Kenny's Take
The auction to watch this month isn't a developer launch — it's SRI's 23 September sale of ten units seized from the S$3 billion money-laundering case, six at Martin Modern and four at Wallich Residence, priced from $2,874 psf and $3,347 psf respectively. However these units came onto the market, ten units clearing (or not) in two CBD trophy towers on the same day is a real-time signal of where genuine buyer demand sits at these psf levels, and it's worth watching before anyone benchmarks a River Valley or Tanjong Pagar resale against a listing price alone. Separately, High Point's owners are back for a sixth en bloc attempt at $580 million — their closest call, a $556.7 million winning bid in December 2021, was withdrawn after a fresh cooling-measures package landed before the deal could close, a reminder that a collective sale's biggest risk often isn't the price, it's timing against policy nobody in the collective controls. And the record $1,537 psf ppr bid for the Upper Changi Road GLS site is up 57% from a comparable OCR parcel a year ago — land cost increases like this don't hit resale prices today, but they're a fair signal of where new OCR launch pricing is headed over the next 12 to 18 months.
🏙️ Ten Seized CBD Condo Units Go to Auction on 23 September
- SRI is the exclusive marketing agent for the first tranche of the S$3 billion money-laundering case's 80-plus seized properties, comprising six units at Martin Modern (764–1,733 sq ft, from $2,874 psf) and four units at Wallich Residence (1,313–1,991 sq ft, from $3,347 psf), with guide prices spanning $2.238 million to $6.78 million.
- The auction takes place at SRI's Great World City office on 23 September — a separate Knight Frank auction of other properties from the same case runs four days earlier at Ocean Financial Centre.
- Ten units releasing simultaneously across two CBD trophy towers is a rare volume event: how many clear at guide price versus get withdrawn for private treaty is a genuine, near-term read on demand at these psf levels for River Valley and Tanjong Pagar, ahead of any organic resale listings buyers may be weighing in the same buildings this quarter.
🏗️ High Point Tries a Sixth Time for a $580M Collective Sale
- The freehold 59-unit District 9 site at 30 Mount Elizabeth has relaunched for collective sale at $580 million, working out to roughly $2,645 psf ppr including a 7% bonus GFA allowance — its sixth attempt since first trying to go en bloc in 2019.
- The closest it came was a $556.7 million winning bid in December 2021, which Shun Tak Holdings withdrew — forfeiting a $1 million tender deposit — after the government's cooling-measures package raised ABSD and tightened TDSR shortly before the deal could complete.
- It's a concrete example for anyone in a unit currently pursuing an en bloc sale: the winning tender price isn't the only variable that decides the outcome — policy timing outside the collective's control has already killed one near-miss at this address.
📐 GLS Land Costs Keep Climbing in the OCR
- The record S$1,537 psf ppr bid for the Upper Changi Road GLS site is up 57% from a comparable suburban parcel a year ago, which went for S$980 psf ppr in September 2025.
- Higher land cost is a leading indicator rather than an immediate one for clients timing an OCR upgrade purchase — it typically shows up in new launch pricing over the following 12 to 18 months, not in today's resale comparables, so it's a planning signal rather than a reason to rush a decision now.
🔭 What I'm watching
- Whether the 23 September SRI auction sees all ten Martin Modern and Wallich Residence units clear at guide, or whether several get pulled — that outcome is a cleaner demand signal than any single resale transaction this quarter.
- Whether High Point's owners can get further this time with no active cooling-measures headwind currently in play, four years after their closest attempt collapsed.