SINGAPORE - About 400 more private homes could be built in Faber Walk in Clementi as a 99-year leasehold site in the area has been launched for sale.

The nearly 2.6ha site – around the size of four football fields – is the first Government Land Sales (GLS) site in Faber Walk since the award in February 2018 of a West Coast Vale site, where Whistler Grand condominium now sits.

The new private homes are among 5,050 residential units to be put up for sale under the confirmed list of the GLS programme for the second half of 2024 to meet housing demand and maintain market stability, the Urban Redevelopment Authority said on Sept 12.

Confirmed list sites are launched according to schedule regardless of demand, while sites on the reserve list are put up for tender only when a developer makes an offer acceptable to the Government.

In June, 10 new sites for residential housing were put on the confirmed list of the GLS programme for the second half of 2024, including sites in Bayshore, Chuan Grove and Lentor Gardens.

A mixed-use site in the upcoming Chencharu precinct in Yishun was also on the confirmed list.

The project at the Faber Walk site has a maximum gross floor area of more than 3.6ha and can go up to five storeys.

It is located along Sungei Pandan and has direct access to the Ulu Pandan Park Connector and the upcoming Old Jurong Line Nature Trail, which will open progressively from the end of 2026.

Mr Mark Yip, chief executive of property firm Huttons Asia, said the location offers “unblocked views” of Sungei Pandan and is near Clementi MRT station and the Ayer Rajah Expressway.

As the Faber Walk site is the last parcel of land in the area’s private residential enclave, considerable demand may have built up over the past decade or so, he noted.

Mr Yip said the site may attract up to three bidders and a top bid of between $800 and $850 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr).

But Mr Marcus Chu, chief executive of real estate agency ERA Singapore, said only some units in the project at the Faber Walk site are expected to fall within 1km of Nan Hua Primary School, depending on the developer’s planned development layout.

“If so, those units could be popular among families with young children who want to secure a placement in Nan Hua Primary School,” he added.

Pointing out that the site’s location may not be as attractive as that of other sites such as Bayshore in Bedok, Chuan Grove in Lorong Chuan and Chencharu in Yishun, Mr Chu said developers may be cautious in bidding for the site as property cooling measures have dampened demand.

Existing and upcoming projects in more appealing sites could also dilute sales, he added.

“Given that GLS sites since June 2024 have been seeing low competition (with) two to three bidders, we expect to see a muted number of bidders from developers for the Faber Walk site,” he said.

He estimates that the site will command a bid price of between $370 million and $420 million, or a land rate of above $950 psf ppr.

The tender for the Faber Walk site will close at noon on Nov 19.

In 2018, the West Coast Vale site, which now houses the 716-unit Whistler Grand condominium, attracted six bids and was awarded to City Developments (CDL) at $472.4 million, or a land rate of $800 psf ppr.

CDL’s top bid was 35 per cent higher than the $592 psf ppr paid in 2017 for a 1.64ha site in West Coast Vale that now houses Twin VEW condo.

The condominium was launched at an average selling price of $1,380 psf in November 2018.

Correction note: The map at the end of the story has been updated to reflect the correct name of Clementi Primary School.