Nineteen land sites were launched for sale on Thursday (Dec 4) under the first half of the Government Land Sales (GLS) Programme for 2015.
The 19 sites – six Confirmed List and 13 Reserve List sites – can collectively yield up to 8,770 private residential units once developed, the lowest in five years.
These will include 1,010 executive condominium (EC) units and 265,000 square metres of gross floor area of commercial space, the Ministry of National Development (MND) said.
In October 2014, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan had said that the supply of sites under the GLS Programme will be reduced.
Confirmed List sites go on sale regardless of interest from developers, while Reserve List sites are triggered for a public tender only if a developer makes an acceptable opening offer.
The Confirmed List comprises six private residential sites, including one EC site in Choa Chu Kang. Altogether, the parcels can yield about 3,020 private homes, lower than the 3,915 units offered in previous land sales programme in the second half of 2014.
Property watchers said the reduction is expected.
Ms Chia Siew Chuin, director of research and advisory at Colliers International, said: “The Government is likely to have taken into consideration the upcoming supply and the fact that the sales market is very slow.
“All things considered, the Government would have then decided to pull back the number of supply in the private residential market.”
However, the significant drop in the number of ECs expected has taken property watchers by surprise.
Only one EC site is on the Confirmed List and it can yield up to only 490 units. This compares to the estimated 1,520 units that could be developed from the Confirmed List of the last land sales programme in the second half of 2014.
Real estate firm PropNex said this is due to the fact that second-timers will have to pay a resale levy when they buy an EC in future.
Mr Mohamed Ismail, CEO of PropNex Realty, said: “Therefore, the Government probably has been a little bit more cautious not knowing how the demand is going to be and not to flood the market.”
“The concern will only be because ECs are truly meant for the Singaporeans’ aspirations, and those who cannot afford private property. And I suppose overall, I think we need a healthy number of ECs, in the ballpark of about 3,000 every year,” he added.
The Reserve List comprises nine private residential sites, one commercial and residential site, two commercial sites and one White site – where multiple uses are permitted. These sites can yield about 5,750 private residential units.
“Supply from the GLS Programme, together with supply from projects in the pipeline, will be adequate to meet the demand for private housing and commercial space over the next few years,” MND said.
RESIDENTIAL SITES
The residential sites on the Confirmed List are located in the Outside Central Region and Rest of Central Region, the ministry said.
The commercial and residential site at Holland Road, originally placed on the second half of the 2014 Confirmed List, is the first sale site to be launched as part of the Holland Village Extension plan unveiled in the Master Plan 2014.
A Concept and Price Revenue Tender will be called for this site to ensure that the future development “enhances the unique charm and distinctive urban village character of the Holland Village Identity Node”, MND said.
It added that the site was transferred from the Confirmed List to the Reserve List to give developers more time to study the site and tender evaluation criteria before triggering it for sale.
COMMERCIAL SITES
A second commercial site in Woodlands Regional Centre at Woodlands Square has been released for sale under the Reserve List.
“This will sustain the development momentum of Woodlands Regional Centre as a major commercial node outside the city, in line with the Government’s objective of decentralising employment centres to bring job opportunities closer to homes,” MND said.
The Reserve List will have two other sites for predominantly office developments – a White site at Marina View and commercial site at Beach Road. Together with the Woodlands Square site, these sites will allow developers to initiate the development of more office space if they assess that there is demand, the ministry said.
Apart from the GLS Programme, the Government will also make available other supply of land and properties through its various agencies. These include localised retail facilities at parks, selected HDB estates, industrial estates, MRT stations, sport facilities, community centres and the leasing of vacant state properties for commercial uses, MND said.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/19-land-sites-released/1508996.html
SGBayHomes - Homes by the Bay 