Lakeside Towers tries again at $350M. The maths has moved

The last old condo on the Jurong Lake Gardens waterfront is up for sale again. Lakeside Towers relaunched its collective sale tender on 5 August at a $350 million reserve, the same number that found no buyer across two tenders in 2023. This time both the estate and the district around it look different.

The 144-unit development at 9G and 9H Yuan Ching Road sits on a 153,237 sq ft site with about 190 metres fronting Jurong Lake Gardens. JLL is again the sole marketing agent, and the tender closes on 1 October. More than 80% of owners have signed the collective sale agreement, according to Nicholas Ng, JLL Singapore’s head of land and collective sales.

The reserve price works out to a land rate of about $1,277 psf per plot ratio, after factoring in an estimated lease top-up premium, based on the site’s as-built plot ratio of 2.36. Ng estimates a new project on the site could hold about 395 homes at an average size of 85 sq m.

The reserve implies a higher land rate than either neighbour fetched in 2022, and 13% above what CDL paid at a state tender nearby last year. Sources: JLL; URA GLS results; developer announcements. Chart: HomeAsset.

Third attempt, same number, less lease

Lakeside Towers first tried a collective sale in 2018 at $305 million and found no taker. It came back in February 2023 at $350 million, then relaunched that June at the same price. Both tenders closed without a sale, in a year when interest rates and construction costs were working against every en bloc deal.

The wrinkle in holding the reserve at $350 million is that the property is three years older. Built in 1981 on a 99-year lease that started in 1975, the two 20-storey towers now carry about 48 years of lease. Every year that passes, a buyer pays more in lease top-up premium to reset the site to a fresh 99 years, and owners’ resale values drift lower. Maureen Tan, who chairs the collective sale committee, says nearly all the owners are retirees who want to unlock the value of their flats, downsize to an HDB flat and keep the difference for retirement.

Two recent policy moves lean the same way. The removal of the 15-month wait-out period makes the sell-then-buy-HDB route far more practical for owners aged under 55, and Tan says it was a popular topic among residents. And while Parliament is now studying a Bill that would lower en bloc consent thresholds to 70% for developments aged 40 to 59, Lakeside Towers will not need it: Ng points out the estate crossed the existing 80% bar before the amendments were tabled.

The district has filled in around it

Lakeside Towers is the last of three ageing condos in its stretch of Yuan Ching Road. The former Lakeside Apartments next door went to Wing Tai for $273.88 million in May 2022 and is now LakeGarden Residences, 99% sold at an average of $2,160 psf. The former Park View Mansions, sold for $260 million in July 2022, became Sora, 51% sold at $2,237 psf. Across the district at the old JCube site, J’Den has moved 97% of its units at $2,475 psf.

What buyers have paid at the three newest projects around the lake, based on caveats lodged. Source: developer sales data and caveats, cited by JLL. Chart: HomeAsset.

The next benchmark arrives within months. CDL plans to launch the 570-unit Lucerne Grand beside Lakeside MRT station this quarter, on a state site it won in June 2025 at $1,132 psf per plot ratio. Analysts at the time expected average selling prices around $2,400 psf. If Lucerne Grand sells well at that level, a developer underwriting Lakeside Towers at $1,277 psf ppr has a recent, local answer to the question every land banker asks: what will the flats sell for?

There is also more district to come. The Land Transport Authority confirmed on 31 July that Cross Island Line Phase 3 will run four new stations westward from the future Jurong Lake District interchange, and URA’s 3.72-ha Town Hall Link mixed-use tender closes in November. The Jurong Lake District remains Singapore’s designated second CBD, with the new Science Centre targeted for completion by end-2027.

The counterweight is simple: no one has yet paid $350 million for this site. Two tenders at this price closed without a deal in 2023. The quantum is large, the lease top-up is real, and Sora’s measured sales pace shows lakefront appeal alone does not clear inventory at any price.

What this means for you

• If you own an older west-side condo with en bloc ambitions, watch this tender closely. A sale at or near $350 million would be the strongest pricing signal for ageing leasehold estates since the ABSD timeline extension for large sites, while a third failure would say the gap between owners’ expectations and developers’ sums is still wide.
• If you are eyeing a new launch in Jurong, the sequence matters. Lucerne Grand’s pricing this quarter sets the reference point, and a successful Lakeside Towers sale would add roughly 395 more lakefront homes years down the road, which caps how scarce the view premium really is.
• Owners at Sora, LakeGarden Residences and nearby resale condos have a stake in the outcome too. A strong result would mark the land under lake-facing projects at a new high, which supports existing values.