Geylang East's location near city
Geylang's east side may not have the night-time buzz of the central Geylang Road stretch, but it is fast establishing itself as a mature residential estate. Consultants say the area stands to benefit from its city-fringe location and the development plans for the area.
The precinct is dominated by shophouses, small apartment developments and many boutique hotels.
State land parcels are being released for development in the vicinity, consultants noted.
A 99-year leasehold residential plot in Geylang East Avenue 1 on the Government Land Sales reserve list was triggered for sale earlier this month after an unnamed developer said it would bid at least $95 million for the 67,146 sq ft land parcel. That price works out to about $505 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr). The tender closes in January.
This site is near Aljunied MRT station and could add about 215 new private homes to the area. Reserve list sites go on sale once a developer lodges a minimum acceptable bid, while confirmed list sites go on the market immediately. A commercial plot in Sims Avenue will be added to the reserve list in the first half of next year, the Government said earlier this week.
This land could be developed into about 935,814 sq ft of commercial space in gross floor area. Several small residential projects have been launched recently in Geylang's east, including Grandview Suites in Lorong 22 and The Centren in Lorong 27. Both went on sale in October and are freehold.
At the 52-unit Grandview Suites, 41 units were sold by the end of last month, according to Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) data. The median price last month was $1,184 psf.
But sales have been lacklustre at the The Centren, which has seen only four units out of a total 34 sold as at Nov 30, URA figures show. The median price last month was $1,419 psf.
Other new launches this year include the 80-unit #1 Loft.
It was launched in January and was 95 per cent sold as at last month at an average price of about $1,300 psf. URA data for the project in Lorong 24 shows that only three units have been sold. Another project in Lorong 24, the 56-unit The Octet, launched in April and saw 45 per cent of the homes sold as at November. The average price was also about $1,300 psf.
Source: The Straits Times –21 December 2013