HDB To Put Bishan Site Up For Sale

Source : The Business Times, November 30, 2007

THE Housing Board (HDB) yesterday said that it will release a residential site at Bishan Street 14 for sale by tender.

The 129,200 sq ft site has a 4.9 plot ratio - giving it a gross floor area of 632,900 sq ft. The site has a lease of 99 years.

Analysts said that the site could fetch between $370-$450 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) - which will bring the total price paid by the successful developer to anywhere between $234.2 million and $284.8 million.

Private apartments in the Bishan area are now selling for about $800 psf in the resale market. Construction costs for mass market condos now stand at about $300 psf, contractors told BT. Knight Frank's director for research and consultancy Nicholas Mak expects the site to be popular with developers. 'Even with the current turbulence in the market, developers are still looking out for good sites.'

A residential site in Ang Mo Kio sold by the HDB in September set a new record for suburban land prices, fetching some $601 psf ppr. The site also drew a bullish 14 bids.

But this Bishan site is less plum as it is further from the MRT station, observers said. Market sentiment has dipped since the tender for the Ang Mo Kio site closed two months ago.

The site is being made available under the government's reserve list system.