Kenny's Take
New Upper Changi Road didn't just clear yesterday's $1,350-$1,450 psf ppr forecast — the winning bid at $1,537 psf ppr broke the outright OCR land-price record, surpassing Bayshore Drive's $1,388 psf ppr benchmark from 2025. Land costs this far above forecast tend to show up in launch PSF within two to three quarters, so Bedok and East Coast upgraders comparing today's resale ceilings against a future launch on this site should expect an entry price meaningfully above what nearby Bedok Rise Residences launched at. Meanwhile three very different developments — freehold Serra Residences in Novena, CDL's Lucerne Grand by Lakeside MRT, and Amberwood at Holland's low-rise debut in a brand-new precinct — all open for preview within weeks of each other, spanning $2,200 to $3,000 psf across CCR, RCR and a new address entirely. That's genuine side-by-side choice across price tiers for the first time in a while, and clients weighing an upgrade should be mapped against a specific project now rather than waiting around for a single 'best' launch to emerge. HDB resale, by contrast, is going nowhere fast: median PSF nudged up just 1.0% in August to $601, a holding pattern rather than a reversal after Q2's RPI dip.
🏗️ New Upper Changi Road GLS Awarded Record $1,537 psf ppr — New OCR Benchmark
- A consortium of UOL Group, CapitaLand Development and Singapore Land Group submitted the top bid of $1.43 billion for the New Upper Changi Road GLS site — a 99-year leasehold parcel of 331,198 sq ft near the upcoming Bedok South MRT (TE30) that can yield an estimated 1,010 residential units.
- At $1,537 psf ppr, the bid clears the $1,350-$1,450 psf ppr range analysts had forecast and sets a new record for a pure residential GLS site in the Outside Central Region, surpassing the previous OCR benchmark of $1,388 psf ppr set by Bayshore Drive when it was awarded in 2025 (now under development as Vela Bay).
- Four bids were received when the tender closed on 1 September — a healthy field that, combined with the record price, signals developer appetite for the Bedok corridor is still building even after a summer of resale records in the same neighbourhood.
🏠 September Launch Calendar Fills Out: Serra Residences, Lucerne Grand, Amberwood at Holland
- Far East Organization's Serra Residences, a freehold 133-unit project in Novena (formerly known as Pastoral View), opens for preview on 19 September with indicative pricing of $2,800-$3,000 psf — a premium tier reflecting both its freehold tenure and Core Central Region address.
- CDL's Lucerne Grand beside Lakeside MRT in Jurong Lake District offers roughly 575 units with an integrated retail podium, indicated at $2,200-$2,400 psf, while Amberwood at Holland — the first private residential project in the emerging Holland Plain precinct — comprises just 212 low-rise units across 3- to 5-bedroom layouts starting from $2,981 psf.
- Three launches opening within weeks of each other, spanning nearly $800 psf and three distinct districts, gives buyers a genuinely wider spread of price points to choose from than most months this year have offered.
📊 HDB Resale Holds Steady — Median PSF at $601 in August
- HDB resale's median price per square foot ticked up to roughly $601 in August 2026, up about 1.0% month-on-month on a median resale price of $635,000 — a modest gain rather than a clear trend reversal.
- The move follows the second-quarter Resale Price Index's 0.3% quarter-on-quarter dip, and the next real read on direction won't arrive until the Q3 flash RPI, due in late October.
🏦 Financing & Rates
- No new SORA print since 24 August's sixth straight weekly rise — rates continuing to hold flat at 1-month 1.197%, 3-month 1.137%, 6-month 1.111%. Maybank remains the best-in-market package at 3-month SORA +0.20% (1.34% all-in).
🔭 What I'm watching
- Whether New Upper Changi Road's record land price flows through into launch PSF when the site eventually comes to market — that's the real test of whether developers can defend a $1,537 psf ppr land cost at the checkout counter.
- Take-up rates across Serra Residences, Lucerne Grand and Amberwood at Holland once previews open — three launches at three very different price points in the same month is a useful live comparison of where genuine buyer demand sits right now.