SINGAPORE – A state land site for a 390-unit residential project in the prime Marina South area fetched just one bid at tender close on Oct 15, from EL Development at $450.1 million or $1,242.96 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr).
The muted response was poles apart from that of another Marina Gardens Lane site, where the 937-unit One Marina Gardens now sits. It drew four bids and a top offer of $1,402 psf ppr from Kingsford Group in July 2023.
Just across the road is a Marina Gardens Crescent white site that closed in April 2024 with a single bid of $984 psf ppr from a consortium comprising GuocoLand, Hong Leong and Mitsui Fudosan. This was rejected by authorities for being “too low”, and the site was placed on the reserve list.
Market watchers polled ahead of the tender closing had anticipated up to six bidders. Expectations for the top offer ranged between $1,350 and $1,500 psf ppr for the prime District 1 site.
Besides its attractive location in the Central Business District and strong accessibility, analysts pointed to the Marina Gardens Lane plot’s “palatable” size as the smallest of three parcels released for sale in the area so far.
The site spans 6,007.4 square metres (sq m) with a maximum gross floor area of 33,642 sq m. It is also zoned for residential use with commercial space on the first storey, and includes around 150 sq m of retail space.
The project could therefore be “relatively manageable” for developers with “less sell-down risk”.
Nonetheless, analysts noted that demand for homes in the area has been historically driven by foreign buyers and investors, who continue to be deterred by hefty additional buyer’s stamp duty.
Comparable Marina Bay projects have also recorded weak resale performance with some units selling at a loss, one consultant pointed out.
Marina One Residences, for instance, recorded 30 unprofitable transactions in the whole of 2025. In Q2 2026, a 2,379 square foot unit at Marina Bay Residences was among the top loss-making deals, changing hands at a 19 per cent or $1.4 million loss.
At the same time, there is ample supply of vacant land in the area, with over 10,000 new homes planned for the new 45-hectare Marina South neighbourhood. THE BUSINESS TIMES
