A CONDOMINIUM plot in Upper Thomson Road has attracted a much higher-than-expected bid from a mystery developer, even though the number of bids was well below recent levels.

FEWER BIDS 'The relatively smaller number of bids suggests developers are cautious, in anticipation of the announcement of the government land sales programme.' Knight Frank chairman Tan Tiong Cheng ... more MEASURES WORKING 'This tender would be one of the first few cases that suggest the recent government measures have had some bearing on market behaviour and that there is some cautiousness in the market.' Jones Lang LaSalle's head of research, South-east Asia, Dr Chua Yang Liang ... more

Treasure Well Investments, whose parent company is Total Wonder Holdings - both unknown names here - put in a bid of $251.34 million, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said.

That far exceeds the $82 million trigger bid or $174 per sq ft set by URA for the 2.1ha 99-year leasehold site. It works out to $533 psf of gross floor area, a price that consultants said was aggressive.

The site can be developed into a condo of up to 20 storeys with about 400 units.

This highest bid was also 21 per cent above the second-highest bid of $206.8 million or $439 psf of gross floor area from Far East's Tuas Hi-Tech Park.

The other bidders were Sim Lian Land, Frasers Centrepoint, Chip Eng Seng's CEL Development and GuocoLand's First Changi Development.

Read the full story in Friday's edition of The Straits Times

joyceteo@sph.com.sg