The executive condominium site at Canberra Drive drew 13 bids when its tender closed on 1 October, the most for any government land sale since 2018. The top bid, from a consortium of Santarli Realty, Heeton Holdings and Kay Lim Realty, was just above $163.9 million, or $825 psf per plot ratio: a record for an EC site, above the $794 psf ppr paid for Woodlands Drive 17 in January.
The spread was unusually wide. The lowest bid was less than half the top one, a sign that developers disagree about how the year's EC rule changes will play out. The award is still to be confirmed.
The site
The 11,535 sqm plot can take about 185 homes, which makes it likely the smallest EC site the government has sold. It is under 300m from Canberra MRT on the North-South Line, with Sembawang and Wellington primary schools within 1km and Sembawang Shopping Centre and Canberra Plaza nearby. Roov's GLS tracker has it on the map with the rest of this year's sites.
First under the new EC rules
This is the first EC site sold since May's changes, and the first whose buyers get the higher income ceiling.
The income ceiling for ECs is now $18,000 a month, up from $16,000, for sites whose tenders closed on or after 24 August; it does not apply to unsold units in existing projects. We covered the new income ceilings when they were announced.
The May changes tightened the rest: a 10-year minimum occupation period, 90 per cent of units reserved for first-timers for two years (up from 70 per cent for one month), and no more Deferred Payment Scheme. On a 185-unit project, the 10 per cent left for second-timers is about 19 homes. A small site keeps that manageable for a developer, which may be why so many bid.
What $825 psf ppr means for the launch price
Roov's land-price model, the same one behind the GLS tracker, puts the developer's break-even at about $1,711 psf at this land price, using its standard build-cost and financing assumptions and the stamp duties in force. At a typical 20 per cent margin, that points to a launch price of around $2,041 psf.
For comparison, the two EC launches selling most this year have gone at medians of $1,934 psf (Rivelle Tampines) and $1,795 psf (Coastal Cabana), in Roov's records. Resale ECs nearby are far cheaper: The Visionaire at about $1,480 psf, The Brownstone at $1,503 and Parc Life at $1,379 over 2025 and 2026. A Canberra Drive EC at $2,000 psf would be priced well above what its neighbours resell for, so buyers will be paying for a new, small project next to the MRT. Our guide to how land bids become launch prices explains the arithmetic.
What it means if you are eligible
ECs remain the cheapest route to a private-style condo for those under the income ceiling, with grants still available. Our EC guide covers eligibility, the 10-year MOP and when an EC becomes fully private, and the HDB grants guide covers the CPF grants that apply. The affordability calculator shows what loan your household income supports.
Supply is coming: with Canberra Drive, the EC sites at Sembawang Road, Woodlands Drive 17 and Miltonia Close, and Wynwood Grand, about 1,800 EC homes are in the pipeline. Admiralty Walk is the next EC site up for tender. For other record land bids this year, see Sin Ming beside Bright Hill MRT.
Thinking about an EC, or selling an HDB flat to buy one? Roov's agent can walk you through eligibility, grants and timing. Get in touch.