Gilstead Court went up for collective sale on 31 August 2026 at S$198 million. It is the fourth time the owners have tried. The first three tries, going back to 2008, all failed.
The problem is not the location. It is the plot ratio.
What a plot ratio of 1.4 means
Plot ratio sets how much floor space you can build on a piece of land. Gilstead Court's is 1.4, which is low. On a site of 75,476 sq ft, a developer can build about 105,667 sq ft of floor space, or roughly 98 apartments. The site holds 48 flats today, in three four-storey blocks. JLL is the marketing agent.
Low plot ratio means few new flats. Few flats means the developer spreads the same costs across less to sell.
What the price works out to
| |
|---|
| Site area | 75,476 sq ft |
| Floor space allowed | 105,667 sq ft (113,064 with bonus balconies) |
| Asking price | S$198 million |
| Price per sq ft of floor space | S$1,874 (S$1,751 with balconies) |
| Extra charge owed to the state | None |
| Average per owner, before costs | About S$4.13 million |
Land is only the start. The developer then pays for construction, consultants, loans, marketing and a buffer for surprises. Add S$700 to S$900 per sq ft for all of that, and the developer breaks even at around S$2,450 to S$2,650 per sq ft. To make a normal 15% profit, they would need to sell at about S$2,820 to S$3,050. Freehold homes in District 11 can fetch that. But there is not much room for error.
The comparison that matters
JLL points to strong developer interest in nearby government land tenders. The closest example is Peck Hay Road, next to Newton MRT, which closed on 11 June 2026. CDL and Hong Realty won it with a bid of S$542.4 million. That works out to S$1,865 per sq ft of floor space.
Almost exactly what Gilstead Court is asking. But look at what each one buys.
| Gilstead Court | Peck Hay Road |
|---|
| Price per sq ft of floor space | S$1,874 | S$1,865 |
| Site area | 75,476 sq ft | 59,347 sq ft |
| Plot ratio | 1.4 | 4.9 |
| New homes | About 98 | About 380 |
| Tenure | Freehold | 99 years |
| Owner consent needed | 80% | None, it is state land |
Same price. About a quarter as many homes.
Freehold does help. Buyers pay more for it, so the sale prices at the end are higher. But it does not create more flats. Costs like planning approvals, the showflat, the ad campaign and the loan get spread across fewer than 100 units. If building costs rise, there is no scale to absorb it.
So the government tenders actually argue against this deal, not for it. Those sites are denser and come with clean title. No need to get 80% of owners to agree, and no committee deadline to work around. Analysts expect Peck Hay Road flats to launch at S$3,400 to S$3,900 per sq ft.
The asking price has risen a lot
The 2018 attempt is the fairest comparison. Same agent, same plot ratio.
| Asking price | Per sq ft of floor space |
|---|
| 2018 | S$168 million | S$1,590 |
| 2019 (cut) | S$153 million | S$1,448 |
| 2026 | S$198 million | S$1,874 |
Today's price is 18% above the 2018 asking price and 29% above the cut price in 2019. Property prices have risen since then, so some of that is fair. But the lower 2019 price did not sell either.
There is another echo. In 2018, JLL pointed to strong interest in a nearby government site at Kampong Java. The same argument was made then.
Why the first three failed
2008. Not enough owners signed. You need 80%. They did not get there.
2013. Tuan Sing agreed to buy for about S$150 million. Some owners took it to court. In October 2015 the Court of Appeal cancelled the sale. The agreement had clauses that fined owners who refused to sign, then shared those fines among the owners who did. The court said that was not fair dealing, and that a sale committee has to treat both sides evenly.
2018 to 2019. Launched at S$168 million, weeks after the July 2018 cooling measures. Cut to S$153 million. Closed in February 2019 with no buyer.
Only the last one was about price. But a developer looking at the site today sees all three, and prices in the risk that it falls apart again.
What owners should do
An en bloc is a possibility, not a value your flat is guaranteed to have. This site has been on the market four times in 18 years.
Plan your finances as if the sale does not happen. If you own in a development with a live tender, check the lock-in period and early repayment fees before signing a new fixed-rate home loan, because a successful sale means repaying in full straight away. On a fourth attempt, though, paying a higher interest rate just for that flexibility is probably not worth it.
However this tender ends, it will say more about building costs and small projects than about what a District 11 address is worth.
Breakeven assumes S$700 to S$900 per sq ft for construction, fees, loans, marketing and contingency, no land betterment charge, and saleable area equal to floor space including balconies.
Sarah Chen
