A residential Government Land Sale (GLS) site at Lentor Central is now available for sale, according to a recent media release by URA. The 14,703.2 sq m (158,263.9 sq ft) site is under the Confirmed List for the 1H2023 GLS Programme, with a leasehold tenure of 99 years, and can yield approximately 475 residential units.

Another residential land parcel, Lentor Gardens, is up for application under the Reserve List. It has a site area of 20,640.8 sq m and can yield up to 500 residential units.

Both sites form part of the 4,090 residential units to be made available through the Confirmed List of the 1H2023 GLS programme, representing an increase of 17% from the 3,505 units made available in 2H2022.

After a decade of providing edutainment, JCUBE located in the Jurong East region of Singapore will close and make way for a 40-storey residential and commercial development, JCube Condo Residence. Launching for sale in 2023, the development promises JCube Residence new homes, businesses and amenities.

If all six sites launched in the Lentor Hills estate are sold, an estimated 2,943 units can be expected to be completed over the next four to five years. The first GLS site in the estate was awarded to GuocoLand for $784.1 million or $1,204 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr) in July 2021.

The most recent land parcel tendered in the estate, Lentor Gardens, closed on April 4 and only one bid was received from a joint venture between GuocoLand and Hong Leong Group. Their bid for the site was $486.8 million ($985 psf ppr) which is significantly lower than the land rates of previous Lentor sites.

Wong Siew Ying, head of research and content at PropNex Realty, explains that a reason for the reduced bid may be the harmonisation of floor area definitions. Announced by URA in a circular last September and taking effect from June 1, all strata areas will have to be included as GFA, guided by the Master Plan plot ratio for the site. This could potentially eat into the total saleable area for the condo project.

Huttons’ Lee Sze Teck, senior director of research at Huttons Asia, believes the latest Lentor Central GLS site could potentially attract one to two bidders, with the top bid coming in at $434.3 million to $456.4 million (or $980 to $1,030 psf ppr). For the Lentor Gardens site on the Reserve List, he sees the likelihood of it being triggered for sale by developers as “relatively low”, underpinned by the ample upcoming supply in Lentor as well as the cautious market sentiment and reduced risk appetite.

The tender for the Lentor Central site is set to close at 12 noon on Sept 12.