Commentary on URA tender closing at Media Circle Parcel B

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

The first GLS site to close since tariffs were announced in early April saw no bids as developers wait and see. The URA tender closing today (29 April 2024) for the residential with commercial at 1st Storey site at Media Circle Parcel B (500 units) has received no bid. 
 
The last time a site did not receive any bids was on 19 Jun 2024 for a hybrid long-term serviced apartments (SA2) site at Upper Thomson Road (Parcel A) amid tepid demand for new private new homes and elevated interest rate cuts.
 
While homebuying appetite was strong in Q4 2024 and Q1 2025 given lower interest rates, buying sentiment has recently been dampened amid heightened economic uncertainty, with the government lowering the GDP growth in 2025 on 14 April to 0-2% from 1-3% in early January. Prior to this, developers were already displaying cautious selectiveness in view of more attractive upcoming sites under the GLS programme.
 
The one-north cluster is a non-mature estate without a significant residential catchment but is a strategic research and development (R&D) hub for the biomedical science, infocomm technology, media, and engineering sectors. Staying in such a location would appeal more to expats and young working professionals. The lack of HDB upgraders in the locality, comprehensive amenities such as schools, childcare, large retail malls, hawker centres / coffee shops make this location less attractive to local owner-occupiers. 
 
Developers were likely also discouraged by the lacklustre launch performance this month at Bloomsbury Residences; the project on the nearby Media Circle site which sold 90 units (25% of its total units) at an average price of $2,474 psf compared to an average sell-through rate of 58% for major launches since Sep 2024 when interest rate cuts first started.
 
In addition, there is still ample new supply and potential competition from the remaining unsold inventory at existing launches Blossoms by the Park (275 units) and The Hill @one north (142 units) which are located nearer to the one-north MRT station and are 93% and 46% sold respectively. An earlier unawarded SA2 site nearby has been re-introduced in the Reserve List for 1H 2025 and could be triggered for sale or brought back into Confirmed List in the future.