 units measuring an average 1,000 sq ft.

A consultant estimated that the units could be sold at around $1,000-$1,100 psf, while Newman & Goh projected an average selling price of at least $1,250 psf.

In a report issued yesterday, analysts from Goldman Sachs expressed reservations over the return of collective sales activity for now. 'Even though developers are financially stronger, we think they will choose to stay on the sidelines in the en bloc market until demand returns more visibly in 2H 2010,' they said.

'A good indication of potential trigger points for en blocs is the widening of primary over secondary market prices.'