A small residential site at Geylang East Avenue 1 fetched an unexpectedly high top bid of $145.9 million out of a whopping 16 offers lodged.

The top bid for the 99-year leasehold plot was put in by SL (Serangoon) which is a unit of property developer Sustained Land.

That price for the sq ft site works out to about $776 per square foot (psf) per plot ratio, which was way above market expectations of up to $650 psf.

The land parcel was put on the Government Land Sales reserve list in May last year and was triggered for sale in December, after an unnamed developer promised to bid at least $95 million for the 67,146 sq ft land parcel.

Mr Douglas Ong, director of Sustained Land, told The Straits Times that he was keen on the site because of its good location near the Aljunied MRT station.

Despite the weak outlook in the property market, he said: "Provided the Government doesn't have any more cooling measures, if it's a good site it should be okay."