A joint venture consisting of Hong Leong Holdings’ Intrepid Investments, Hong Realty, and GuocoLand was awarded the government land sale (GLS) site on Margaret Drive, with a top bid of $497 million or $1,154 psf per plot ratio (ppr). The 102,498 sq ft, 99-year leasehold site could be developed into a 460-unit private condo.

Located in Queenstown, the Margaret Drive residential site was launched for sale in May under the Confirmed List of the 1H2024 GLS programme. It is within walking distance of the Queenstown MRT station on the East-West Line and next door to Queenstown Primary School.

The site is also adjacent to SkyOasis @ Dawson, where a premium five-room flat of 1,195 sq ft was sold in June at the record-breaking price of $1.73 million ($1,444 psf).

Mr Mohan Sandrasegeran, head of research and data analytics at SRI, says that the Margaret Drive GLS site may benefit from the new amenities at the future Tanglin Halt HDB estate when it is redeveloped. It is expected to have a new hawker centre, market and polyclinic under one roof, on top of 5,500 new homes.

Ms Tricia Song, CBRE’s head of research for South-east Asia, believes that the project will be supported by HDB upgraders in the vicinity. This is given the median price of four-room flats in Queenstown hitting $897,500 in the first quarter of 2024, and reports of a record sale of a five-room flat in Margaret Drive at $1.73 million.

Ms Chia Siew Chuin, JLL’s head of residential research for Singapore, noted that the high resale HDB prices in Queenstown suggest a higher affordability threshold and more robust upgrading demand.

Congratulations to the consortium!