Government ramps up private housing supply; offers three EC sites on Confirmed List
Private residential costs are anticipated to see even more small gains in 2024, with the cumulative price raise over the first three quarters of the year at around 1.6%.
The Reserve List consists of 4 exclusive housing locations, one commercial location, three White locations and one hotel site, that can potentially yield an extra 3,475 private residential units and 199,900 sqm (2.15 million sq ft) gross floor area (GFA) of commercial space.
The last time 3 EC plots were launched for sale in a sole GLS program remained in 2H2014 when EC spots in Sembawang Road/Canberra Link, Anchorvale Crescent, and Woodlands Avenue 12 were released for tender. In 1H2014, 4 EC sites (two in Yishun, one each in Sembawang and Choa Chu Kang) were introduced for sale by means of the GLS.
In regards to 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 standard supply on the Confirmed List in each GLS programme from 2021 to 2023.
Following the progressive ramp-up of exclusive housing supply in the GLS programmes over the last 3 years, the supply of private housing units available for sale has increased progressively from 16,100 units at the end of 2021 to around 21,000 units since end-November 2024.
The ramp-up of supply from the GLS programs has actually contributed to the stabilisation of the personal property market, as mirrored by the moderation in property cost momentum. Based on the URA private property price index, rate growth has actually regulated to 6.8% in 2023 from 10.6% in 2021 and 8.6% in 2022.
To make sure that there is adequate supply to fulfill real estate demand and to keep market stability, the authorities has maintained the supply of exclusive residential units by offering 8,505 units in the upcoming Confirmed List and Reserved List of the 1H2025 GLS Government Land Sales (GLS) program 1H2025.
Ten plots are going to be supplied under the Confirmed List, consisting of nine residential sites, 3 of which are executive condominium (EC) plots. The tenth plot is a non commercial cum commercial site. The 10 sites can produce an estimated 5,030 residential units, including the 980 EC units.
The increase in the EC land source in 1H2025 can “go some way to ease the competition among property developers in land tenders and assist to moderate EC land cost and prices appropriately”, says Ismail Gafoor, CEO of PropNex.
In view of the rigid challenge for EC locations among property developers and going up EC land rates, the government has actually increase the supply of EC sites, with three plots potentially generating 980 units in the Confirmed List of 1H2025. This is a change from previous GLS programs ever since 2018, with just one EC site presented in each of the half-yearly land sales programmes, notes PropNex.
The 3,475 non commercial units on the Reserve Checklist of 1H2025 are greater than the 3,090 units in 2H2024. Consisting Of the Reserve List, the overall private housing supply of 8,505 units in 1H2025 is on a level with the 8,140 units in 2H2024.
7 brand-new plots will be presented in the 1H2025 GLS programme. They include a plot at Lakeside Drive around the Jurong Lake Gardens in Jurong Lake District, Dunearn Road in the brand-new real estate precinct in Bukit Timah Turf City, and Telok Blangah Road on the former Keppel Golf Course area.
The site of the former Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society on Dorsett Road, off Rangoon Road, that can produce around 430 units, will even be released for sale in 1H2025. A residential and commercial site at Hougang Central, which can produce a new mixed-use project with 835 residence units and over 400,000 sq ft of commercial room, is sold. It will likely be integrated with the Hougang MRT Station on the Northeast Line.
Along with spots in 2 brand-new real estate precincts, the majority of the sites are nearby MRT stops, which could interest builders and homebuyers likewise, notes Gafoor. “In our view, one of the most tempting ones are the mixed-use site in Hougang Central (835 units) that will be linked to the Hougang MRT terminal, the Telok Blangah Roadway plot (740 units) and Dunearn Road (370 units) site in new housing districts, and within minutes’ walk to the MRT stop, along with the Lakeside Drive site (575 units) that is right alongside the Lakeside MRT station, Jurong Lake Gardens and the Jurong East commercial hub.”
Also on the Confirmed Checklist is the non commercial plot in Upper Thomson Road (Parcel A), that saw no bids when its tender closed in June 2024. Previously, the plot was to provide a blend of residential units and long-stay serviced apartments. Of note, the URA has offered even more flexibility this moment; it claimed that serviced apartment/long-stay serviced apartment usage would not be mandated for the spot but can be permitted based on approval from technical companies, 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 property developer site, and plots in Media Circle (for long-stay serviced apartment use). The URA rejected the quotes supplied because they were too low. These spots are currently listed on the 1H2025 Reserve Checklist.
