Muted bids for Faber Walk underscore developers' hesitation despite homebuyer optimism

The site attracted three bids.

The shift in sentiment among homebuyers in the private residential market has yet to influence developers, as cautious bids for the Faber Walk site reveal their restrained approach.

The site only received three bids, with the highest bid at $349.9m or S$900 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr).

According to Knight Frank, developers likely passed on the Faber Walk parcel to focus on other sites or prioritise launching and marketing their existing projects.

CBRE shared a similar sentiment, saying that the muted bids reflect developers' "ongoing cautious selectiveness, given the presence of more appealing sites in the government land sale programme."

Huttons attributed the moderate interest in the site to its location.

The site is not within walking distance of either  Jurong East or Clementi MRT Stations, or a town centre.

OrangeTee underscored that selective developers are gravitating toward sites with stronger locational attributes like being near an MRT station, when making acquisition decisions.

Beyond location, Huttons said Faber Walk's limits on residential units, combined with its low-rise and lower-density conditions, played a role in the tempered bids.

Knight Frank, however, said that the improving homebuyer sentiment could lead to heightened interest in the private and public land sales markets in 2025.

In contrast, 2024 was marked by two GLS residential (long-stay serviced apartment) sites and two white sites failing to attract sufficient bids or participants.