Government ramps up private housing supply; offers three EC sites on Confirmed List
The Reserve Checklist includes four exclusive residence sites, one business location, 3 White locations and one hotel site, which can potentially generate an additional 3,475 private residential units and 199,900 sqm (2.15 million sq ft) gross floor area (GFA) of business place.
To ensure that there is adequate supply to meet housing need and to preserve market balance, the government has sustained the supply of nonpublic property units by using 8,505 units in the upcoming Confirmed List and Reserved List of the 1H2025 GLS Government Land Sales (GLS) program 1H2025.
The last time three EC plots were launched for sale in an one 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 (2 in Yishun, one each in Sembawang and Choa Chu Kang) were released for sale via the GLS.
In terms of residential units for sale, it’s in line with the 5,050 units provided in the Confirmed List of 2H2024. Nonetheless, it’s nearly 60% greater than the average supply on the Confirmed List in each GLS programme from 2021 to 2023.
Following the progressive ramp-up of private housing supply in the GLS programs over the last three years, the supply of private housing units available for sale has actually increased gradually from 16,100 units at the end of 2021 to around 21,000 units as of end-November 2024.
The increase in the EC land source in 1H2025 could “go some way to ease the competition among developers in land tenders and guide to moderate EC land cost and prices accordingly”, states Ismail Gafoor, CEO of PropNex.
The ramp-up of supply from the GLS programmes has added to the stabilisation of the exclusive property market, as reflected by the constraint in property cost momentum. Based on the URA private residential property price index, price growth has actually moderated to 6.8% in 2023 from 10.6% in 2021 and 8.6% in 2022.
In view of the stiff challenge for EC locations among developers and rising EC land prices, the authorities has actually increase the supply of EC sites, with 3 plots potentially yielding 980 units in the Confirmed Checklist of 1H2025. This is a change from previous GLS programmes ever since 2018, with just one EC site presented in each of the semiannual land sales programmes, notes PropNex.
Ten plots are going to be offered under the Confirmed List, making up 9 housing locations, 3 of which are executive condo (EC) plots. The tenth plot is a housing cum commercial area. The 10 sites can yield an approximated 5,030 household units, consisting of the 980 EC units.
Private residential costs are anticipated to see even more small gains in 2024, with the cumulative cost raise over the first three quarters of the year at around 1.6%.
The 3,475 household units on the Reserve Checklist of 1H2025 are greater than the 3,090 units in 2H2024. Consisting Of the Reserve Lineup, the general private housing supply of 8,505 units in 1H2025 is on a the same level with the 8,140 units in 2H2024.
7 new plots will be presented in the 1H2025 GLS program. They include a plot at Lakeside Drive near the Jurong Lake Gardens in Jurong Lake District, Dunearn Road in the brand-new housing precinct in Bukit Timah Turf City, and Telok Blangah Road on the former Keppel Golf Course site.
It was an unprecedented 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 proposals supplied because they were too reasonable. These sites are currently listed on the 1H2025 Reserve Checklist.
The location of the former Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society on Dorsett Road, off Rangoon Road, which can yield about 430 units, will also be launched for sale in 1H2025. A residential and commercial site at Hougang Central, which can yield a new mixed-use development with 835 residential units and over 400,000 sq ft of commercial space, is offered for sale. It will likely be incorporated with the Hougang MRT Terminal on the Northeast Line.
Along with locations in 2 brand-new housing precincts, the majority of the spots are nearby MRT stations, that could appeal to developers and property buyers alike, notes Gafoor. “In our view, one of the most attractive ones are the mixed-use site in Hougang Central (835 units) that will certainly be attached to the Hougang MRT station, the Telok Blangah Road plot (740 units) and Dunearn Road (370 units) site in new real estate districts, and within mins’ walk to the MRT station, along with the Lakeside Drive website (575 units) that is right alongside the Lakeside MRT terminal, Jurong Lake Gardens and the Jurong East business hub.”
Additionally on the Confirmed Listing is the non commercial plot in Upper Thomson Road (Parcel A), which observed no quotes when its tender shut in June 2024. In the past, the plot was to provide a mix of non commercial units and long-stay serviced apartments. Of note, the URA has actually provided more flexibility this time; it said that serviced apartment/long-stay serviced house use would not be mandated for the location however can be allowed based on approval from technical companies, notes PropNex.
