TODAY ONLINE : It's getting hot in Hougang

It's getting hot in Hougang

$110m bid for Hougang Ave 2 site triggers a second tender in just two weeks

05:55 AM Apr 08, 2010

by Millet Enriquez

SINGAPORE - The recent triggering of Government Reserve List land sites in Hougang may have been sheer coincidence, but analysts believe developers have a keen interest in the area because they are expecting an influx of home upgraders.

"The HDB estates in Hougang and Punggol have a population of about 230,000, which represents a very significant pool of private residential property buyers," said Mr Nicholas Mak, real estate lecturer at Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

Following yesterday's launch of the Hougang S13 site by the Housing and Development Board, another site in Hougang Avenue 2 will be put up for tender by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) in the next two weeks. Both are from the Government's Reserve List.

In all, three residential sites in Hougang and Buangkok that were on the Reserve List have been triggered this year. Apart from the Hougang sites, an executive condominium site at Buangkok Drive has been triggered and is pending a tender launch.

One reason for the larger number of launches in the area is that a higher proportion of the sites included in the Government's Land Sales Programme for the first half of this year are located in the north-east of Singapore, said Mr Mak.

The Hougang S13 land parcel, first included in the Reserve List in July 2001, was triggered after a developer last month committed a $6.5-million minimum bid.

The latest site at Hougang Avenue 2 was put on the Reserve List on Feb 25 and a developer has since committed a bid of $109.9 million, the URA announced yesterday. Mr Colin Tan, head of research and consultancy at Chesterton Suntec International said it is likely competition for the site would be intense, given that the last landed sales in December attracted a record 32 bidders.

Mr Li Hiaw Ho, executive director at CBRE Research, estimated the site would yield either 400 units for low-rise condo development or about 200 units of cluster housing. He said the bid price could be between $140 million and $160 million.