City Developments Limited, a joint venture between Hong Leong Holdings and Mitsui Fudosan, placed the top bid at Woodlands. It was 8.3 per cent more expensive than the next-highest bid, which came from TID Residential. TID Residential is a joint venture of Hong Leong Holdings & Mitsui Fudosan.

CDL Group chief executive Sherman Kwek, in a release issued after the results were announced, said: “Following several successful launches in Singapore our inventory of launched Projects has been decreasing. This site will replenish landbanks and ensure a steady launch pipeline.

Huttons’ senior director of data analysis Lee Sze Teck emphasized the risks facing developers. The risks that developers face include the continuation of high interest rates and costs as well as the reduction in saleable space for non-landed projects as a result of changes to gross floor area definitions, said Lee Sze Teck.

CDL is planning four 11-storey towers totaling 350 private homes on the site, as well as a parking garage in the basement.

Hong Leong Holdings’ joint venture with GuocoLand & China Construction Development Co. submitted two bids at the end of the Sept 12 auction for the Lentor Central parcel. The top bid was S$435.2M or S$982psfppr.

This bid was expected and a little lower than GuocoLand’s and Hong Leong’s S$985psfppr for the Lentor Hills parcel that was offered as the only bidder in April. The bid was the lowest on a per-square-foot basis amongst the five parcels in Lentor Hills Estate that have been sold since July 2021.

The bids received for two 99-year-leasehold private housing sites showed a markedly risk-averse mood among developers following several waves cooling measures and dramatically higher financing costs.

Six bids were received for a parcel in Woodlands along Champions Way, but the offers were below expectations. Only two bids for Lentor Close were received, which is one more than was submitted for the most recent site in the area. However, this is still less than what the state received in 2021 when it first released the sites in Lentor Hills to development.

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Wong Siew Ying of PropNex Realty, who is in charge of research, content and sales, noted that a tender on a site for an executive condo development in Tengah closed on the 27th of June. The tender attracted nine offers and a record rate of S$703 a square foot per plot.

China Communications Construction Company (Sep 2022), Soilbuild Group, and Yanlord Land Group will purchase a Lentor Central Site for S$1,108 PSF PPr. TID Residential bought the Lentor Hills Road, parcel B plot for S$1,130.

GuocoLand’s Lentor Modern project, which comprises 605 units, sold 84 percent of the units at its launch weekend. Prices ranged from S$1,856 psf to S$2,538. As per URA’s data, there are only 49 unoccupied units or 8.1% of the total number of units, as at July 20,23.

Analysts estimate that Champions Way could be launched for between S$1,750 – S$1,950/sq.ft.

Lentor Close’s average launch price is expected to fall between S$1,950 and S$2,200.

Hong Leong spokesman stated: “If awarded we plan to construct a residential development consisting of 475 units, in two high-rise buildings, where residents can benefit from nearby amenities and the Lentor MRT Station, increasing the overall appeal of the site to future buyers.”

GuocoLand bought the land for S$784.1m or S$1,204psfppr by July 2021.

Lentor Hills Residences saw a cooler reception in July after a wave cooling measures. Hong Leong’s, GuocoLand’s and TID’s project, which was launched on the weekend of July 8, sold half its 598 apartments at an average cost of S$2,080.