Another EC site at Sengkang will be put up for sale

An executive condominium (EC) site at the junction of Buangkok Drive and Sengkang East Avenue will go on sale in two weeks’ time, and is expected to receive good response from developers.

According to HDB, the site, which is on the government’s reserve list, will be released after it has accepted an application from a developer to put the site up for sale with a minimum bid of $103.8 million or $189 psf ppr.

This will be the third EC plot sold this year, which will add 465 units to the supply of public housing, taking the EC supply to 1,365 units in H1 2010. Two EC sites –Yishun and Sengkang – with a combined yield of around 900 units have already changed hands this year.

“Following the enthusiastic response from developers for the EC sites at Compassvale Bow and Yishun Avenue 11, it is no surprise a third site has been triggered,” said Mr. Li Hiaw Ho, executive director of CBRE Research.

Mr. Mohamed Ismail, chief executive of PropNex, said that given the gradually growing gap between HDB and private property prices – the private property price index for the first three months of 2010 went up 5.1 percent, while the resale price index of HDB increased only 2.7 percent – “the time is right for the launch of more ECs to cater to the sandwiched class of those who may not qualify for an HDB flat yet are unable to afford a private property.”

Analysts expect that the latest site will fetch between $200 psf ppr and $300 psf ppr. The site is near The Rivervale and Florida ECs, where units were sold at $520 psf to $600 psf between October 2009 and February 2010, and is adjacent to Park Green EC.

“Developers should be able to break even around $500 psf after construction and other costs, and the selling price should be around $550-$600 psf, which is about 25 percent below mass market prices for similar private properties,” said Mr. Ismail.

Eugene Lim, associate director of ERA Asia-Pacific, has a higher estimate – he expects the selling price of the upcoming flats to be at $620 psf to $680 psf.