Orchard Boulevard site draws five bids, with top offer at S$1,755 psf ppr

A private residential site in Orchard Boulevard attracted bids from five groups of developers, with the highest offer equivalent to S$1,755 per square foot (psf) per plot ratio (ppr).

Analysts said the tender results showed that developers remain interested in prime sites. However, the wide spread of bids reflected caution among some developers about the pricing potential and market demand for high-end private homes.

Units in the new project are expected to sell for between S$3,400 and S$3,800 psf when it launches.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority announced the tender results for the private residential site in Orchard Boulevard on Thursday (29 October).

A consortium comprising Hong Leong Holdings’ Intrepid Investments and TID Residential submitted the highest bid of S$181.86 million, equivalent to S$1,755 psf ppr. This was 8.3% above the second-highest offer and 30% above the lowest.

GRC Development submitted the second-highest bid, equivalent to S$1,620 psf per plot ratio. A consortium comprising BBR Development, Mindarie Holding and Quarz Capital Group ranked third with an offer of S$1,551 psf per plot ratio.

Wing Tai Holdings subsidiary Wincove Investment submitted the fourth-highest bid at S$1,471 psf per plot ratio. The lowest bid, at S$1,350 psf per plot ratio, came from a consortium comprising Macly Group, Roxy Development, Partners, Greatsun Capital, Scree Innovation and Lin Bing Cheng.

The Orchard Boulevard site is near Orchard Boulevard Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Station and is one of the few private residential sites in the area to be put up for tender. It spans 3,438 square metres (about 37,006 square feet), with a maximum gross floor area of 9,627 square metres, and can yield about 110 units.

Nicholas Mak, chief research officer at property portal MOGUL.sg, said the five bids were in line with market expectations and reflected developers’ continued strong interest.

However, the highest offer was below the winning bids for two sites sold over the past year: the Bukit Timah Road and Peck Hay Road sites near Newton MRT Station, which fetched S$1,820 and S$1,865 psf ppr respectively.

Mak said, “The bids this time were relatively low, with a wider spread between offers, suggesting that developers’ previously strong appetite for land is cooling.”

Wong Shanting, head of research at real estate consultancy Newmark, also noted that bids for the Orchard Boulevard site were lower than those for the two sites near Newton MRT Station.

This suggested that developers may be taking a more cautious view of the pricing potential and market demand for projects in the Core Central Region.

PropNex’s head of research and content, Wong Siew Ying, however, said the top bid was not low, as it was the third-highest price for a purely residential Government Land Sales site in the Core Central Region since 2018.

She said the adjacent site occupied by Upperhouse@Orchard Boulevard was sold in February 2024 at S$1,617 psf ppr. The latest top bid was 8.5% higher, indicating a modest rise in land prices in the area over the past few years.

Since its launch in July 2025, Upperhouse@Orchard Boulevard has sold 249 of its 301 units at an average price of S$3,405 psf. According to Wong, “this may have bolstered the top bidder’s confidence in pricing the project.”

On the spread of bids, Mak said developers may be concerned that the government could introduce further property cooling measures before the project goes on sale. Interest rates could also be high when it launches, with higher borrowing costs dampening homebuying demand.

Wong said some developers may also have bid cautiously in view of the substantial private housing supply coming on stream in the Core Central Region.

Government Land Sales sites sold since November 2025, including those in Bukit Timah Road, Dunearn Road’s second site, Holland Plain, Peck Hay Road and River Valley Green Parcel C, are expected to yield about 1,700 new units in total.

Newmark’s Wong Shanting also said that the successive launches of several private residential projects in the Core Central Region had met some pent-up housing demand. However, the many residents with strong purchasing power living nearby were still expected to provide some demand for the new project.

PropNex’s Wong Siew Ying noted that the project’s small size may also have influenced developers’ bids. “Small projects offer limited economies of scale, with costs such as basement parking, facilities and marketing spread across only about 110 units.”

On future selling prices, Mak estimated that the project could launch in 2028 at S$3,500 to S$3,800 psf. Wong Shanting expected prices to start from S$3,500 psf, while Wong Siew Ying projected prices above S$3,400 psf.