An artist impression of Lentor Modern, an integrated mixed-use development in the Lentor Hills … [+]
GuocoLand—controlled by Malaysian billionaire Quek Leng Chan—has sold 84% of its suburban residential condominium project in the northern part of Singapore during its weekend launch, adding to signs the Lion City is defying a global property downturn.
The Singapore-listed company said it had already sold 508 units of the 605-unit Lentor Modern, a mixed-use development in the Lentor Hills estate, about 16 kilometers north of the Raffles Place central business district. One-bedroom apartments of about 527 square feet (49 square meters) were sold for S$1.07 million ($760,000), while the four-bedroom units measuring as much as 1,528 square feet went for S$3.33 million. Prices range from S$1,856 to $2,538 per square foot.
“Lentor Modern demonstrated once again our acumen to spot new locations with great potential, and our ability to introduce innovative and exceptional developments to anchor a new district identity,” Cheng Hsing Yao, CEO of GuocoLand, said in a statement on Sunday.
Expected to be completed in 2026, Lentor Modern residents will have direct access to the Lentor MRT station. The development is also integrated into a shopping mall, which will offer a range of retail and F&B outlets as well as a supermarket and childcare center.
Guocoland bought the Lentor Modern site for S$784 million in July last year in a hotly contested state land auction that attracted bids from 10 real estate companies. Developers have been aggressively bidding at government auctions as well as offering to buy existing condominiums for redevelopment to replenish their landbank amid robust housing demand in the city-state.
Increased demand for its residential and commercial properties have bolstered GuocoLand’s earnings, with its net profit surging 132% to S$392.7 million in the year ended June 30. Among its projects, the Wallich Residence at the top of the Guoco Tower, the tallest skyscraper in Singapore, is about 85% sold. The 558-unit Midtown Modern—which is part of the mixed-use development in the Bugis district on the edge of the Raffle Place CBD—is 75% sold, while the 219-unit Midtown Bay is 38% sold.
Guocoland is controlled by Quek—Malaysia’s second-richest man with a net worth of $9.8 billion—through Hong Kong-based Guoco Group. Quek inherited his fortune from his father, one of three brothers who started a banking group in the 1920s. His cousin, Kwek Leng Beng, also a billionaire, is the executive chairman of Singapore-based property giant City Developments.