River Valley (Parcel B) GLS Site Closing on February 2025: Commentary by ERA

SINGAPORE, 7 February 2025 – The tender for the Government Land Sale (GLS) site at River Valley Green (Parcel B) closed on 7^th February 2025.

In total, the site drew interest from five bidders, with the top bid of $627.8 million (or $1,420 psf ppr) being put in by GuocoLand Limited.

ERA’s Observations

“The highest tender price submitted at $1,420 psf ppr lies between the price submitted for two nearby sites, the River Valley Parcel A site ($1,325 psf ppr, tendered in 2024) and the Irwell Bank Road site ($1,515 psf ppr, tendered amidst peak market conditions in 2020). This could be a signal that the market could be on an upward trajectory, further exemplified by the competitive number of bidders.”

“With a land cost of $1,420 psf ppr, we could see units selling from $2,800 psf.”

“The site at River Valley Green (Parcel B) has drawn surprising interest with five bidders, contrasting the lukewarm response of Parcel A, which saw a mere two bids. The sanguine response of bidders is unexpected as the area is highly saturated with GLS sites, with three in the vicinity already sold. Including this site, the future developments could yield some 2,200 dwelling units in total.”

“When a situation like this arises, we generally see developers exercise greater caution, as they would be competing for the same pool of buyers.”

“Amongst these four sites, River Valley Green (Parcel B) site drew the most bids (5). The previous three sites in the vicinity only had an average of 1.7 bids each. Moreover, the top bid is also 7.2% higher than the neighbouring River Valley Green (Parcel A) site.”

“Key reasons why the bidding for this site drew considerably more interest and outperformed its sister site at Parcel A would be projected future demand from the planned commercial component and transport integration, and lower developmental risk due to a more palatable interest rate environment for developers.”

“Compared to the supply of other nearby sites, the Parcel B site features superior site attributes. It provides some of the finest views of the river, and a much quieter environment opposed to facing the main road. Furthermore, it will also be integrated with Great World MRT Station, providing seamless connectivity to residents.”

“Easing interest rates may have given confidence to developers, although the economic uncertainty amidst global geopolitical tensions may present risks to the developers. Compared to conditions seen through most of last year, developers have weighed these risks accordingly and decided to proceed with their bids.”

“Despite geopolitical tensions and economic risks, this has not deterred developers’ bullishness, likely drawn in from the stellar performance for new homes in the past few months. Buyers’ willingness to pay these new benchmark prices for suburban and city fringe homes could have buoyed developers’ confidence.” 

For media enquiries, please contact:

Eugene Lim, Key Executive Officer, ERA Singapore

Email: [email protected]