Two new Government Land Sale sites have just hit the market, and together they could reshape the residential pipeline for the rest of the year — a boutique waterfront plot on Berlayar Drive near the Greater Southern Waterfront, and a chunky 1,010-unit site on New Upper Changi Road that’s likely to test developers’ appetite for large-quantum bets.
The Berlayar Drive plot spans roughly 25,263 square metres with a maximum GFA of about 35,369 square metres, translating to an estimated 415 private units. Its location near HarbourFront MRT, VivoCity, and Mapletree Business City makes it genuinely attractive to expatriate renters and owner-occupiers alike. Analysts are pencilling in top bids around S$1,400–1,500 psf ppr, above the S$1,326 psf ppr that a nearby Keppel-area plot fetched earlier. That’s meaningful price discovery for a precinct still finding its post-Keppel-Club identity.
The New Upper Changi Road site is a different beast entirely. At roughly 31,600 square metres and a potential yield of 1,010 to 1,040 units, this is a serious commitment. It sits six minutes’ walk from Bedok MRT and Bedok Mall, surrounded by schools and mature estate amenities — exactly the kind of address that resonates with HDB upgraders and young families looking to plant roots somewhere familiar. Market watchers expect around four bidders, likely in consortium form, with land bids hovering between S$1,250 and S$1,350 psf ppr. The total land cost for the site is expected to approach or exceed S$1 billion, underscoring the scale of commitment required from any winning developer. Notably, a previous GLS launch in Bedok drew nine bids back in 2010, suggesting the corridor carries deep-rooted demand that developers have historically been willing to compete hard for.
Here’s the contrarian read: the Upper Changi site’s sheer size could actually be its hidden advantage, not its liability. Fewer competing bids historically produce sharper land pricing, which sometimes flows through to more competitive launch prices — giving buyers in an underserved Bedok corridor a genuine opportunity.
For investors, Berlayar Drive’s waterfront narrative and proximity to the CBD keeps rental demand steady. For owner-occupiers, the Upper Changi site offers something rarer — a large-scale, amenity-rich neighbourhood in a district that hasn’t seen a major GLS launch in years. This appetite for new residential supply mirrors URA’s broader strategy of unlocking land across diverse precincts, with recent tenders in areas like Tanjong Rhu and Dover Road marking first major releases in nearly three decades for those corridors.
Watch the bid spreads closely when tenders close. The gap between the top and second bids will tell us everything about how much developers really believe in each location.
