Robert Kuok's Allgreen Properties has emerged as the top bidder for a 99-year leasehold private housing site on Zion Road, near Great World City, with a bid of nearly S$730.09 million (approximately S$1,304 per square foot per plot ratio, psf ppr). This was the highest of two bids received at the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) tender held on Thursday, July 18.

Allgreen's bid was 10.5% higher than the competing bid of S$1,180.54 psf ppr from Intrepid Investments and Hong Realty, both part of the Hong Leong Group.

According to URA Tender details, Zion Road Parcel B has a land site area of 9,285.9 sqm and GFA of 52,002 sqm.

The Zion Road (Parcel B) site, capable of yielding around 610 private homes, was triggered from the reserve list of the first-half 2024 Government Land Sales (GLS) program, with a minimum bid of S$604.6 million, or about S$1,080 psf ppr. Unlike confirmed list sites, which are released according to a schedule, reserve list sites are launched only when a developer commits to a minimum bid acceptable to the government.

The tender results met market expectations, which had been conservative due to recent muted interest in GLS sites amid weak housing sales, global uncertainties, high financing costs, and profit margin pressures from property cooling measures. Additionally, concerns of potential oversupply in the Great World City-Zion Road area were noted, given other GLS sites in the vicinity.

Allgreen's bid for the Zion Road (Parcel B) site was 1.6% lower than the S$1,325 psf ppr achieved for the nearby River Valley Green (Parcel A) site, which was awarded to Wing Tai last month for nearly S$464 million. The River Valley Green site, however, is smaller and has a more favorable location next to the Great World MRT station, potentially yielding around 380 private homes.

Meanwhile, Zion Road (Parcel A), awarded in April to City Developments Ltd and Mitsui Fudosan for slightly over S$1.1 billion (about S$1,202 psf ppr), includes a mix of private homes and long-stay serviced apartments under a new government concept allowing for a minimum stay of three months.

Property developers expressed concerns over the influx of new private residential units from GLS sites in the area. With more than 2,000 units from awarded sites Zion Road (Parcel A), River Valley Green (Parcel A), the newly tendered Zion Road (Parcel B), and the upcoming River Valley Green (Parcel B) slated for tender in October.

JT Chia, Managing Director at Propertyforsale, highlighted the Zion Road site appeals to Allgreen due to its close proximity to the Great World City as they are the developer for this prestigious mall. 

He estimates that the launch price for new private condominium at Zion Road (Parcel B) to be selling at average price of S$2,800 psf due to higher development costs.