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THE 12 plots for bungalow development on Sentosa Cove's Southern Residential Precinct, or South Cove, going under the hammer on Aug 25 are expected to surpass the top prices fetched by similar-facing parcels sold in North Cove over the past year.

Choice precinct: Artist's impressions of a South Cove waterway bungalow (above) and seafront bungalow

The South Cove plots are expected to be about 20-25 per cent higher than North Cove's. Based on these estimates, the prices for the new bungalow parcels at the coming auction could top $6 million per plot.

The 99-year leasehold plots have land areas ranging from 6,927-11,123 square feet.

Market watchers are expecting their prices to range from $550 to $650 per square foot (psf) of land area.

'The fury of competitive bidding may drive prices even higher, especially for the seafronting plots,' suggests a property consultant.

This is especially so given the waiting list of over 500 interested buyers since 2004 keen on bungalow lots in Sentosa Cove's Southern Precinct, which is generally regarded as choicer than the earlier Northern Precinct.

Sentosa Cove Pte Ltd (SCPL), the master developer of the upscale waterfront housing district, has appointed Christie's Great Estates and Colliers International to conduct the auction at 3pm on Aug 25 at Sentosa Cove's Sales & Information Centre.

The auction parcels comprise two waterway bungalow plots, one site facing the fairways of Tanjong Golf Course and nine seafronting parcels. Berths can be built only for the waterway bungalows.

The seafronting plots - which face the Southern Islands - are generally considered the choicest plots. SCPL, Christie's and Colliers declined to comment on pricing expectations for the coming auction, but some market watchers forecast the seafronting plots may fetch $600-$650 psf, compared with the highest of $500 psf for a seafront bungalow plot earlier this year at North Cove.

The sole fairway-facing plot at the auction is expected to sell for more than $600 psf, while the two waterway fronting plots could go for $550-$600 psf, suggest observers, again higher than the $455 psf top price for a waterway plot in North Cove this year.

'The auction will help to benchmark prices at South Cove,' said SCPL general manager Margaret Goh.

In addition, the auction will help SCPL clear some of its backlog of demand for South Cove. 'But more than that, it will help us unlock the value of South Cove by staging an event that will put Sentosa Cove on the global platform through Christie's Great Estates, which markets only the choicest properties around the world,' Ms Goh added.

Christie's and Colliers will market the properties for two months. It will be Christie's Great Estates' first auction in Singapore.

Bidders must pre-register with Colliers.

As with earlier landed property sales on Sentosa Cove, foreigners, including permanent residents, will be given fast-track approval within 48 hours from the Land Dealings (Approval) Unit of the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) to buy landed property. This clearance has to be given before the auction.

The auction will be conducted by Colliers' veteran auctioneer Grace Ng and Graeme Hennessy, an award-winning auctioneer appointed by Christie's Great Estates affiliate Ken Jacobs. Both Mr Hennessy and Mr Jacobs are Australians, and Mr Hennessy has auctioned land parcels at Sanctuary Cove on Australia's Gold Coast.

SCPL will have access to Christie's Great Estates' international network to market the property.

Colliers's Ms Ng expects 'overwhelming response from both local and foreign buyers for this prestigious launch'. Mr Jacobs says Singapore's commercial hub status in the Asia-Pacific will boost Sentosa Cove's appeal to international investors.