Dunearn Gardens, a freehold high-rise residential redevelopment site off Newton Road, has been launched for collective sale.

The owners of the 114-unit estate expect offers above their reserve price of $488.8 million, said Knight Frank Singapore, the exclusive marketing agent.

Including an additional development charge of $35.7 million payable to intensify the use of the site to the maximum permissible gross floor area (GFA), the land rate is estimated to be $1,962 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr).

With the inclusion of a 10 per cent bonus balcony GFA, the land rate will work out to $1,861 psf ppr, subject to the authorities' approval.

Mr Ian Loh, Knight Frank Singapore's executive director and head of investment and capital markets, noted a pickup in interest from home buyers in the high-end residential market.

In the third quarter alone, there were 1,374 caveats in the Core Central Region (CCR) for both new sales and resale homes - a record high over the last five years, he said. "Based on URA (Urban Redevelopment Authority) data, the projected supply for properties in the CCR is fewer than 1,000 units per year from 2018 to 2020," he added.

"With the current limited supply of new luxury residential projects, we believe demand will surpass availability. Coupled with the positive attributes of the site, the new development will likely be highly sought after by end users."

The site is regular in shape, with a frontage of 90m onto Dunearn Road. The tender for Dunearn Gardens will close on Feb 13 at 3.30pm.

Last year, about 27 collective sales brought the total value of such transactions above $8 billion, compared with $1 billion in 2016.