If you've been watching the Bukit Timah corridor and wondering whether the window for getting in at a reasonable price is closing, last week's tender result should sharpen your focus considerably. The second Dunearn Road government land sale site just cleared at S$533 million, and that number carries real implications for what you'll pay when these units eventually hit the market.
The Wing Tai and Metro consortium came out on top with a bid of S$1,625 per square foot per plot ratio, which works out to roughly S$533 million for the site. That's a 15.2% jump above what Frasers paid for the adjacent first Dunearn site just months earlier in July 2025, when the winning bid came in at S$1,410 psf ppr.
Six bids were submitted in total, and five of those six crossed the S$500 million mark. The top bid sat about 3% above the second-highest offer, which tells you the cluster was tight. Big names showed up: Wing Tai, Frasers, CDL, GuocoLand. This wasn't a site that only attracted fringe players hoping to pick up a bargain.
The site sits in District 10's Turf City precinct, which is being transformed from the old racecourse land into a residential and mixed-use neighbourhood. This second site will yield around 330 units and must include first-storey commercial space, a supermarket, childcare facilities, and reduced parking. Those are URA planning conditions baked into the GLS tender, reflecting the government's intent to build a self-contained community here, not just another condo block.
In my view, what stands out here isn't just the headline price. It's the fact that developers are still bidding this aggressively on the second site after already seeing what the first site looks like from a cost and conditions standpoint. That's conviction. When you see Wing Tai and Metro put half a billion dollars on the table knowing full well the obligations attached, they're telling you they believe Turf City will hold strong demand.
What I'm seeing on the ground is that the CCR market, the Core Central Region covering areas like Orchard, Buona Vista, Holland and Bukit Timah, has been quietly firming up after a period of softer sentiment. In 25 years I've watched this pattern before. Developers don't overpay on land unless they've done the homework and believe buyers will absorb the launch prices. With land at S$1,625 psf ppr, I'd expect these units to launch somewhere in the S$2,700 to S$2,900 psf range, possibly nudging S$3,000 psf for the better-facing stacks.
Here's the thing most people miss. The moderating bidder count from nine bids on the first site down to six on this one doesn't signal cooling interest. It signals that developers have done their sums and some weren't willing to stretch that far. The six who did show up still bid very competitively. That's a healthy, rational market, not a frothy one, and not a weak one either.
If you're an HDB upgrader looking at District 10, you need to get realistic about quantum. At S$2,800 psf on a 1,000 sq ft unit, you're looking at S$2.8 million before accounting for ABSD if you haven't sold your HDB yet. The ABSD on a second property for Singapore Citizens currently sits at 20%, which is a significant cash outlay. My practical advice: if you're serious about Turf City, start your HDB sale planning now rather than waiting for the launch brochure to drop.
For investors, I'd be cautious about rushing in purely on rental yield calculations. Land cost at this level compresses your gross yield from day one. At S$2,800 to S$3,000 psf purchase price, you'd need monthly rents that the Bukit Timah corridor doesn't always sustain consistently. The better case here is medium-term capital appreciation tied to the Turf City precinct transformation and the Sixth Avenue MRT connectivity to the CBD. Think 5 to 7 year horizon, not flip-in-two-years.
If you currently own resale property in the surrounding District 10 pocket, Dunearn, Sixth Avenue, Holland Road, this is actually useful news for you as a seller. New launches benchmarking at S$2,700 psf and above lift comparable values for existing resale stock in the neighbourhood. If you've been sitting on a unit and watching for a signal to list, a confirmed S$533 million GLS award next to you is about as clear a comparable benchmark as you'll get.
The second Dunearn Road site result confirms what I've believed about Turf City for a while now: this is a precinct with real long-term legs, backed by government masterplanning, MRT access, and sustained developer confidence. The 15% land cost jump from site one to site two in under a year is a number you can't ignore, whether you're buying, selling, or deciding to wait. If you want to talk through how this affects your specific situation, whether that's timing an upgrade, evaluating your existing CCR holdings, or figuring out whether the numbers work for an investment purchase, drop me a message on WhatsApp at +65 9750 1055 or visit keithtanboonkee.com. Happy to give you a straight answer.
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