Keppel Land

Keppel Land: has set a record with the highest-ever psf bid in a tender for a private residential site in Kim Tian Road, signalling developers are still bullish in their market outlook. The tender attracted 11 bids by the close yday, with Keppel Land submitting the top bid of $550.3 m, which translates to $1,162.86 psf ppr. The top three bids were all above $1,000 psf ppr. The site, near Tiong Bahru MRT, sits on ~ 118.3k sf of land and has a max gfa of ~473.2 sf. Keppel Land indicated it would develop about 500 homes ranging from 500 - 1,350 sf in one- to four-bedroom configurations. Market watchers estimate breakeven at between $1,500 – 1,800, and ASP at c.$1,900 psf. This compares with the $1,800 psf pricing at Echelon, located 1 MRT stop further from the city centre. Still analysts believe there could be pent up demand in the area due to lack of new supply. Further Keppel Land has the option to share the project risks with Vanke, given its recently announced strategic tie-up. Deutsche keeps its Buy call on Keppel Land, givent he counter’s attractive 27% discount to RNAV of $5.51. Credit Suisse prefers developers CMA & GLP, with more overseas exposure due to lacklustre Singapore residential outlook and policy overhang risks.