Property Herald: GLS tender for Sembawang EC site with lowest EC land price since 2022

Introduction

The government land sale (GLS) tender for an Executive Condominium (EC) development site at Sembawang Road closed on 11 September. The subject site at Sembawang measures 204,170 sq ft and is located about a 5 to 10-minute walk from the Canberra MRT Station. About 265 EC units could be built on this site.

Strong demand for EC from homebuyers

The most recent EC project launched is the 600-unit Otto Place, which was released by Hoi Hup Realty & Sunway Developments in July 2025. By the end of August, the developers sold 91.5% of the 600 units at a median price of $1,753 psf.

Presently, property developers’ inventory of unsold EC units is running low. The current number of launched and unsold EC units stands at only 56 units, which could be sold out within two to three months. Although there are four new EC projects with a total of 1,985 housing units yet to be launched, the subject EC project at Sembawang Road is not expected to face strong competition from the other EC projects as three of the unlaunched EC projects are located at a significant distance from the subject site.

Plans to rejuvenate Sembawang and Woodlands

The residents in the new EC at Sembawang Road could potentially enjoy the benefits from the planned rejuvenation of the northern region as outlined by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in his National Day Rally last month. The plans involve the redevelopment of the former Kranji Racecourse site and the Sembawang Shipyard.

The Sembawang Shipyard will be redeveloped into a lively waterfront destination, featuring new waterfront homes. Efforts will be made to retain the site’s maritime heritage, including the dry dock, which will be repurposed as a space for community activities such as sports events, concerts, and gatherings.

Analysis of the tender bids

Despite the robust demand from EC homebuyers in the current housing market, real estate developers appears to be conservative in their bids for the subject site.

The GLS tender for the Sembawang EC site attracted four bids from developers, which is lower than the average 6.3 bids for GLS tenders of EC sites in the past five years. The number of bids in EC land tenders since 2020 ranges from 4 to 9 bids. Hence, the participation rate among developers in the tender that closed today is on the low side. This could be partly due to the wide selection of GLS sites available in the current GLS programme.

Table 1: GLS tender bids for Sembawang Road EC site

S/N	Name of Tenderer	Tender Price ($)	Land rate ($psf ppr)
1	JBE Holdings (Oriental Pacific Development Pte. Ltd.)	$197,777,000.00	$691.93
2	TID Residential Pte. Ltd.	$190,089,000.00	$665.03
3	ABR Holdings Limited, RP Ventures Pte. Ltd., Macly Capital Pte. Ltd., LWH Holdings Pte. Ltd.	$168,168,168.00	$588.34
4	Sim Lian Land Pte Ltd & Sim Lian Development Pte Ltd	$109,000,000.00	$381.34

Source: HDB, Mogul.sg Research

The four developers who participated in the EC land tender that closed today also submitted bids in the two EC land tenders that closed last month. However, none of them won the August GLS tenders, which would explain why they participated in the GLS tender today in the hope to replenish their land bank.

The highest bid of $197.78 million for the subject site, which translates to a land rate of $691.93 psf ppr (per square foot per plot ratio) was submitted by a company owned by JBE Holdings. It is a respectable 4.0% higher than the second highest bid from TID Residential Pte Ltd.

However, the land rate of $691.93 psf ppr is the lowest land rate for a top bid in the EC land tender since the tender for the Bukit Batok site that closed in September 2022, which was developed into the Lumina Grand EC project. The Lumina Grand EC site was sold for $626 psf ppr. Since September 2022, the EC land price has stayed above $700 psf ppr, until today.

The lowest bid in today’s tender from the Sim Lian group at $109 million or $381.34 psf ppr is a throw back to the EC land rate of 2016 and has practically no chance of acquiring this site at that price even if the bid is the only one in this tender.

Why the low bid

A possible reason contributing to the low land rates submitted is the low plot ratio of the subject site at 1.4 times. The plot ratio of the subject site is the lowest among all the EC sites sold by the government since the start of the EC programme in 1996. The plot ratios of the other EC sites range from 2.1 to 3.5 times.

The typical building height of a site with a plot ratio of 1.4 is about 5 to 6 storeys, which is low when compared to newer condominium and HDB blocks. Most of the newer suburban condominiums are more than 10 storeys tall. At recent condominium launches, homebuyers has shown a preference for housing units on higher floors, especially the units above the fifth storey.

The developers may be concerned that the EC project on the subject site may come up short (pun intended) compared to other residential launches, resulting in the low bids submitted.

Future EC development on the subject site

With a plot ratio of 1.4 times, the subject site at Sembawang could yield about 265 EC units in buildings ranging from 5 to perhaps as tall as 8 storeys, with the appropriate design and authorities’ approvals.

Source: URA, Mogul.sg Research

The developer could launch this EC project in the first half of 2027 after the 2026 year-end school vacation. Based on the land price and estimated development costs, this EC project could be launched at prices ranging from $1,650 psf to $1,720 psf. However, the final launch prices of this EC development will depend on the market condition at the time of the launch.

Potential competitor

Last month, the government sold two EC sites to City Developments Ltd. One of the EC sites is located at Woodlands Drive 17, about 7.2 km from the Sembawang EC site by road. The Woodlands site could yield an estimated 420 EC units.

City Developments Ltd acquired the EC site at Woodlands Drive 17 at $782.41 psf ppr, about 13% higher than the $692 psf ppr submitted by JBE Holdings for the subject site. Hence, City Developments’ Woodlands EC should not be a major competitor as JBE Holdings’ Sembawang EC project could have a comfortable price advantage over the former, provided that the government decides to sell the subject site to JBE Holdings.