Commentary on URA tender closing at Holland Link

By Tricia Song (宋明蔚), Head of Research, Southeast Asia, CBRE

The tender for Holland Link surprised with 5 bids and a top bid above expectations. However, a closer look shows a wide 22% gap between the top and second bid, signaling diverse expectations for the site.  

Nonetheless, developers may have been drawn by the merits of the site which include it being within a 1 km radius to popular Methodist Girls School and a potential first mover advantage in the Holland Plain precinct which has several low-density residential plots planned around the station of King Albert Park MRT, and an interchange station in phase 2 of the Cross Island Line slated to open in 2032. In addition, the vicinity is of low-density and flanked by prestigious good class bungalow and landed neighborhoods. 

Besides the top bidder – Sim Lian - the plot which is of palatable quantum with a maximum number of 233 dwelling units also attracted small to mid-sized developers such as Wee Hur, Kingsford, SL Capital, and a consortium of ABR Holdings, Roxy Pacific and Macly.  
 
This follows the strong performance at the nearby Dunearn Road (380 units) site which received a whopping 9 bids and a top bid of $1,410 psf ppr during the closing of its tender on 26 June, the most number of bids for a private or non-EC GLS residential site since Oct 2021. 

Holland Link (230 units)

Source: URA SPACE

The Holland Link site received a healthy 5 bids, and a top bid price of $368.37 mil or $1,432 psf ppr above expectations, submitted by Sim Lian Group. This was a sharp 22% higher than the second highest bid of $1,172 psf ppr submitted by Wee Hur Development, which in turn is 10.4% higher than the third highest bid placed by Kingsford Group. The lowest bid of $920 psf ppr from Sustained Land is a whopping 56% below the top bid price, reflecting mixed sentiments for the site, which is relatively far from the MRT station and lacks surrounding amenities. 

The top bid price of $1,432 psf ppr is rather aggressive as it is 1.6% higher than the arguably better-located Dunearn Road (380 units) site which is closer to MRT and 11.4% above a Holland site at Holland Drive (680 units) located adjacent to shopping mall One Holland Village and of close proximity to surrounding amenities at Holland Village. This larger site received 3 bids and was awarded for $805.39 mil ($1,285 psf ppr) to a consortium between UOL Group, CapitaLand, Singapore Land and Kheng Leong Co. on 20 May 2024. 

Non-landed resale projects in the locale within 1km of the site are mostly freehold, including Floridian, Maplewoods, The Cascadia, The Nexus, The Sixth Avenue Residences, The Tessarina and Royal Green which traded at median prices of $2,140 psf for the oldest (completed in 1997) to $2,862 psf for Royal Green (completed in 2021). The newest and 99-year leasehold comparable will be Fourth Avenue Residences which was completed in 2022, and has seen 21 resale transactions in 2024- Jul 2025 at a median price of S$2,540psf.