Analysts flag muted interest in Berlayar Drive tender

Consultants said developers may be growing more selective amid economic uncertainty and a wider choice of land.

Property consultants offered mixed interpretations of the tender closing for the Berlayar Drive government land sales site, which received only one bid despite achieving a higher-than-expected land rate.

Intrepid Investments and GuocoLand submitted the sole offer of $576.78m, equivalent to $1,515 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr). This was about 14% higher than the $1,326 psf ppr paid for the neighbouring Telok Blangah Road site in November 2025.

CBRE said the bid established a new benchmark land rate for a purely residential site in the Rest of Central Region. It surpassed the $1,455 psf ppr recorded for the Tanjong Rhu Road site in February 2026.

The consultancy said the limited participation could reflect competitive supply from earlier GLS sites, slower sales at recent launches and renewed geopolitical uncertainty. However, the record land rate indicated that the bidder remained confident in the area’s growth prospects.

Knight Frank Singapore described the lack of competing bids as surprising. It said the muted interest suggested that some developers were still uncertain about committing capital to a precinct that had yet to be fully developed.

Developers may instead be prioritising established residential areas with larger existing populations, it added. Still, the sole bidder’s offer pointed to a relatively positive outlook for housing demand in Berlayar and the wider Greater Southern Waterfront.

Realion, the group behind OrangeTee and ETC, also attributed the cautious bidding to global macroeconomic uncertainty. It said developers may be waiting for other attractive sites under the second-half 2026 GLS programme, including a third Berlayar plot scheduled for tender in December.

Huttons Asia said developers had more land-acquisition options following the relaxation of the additional buyer’s stamp duty timeline for large collective-sale sites. Together with the GLS pipeline, this could allow developers to be more selective about the plots they acquire.

PropNex highlighted the site’s development constraints as another possible reason for the lukewarm participation. Its gross plot ratio of 1.4 and five-storey height limit mean that it provides less saleable floor area than taller, higher-density developments.

The low-rise format could also result in higher construction costs because facilities such as lift cores, staircases, roofs and common areas may need to be replicated across several blocks, PropNex said.

Despite these constraints, consultants generally viewed the firm bid as a vote of confidence in the site’s long-term potential. They cited its waterfront setting, proximity to Telok Blangah MRT station and access to the CBD, HarbourFront and nearby employment centres as key strengths.

Analysts also expect potential demand from HDB upgraders in Bukit Merah and Queenstown, as well as buyers attracted to the project’s low-density setting and proximity to nature.

Based on the land rate, CBRE projected an average launch price of between $2,800 and $2,900 psf. PropNex expected the average price to exceed $3,000 psf, whilst Knight Frank estimated that prices could start at around $2,900 psf and average approximately $3,100 psf.