A URA press statement dated 22 April stated that an undisclosed builder has been responsible for the release of Zion Road parcel B. The site will be put up for sale in a public auction next month.

The Zion Road, parcel B plot, is a reserve area under the Government Land Sales 1H2024 programme. Reserve List Sites are not made immediately available for bidding, but first are made open for applications. It will only be put out to tender if a developer submits the application with a reasonable minimum price.

In this case the site was triggered by the developer who had not been named submitting a bid of at least $604.57 Million.

The 99-year site will have a total area of 0.9ha. Up to 610 units are expected. The application price equates to about $1.080 per square foot per plot rate (ppr) for a maximum allowable gross floor area of approximately 559.744sqft.

The site is near Great World City Stations and Havelock, Zion Riverside Food Centre as well River Valley primary school.

URA’s acceptance was expected, as the bid price is lower than that of a winning bid awarded to a Singapore-listed City Developments joint venture and Japanese realty developer Mitsui Fudosan earlier this year for an adjacent Zion Road property (ParcelA). The joint bidder submitted a $1.107 trillion bid. The 99-year site is the pilot for long-stay services apartments. A minimum stay of 3 months is required.

In light of recent tender awards for the Zion Road Site (Parcel A), as well as a nearby residential parcel in River Valley Green in Parcel A that was still open, it wasn’t expected that the Zion Road Site (Parcel A), would be triggered this soon.

The attractive location of the site near two MRT stations, and nearby amenities like Great World City mall could be indicative of developer confidence in homebuyer demand.

It has been noted that the developer responsible for triggering the Reserve List might also be leveraging the market’s cautious sentiment to bid on the plot of land at a less expensive price.

The activation of a property may reflect developer confidence in that site and the market for real estate, especially when it comes to a pure residential development as opposed to one with a long-stay apartment element. Selling residential homes can be easier and more straightforward than undertaking a venture.

The developers may see the potential for the Zion Road site, as well as the demand in the region, despite possible competition from River Valley Green’s (Parcel B) site.

As the recent land sales at Orchard Boulevard & Zion Road have been mediocre and given at modest prices, it is possible that the land bids will be moderate. Zion Road’s (Parcel B) is expected two or more bids. Top price could be between $1,150 and $1,250 per sq ft ppr.

Three developers could bid on Zion Road Parcel B. The highest bidder would be expected to offer between $1.100 and $1.200 psf.

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