Residential site at Dairy Farm GLS attracts record bid
The tender for a residential site (pictured left) at Dairy Farm Road closed 18 Sept 2012 with a top bid of S$244.318 million from a consortium comprising First Shine Properties and Meadows Bright Development, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).
Launched for sale on 23 July 2012 and offered on a 99-year lease term, the site fetched a total of nine bids from interested developers. The Dairy Farm site can be developed into no more than 526 units. The 188,861 sqft site on Dairy Farm Road has a maximum gross floor area (GFA) of 396,617sqft and a maximum building height of part five storeys and part 15 storeys, subject to 140m above sea level.
Strong interest for the site is attributed to its proximity to the upcoming Hillview MRT station (Downtown Line 2) and the continued low interest rate environment, said Chia Siew Chuin, Director of Research & Advisory at Colliers International.
The top bid of S$244.318 million or S$616 psf ppr is 9.9 and 12 percent more than the next two highest bids. But it is still 3.5 percent lower than the S$638 psf ppr paid for a neighbouring site at Hillview Avenue, which could be due to the new guidelines on the allowable number of units below 70 sq m for suburban areas.
Based on a land cost of S$616 psf ppr, the breakeven price is likely to be around S$950 psf to S$1,050 psf, and the likely average selling price at $1,200psf onwards.
Considering this news, those who love these nature and green locations, you may want to decide in two things :
1) Buy the freehold condos at Hume Avenue/Upper Bukit Timah at $1000psf, you still can get this price, but the unit size maybe bigger, so if you have a budget about $1.5M I believe you can get a decent 3 bedrooms there; OR
2) Buy a new launched condo such as Foresque Residences at below $1100psf. There should be upside, and there are some units with unblocked view of Dairy Farm and some very high floor you may overlook Peirce Reservoir.
Anyway, it is interesting to note that all 20-25 mins drive to Central Area is fetching $1,300-$1,400psf now, a $200-$300psf higher than two years back.