Owners at Changi Garden have hit the jackpot with the estate selling for 27 per cent above its collective asking price.

Mainboard-listed developer Chip Eng Seng Corp beat eight other bidders to snag the condo for $248.8 million.

That means the owners of the 60 apartments will receive between $2.14 million and $2.27 million while the 12 penthouses will go for $4.03 million to $4.74 million.

Owners of the 12 shops are expected to receive between $4.7 million and $7.08 million each, said marketing agent Edmund Tie & Co.

The price works out to $888 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr) for the 200,093 sq ft site.

Based on the land rate, the estimated break-even price for a new development would be about $1,350 psf to $1,400 psf. The freehold property at the junction of Upper Changi Road North and Jalan Mariam had one big plus when it hit the market - there had not been any residential land sold within a 2.8 km radius since 2013.

Mr Terence Lian, Huttons Asia's senior district director head, investment sales, told The Straits Times yesterday: "Due to land scarcity, there is a robust demand for en bloc sites, as evident in the competitive bidding for Changi Garden."

He added: "The site will be able to meet the demand for housing for those who work in Changi Business Park and Changi Airport."

There is still a lot of demand for sites similar in size to Changi Garden that have high development potential.

Mr Alan Cheong, senior director of research and consultancy at Savills, noted: "Unless there are adverse policy changes that stymie this free market-led regeneration programme, we expect middle-aged non-landed developments to head this route, and perhaps even older landed housing estates may also band together for an en bloc sale."

Chip Eng Seng's projects here include Grandeur Park Residences, which was launched in March this year, 100 Pasir Panjang, Junction Nine and Nine Residences and The Parc condominium.

The firm, in a joint venture with Heeton Holdings and KSH Holdings, bagged a 99-year residential site in Woodleigh Lane next to Woodleigh MRT for $700.7 million, or $1,110 psf ppr, in July.

The government land sale site, which will be adjacent to the upcoming Bidadari New Town, could accommodate 735 units.

DBS Group Research, which has a buy call on the company, said: "Most of the group's residential projects are substantially sold and it has an estimated construction net order book of $538.4 million as at the end of the second quarter... In addition, the award of recent tenders at Woodleigh and Changi should boost the group's earnings and net asset value in the medium term."

Chip Eng Seng shares closed up 0.6 per cent or 0.5 cent at 90.5 cents.

Correction note: An earlier version of this story said Changi Garden was sold for $196 million. This is incorrect. We also attributed a quote wrongly to Mr Tan Chun Ming, Edmund Tie's director of investment advisory. We are sorry for the errors.