Canberra Drive EC site draws 13 bids; top bid from Santarli-led joint venture sets record

SINGAPORE – A consortium led by Santarli Realty, Heeton Holdings and Kay Lim has set a fresh benchmark for executive condominium (EC) land prices, with its bid for a small Canberra Drive site beating out 12 other bidders in a state tender that closed on Oct 1.

At $163.9 million, the bid translates to $825 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr), surpassing the $630 to $750 psf ppr forecast by analysts.

The bid is about 3.9 per cent above the previous high of $794 psf ppr set by Sim Lian’s winning offer for a Woodlands EC project in January. It is also about 19.2 per cent above the $692 psf ppr that JBE-owned Oriental Pacific Development paid for the last EC site sold in Sembawang in 2025.

At Thursday’s tender closing, a consortium comprising Intrepid Investments and TID Residential came in second with its bid of $159.4 million or about $803 psf ppr – just a shade below the top bid.

A consortium comprising Apex Asia, BHCC Development and HSB Developments was the third-highest bidder with $158.6 million or $798 psf ppr.

Also bidding was CRF Land with $770 psf ppr. An entity linked to City Developments Ltd offered $735 psf ppr for the site.

The lowest bid, from Sim Lian, came in at about $361 psf ppr.

Thirteen bids were submitted in total – far exceeding the three to six expected by analysts polled. Other bidders included EL Development and JBE Capital.

Located in Sembawang, the Canberra Drive site is 11,535 sq m in size, with a gross floor area of 18,457 sq m. The 99-year leasehold site is expected to yield some 185 homes.

Ahead of the tender close, analysts had expected developers to be cautious about pricing, as demand is yet to be tested under the new EC rules.

In May, the minimum occupation period for ECs was extended to 10 years, the deferred payment scheme was removed, and the proportion of units reserved for first-time buyers in the first two years of launch was raised to 90 per cent.

The Government later raised the monthly household income ceiling for ECs from $16,000 to $18,000.

Analysts had reckoned that the higher income ceiling could broaden the buyer pool, but said the longer occupation period and earlier mortgage repayments could dampen demand. The expanded first-timer reservation could also constrain pricing. THE BUSINESS TIMES