CDL and Hong Realty Win Peck Hay Road GLS Site With Top Bid of S$542.4 Million at S$1,865 PSF PPR

The latest government land sales (GLS) tender for the 59,347 sq ft Peck Hay Road site closed on Thursday (Jun 11) with just four bids, against eight for the Bukit Timah Road plot. The number of bids for the Peck Hay Road plot was at the lower end of the three to eight forecast by property consultants polled by The Business Times earlier this week. However, the top bid exceeded the S$1,600 to S$1,850 psf ppr predicted by the consultants.

The 80:20 joint venture between CDL and Hong Realty plans to develop a 39-storey residential tower with about 380 units. The number of units is significantly higher than the estimate of 315 indicated by URA when it launched the site’s tender in April.

“We look forward to shaping the precinct’s next phase of transformation with a distinctive residential formation with a distinctive residential landmark,” said CDL Group CEO Sherman Kwek. The proposed scheme will incorporate lush greenery and communal spaces to support urban liveability, the group said.

Analysts see the bullish bid by the consortium as a strong vote of confidence in the URA’s plans to transform the Newton area into a “vibrant, mixed-use urban village”.

The top bid at about S$1,865 psf ppr was 8.4 per cent higher than the second-highest bid of about S$1,720 psf ppr from a tie-up between Sunway MCL and CSC Land Group (Singapore). The third-highest bid at S$1,582.69 psf ppr came from a unit of China Overseas Land and Investment. The lowest bid, from an Intrepid Investments and TID Residential tie-up, was about S$1,580 psf ppr.

Property consultants estimate the average launch price for the condo on the Peck Hay Road site to be somewhere between S$3,400 psf and S$3,900 psf. ERA Singapore chief officer Marcus Chu said the Peck Hay Road plot offers developers the “opportunity to enter the Core Central Region (CCR) market at a palatable scale”.

The Peck Hay Road site is near Anglo-Chinese School (Junior), St Joseph’s Institution Junior, Singapore Chinese Girls’ School (Primary), River Valley Primary School, St Margaret’s School (Primary) and Farrer Park Primary School. It offers a combination of attractive attributes in its central location, MRT connectivity and proximity to amenities at Orchard Road and the Newton Food Centre, noted PropNex head of research and content Wong Siew Ying.

Nicholas Mak, chief research officer at Mogul.sg, said the “aggressive” top bids for both the Bukit Timah Road and Peck Hay Road sites show that “the developers are highly confident of the northward trajectory of high-end condominium prices”.

Mak said the lower number of bids for the latest plot compared to the Bukit Timah Road site could be a reflection of some developers “keeping their powder dry for other asset acquisitions”. A state tender for a site in River Valley Green will close on Jun 18.

Knight Frank Singapore research head Leonard Tay said: “Developers are not chasing every opportunity indiscriminately, but rather picking their favoured parcels deliberately.”

In a similar vein, CBRE’s head of research for Singapore and South-east Asia Tricia Song noted that at their respective launch weekends last year, River Green and Skye Holland sold like hot cakes, with 88 per cent and 99 per cent of their units taken up. “Developers are hungry to replenish their depleted landbanks and may place more competitive bids to secure sites they find attractive,” Song added.

Some analysts pointed to sales evidence at 99-year projects in or around the Orchard area within the CCR that have been launched since last year, such as UpperHouse at Orchard Boulevard, and River Green and River Modern (both at the doorsteps of Great World MRT station).

URA Realis data on new sales in 2026 (downloaded on Jun 10) showed that at UpperHouse, which is being built next to Orchard Boulevard MRT station, 19 units have been transacted since the start of the year at an average price of S$3,554 psf. At River Green, 11 units have been sold over the same period at an average price of S$3,488 psf. Both projects were launched last year.

At River Modern, which was launched earlier this year, 423 units have been sold at an average price of S$3,278 psf, based on URA data on Jun 10.

The successful bidder of the Peck Hay Road site will have to build covered linkway access for pedestrians to Newton MRT station. The winning bidder will also be required to build a proposed extension of Peck Hay Road, relocate an existing bus stop along Scotts Road and widen a part of Anthony Road. “All these will add to the development cost, especially when bitumen prices have gone up substantially,” noted Yip of Huttons.