URA To Auction 12 Sembawang Sites For Landed Homes

Source : The Business Times, 29 August 2007

FOR the first time in six years, the Urban Redevelopment Authority is offering small sub-divided landed housing plots for sale. It will auction 12 on 99-year leasehold tenure at Sembawang Road/Andrews Avenue on Oct 30.

The plots, in Phase 1 of a new landed housing estate called Sembawang Green, can be developed into a total of 57 homes - 42 terrace houses, 14 semi-detached homes and a bungalow. The sale is aimed at encouraging wider participation by smaller developers and even individuals wanting to build dream homes opposite Sembawang Park and near Sembawang Beach. The approach is similar to that taken by URA for Kew Drive in 1993-1994 and Eastwood Park in 1995-1996, both in the Bedok area, and Chuan Green in 1997-2001. The Sembawang plots range in area from 4,243 sq ft (for a two semi-detached house development), to 43,694 sq ft (for a 23 terrace-home project). All 12 plots can be developed up to three storeys.

Knight Frank director Nicholas Mak expects the terrace plots to fetch $220-250 psf of land area and the semi-detached and bungalow plots around $180-200 psf. These reflect breakeven costs of $870,000 to $930,000 per terrace house, $1.025 million to $1.1 million per semi-D and $1.5-1.6 million per bungalow.

CB Richard Ellis executive director (residential) Joseph Tan expects the terrace plots to fetch $220 to $250 psf of land area, the semi-D plots $240 to $270 psf and the sole bungalow site $260-$300 psf. Based on these bid ranges, the terrace houses could sell for about $1.0-1.1 million, the semi-Ds for $1.4-1.5 million and the bungalow for $2.6-2.8 million, according to Mr Tan.

The plots are next to the established landed housing estates of Straits Garden and Sembawang Straits Estate. URA has already put in infrastructure. A URA spokeswoman said the authority will decide on the number of phases for Sembawang Green and the number of homes in each phase after the auction of the Phase 1 plots.