A RESIDENTIAL site in Tampines that could yield 490 units was put up for sale by the Government yesterday.
The 99-year leasehold plot in Tampines Avenue 10, also known as Parcel D, is part of the confirmed list of the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme for the first half of the year.
Confirmed list sites go on sale regardless of interest, while reserve list sites go to tender if a developer makes an initial acceptable offer.
Analysts said developers will be cautious with their bids given the moribund state of the private residential market.
They expect three to six offers for the 15,660 sq m site, ranging from $203 million to $245 million - or $430 per sq ft (psf) per plot ratio (ppr) to $520 psf ppr.
This would place the site below the $562 psf ppr paid by MCC Land in July 2013 for a nearby plot where The Santorini condominium is being built.
This would mean the selling prices for the new project could be about $1,000 psf.
Its proximity to the United World College of South-east Asia in Tampines Street 73 could be a draw for buyers, said Mr Nicholas Mak, executive director of SLP International.
However, investors might not be attracted to the new project because of the larger number of new condominium units in the vicinity, he pointed out, such as Frasers Centrepoint's 630-unit Q Bay Residences and the 597 units coming up at The Santorini.
A neighbouring site, known as Parcel C, on the reserve list could yield 675 more units if triggered for sale.
Mr Ong Kah Seng, director of R'ST Research, reckoned that HDB upgraders from the vicinity would form the majority of buyers.
But he warned: "Even those buying for their own stay will also be cautious in the light of prolonged cooling market sentiment, rising interest rates."
Investors would also be mindful that resale competition in the future could be "intense" given the sizeable number of homes coming up in the area, Mr Ong added.
Units at Q Bay Residences have been sold at an average price of $935 psf, while those at The Santorini recorded an average price of $1,123 psf.
At Waterview, also along Tampines Avenue 10, units were sold at an average of $1,011 psf.
The tender for Parcel D closes on April 28.