Government ramps up private housing supply; offers three EC sites on Confirmed List
The ramp-up of supply from the GLS programs has actually added to the stabilisation of the exclusive household market, as reflected by the moderation in property cost momentum. Based on the URA private property price index, rate expansion has moderated to 6.8% in 2023 from 10.6% in 2021 and 8.6% in 2022.
The Reserve Listing includes four exclusive housing sites, one business site, 3 White sites and one hotel site, which can probably produce an additional 3,475 private residential units and 199,900 sqm (2.15 million sq ft) gross floor area (GFA) of business space.
In addition to locations in two brand-new real estate districts, most of the sites are nearby MRT terminals, which could entice property developers and buyers alike, notes Gafoor. “In our sight, one of the most tempting ones are the mixed-use site in Hougang Central (835 units) that will be linked to the Hougang MRT station, the Telok Blangah Roadway plot (740 units) and Dunearn Road (370 units) site in new housing districts, and within mins’ walking to the MRT terminal, along with the Lakeside Drive site (575 units) which is right beside the Lakeside MRT terminal, Jurong Lake Gardens and the Jurong East business hub.”
Seven brand-new plots will be introduced in the 1H2025 GLS program. They include a plot at Lakeside Drive around the Jurong Lake Gardens in Jurong Lake District, Dunearn Road in the brand-new real estate development in Bukit Timah Turf City, and Telok Blangah Road on the previous Keppel Golf Course site.
To ensure that there suffices supply to meet real estate need and to maintain market stability, the government has sustained the supply of exclusive property units by providing 8,505 units in the upcoming Confirmed List and Reserved List of the 1H2025 GLS Government Land Sales (GLS) program 1H2025.
In view of the rigid competition for EC locations among developers and rising EC land prices, the state has increase the supply of EC sites, with 3 plots potentially producing 980 units in the Confirmed List of 1H2025. This is a shift from previous GLS programmes ever since 2018, with only one EC site offered in each of the half-yearly land sales programmes, notes PropNex.
Exclusive residential prices are anticipated to see more modest growths in 2024, with the cumulative rate surge over the first 3 quarters of the year at about 1.6%.
The spot of the former Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society on Dorsett Road, off Rangoon Road, which can generate around 430 units, will even be launched for sale in 1H2025. A residential and commercial site at Hougang Central, that can produce a new mixed-use development with 835 residence units and over 400,000 sq ft of commercial area, is sold. It will likely be incorporated with the Hougang MRT Station on the Northeast Line.
Additionally on the Confirmed Checklist is the non commercial plot in Upper Thomson Road (Parcel A), that viewed no bids when its tender finalized in June 2024. Previously, the plot was to provide a blend of non commercial units and long-stay serviced apartments. Of note, the URA has supplied more versatility this time around; it said that serviced apartment/long-stay serviced house use would not be mandated for the location however can be permitted based on approval from technical firms, notes PropNex.
It was an unmatched year for GLS tenders. For the first time, URA did not award the tender for three plots – Marina Gardens Crescent, the Jurong Lake District master developer site, and plots in Media Circle (for long-stay serviced apartment use). The URA turned down the bids used because they were too low. These spots are currently listed on the 1H2025 Reserve Checklist.
The last time three EC plots were released for sale in a sole GLS program was in 2H2014 when EC spots in Sembawang Road/Canberra Link, Anchorvale Crescent, and Woodlands Avenue 12 were launched for tender. In 1H2014, 4 EC sites (2 in Yishun, one each in Sembawang and Choa Chu Kang) were introduced available for sale through the GLS.
Following the progressing ramp-up of private housing supply in the GLS programs over the last three years, the inventory of exclusive residential units available for sale has increased gradually from 16,100 units at the end of 2021 to around 21,000 units as of end-November 2024.
In terms of household units for sale, it’s in line with the 5,050 units provided in the Confirmed List of 2H2024. Nonetheless, it’s nearly 60% more than the regular source on the Confirmed List in each GLS programme from 2021 to 2023.
Ten plots will be offered under the Confirmed List, making up nine housing sites, three of which are executive condominium (EC) plots. The tenth plot is a residential cum commercial area. The 10 sites can produce an estimated 5,030 housing units, including the 980 EC units.
The increase in the EC land source in 1H2025 can “go some way to lighten the opposition amongst property developers in land tenders and help to moderate EC land cost and prices appropriately”, states Ismail Gafoor, CEO of PropNex.
The 3,475 residential units on the Reserve List of 1H2025 are higher than the 3,090 units in 2H2024. Consisting Of the Reserve Lineup, the total exclusive housing supply of 8,505 units in 1H2025 is on a the same level with the 8,140 units in 2H2024.
