Government ramps up private housing supply; offers three EC sites on Confirmed List
To make sure that there suffices supply to fulfill housing need and to maintain market balance, the government has maintained the supply of nonpublic residential units by providing 8,505 units in the upcoming Confirmed List and Reserved List of the 1H2025 GLS Government Land Sales (GLS) programme 1H2025.
10 plots will be offered under the Confirmed List, comprising nine housing sites, 3 of which are executive condominium (EC) plots. The tenth plot is a housing cum commercial area. The 10 sites can generate an approximated 5,030 household units, featuring the 980 EC units.
Following the progressing ramp-up of personal housing supply in the GLS programs over the last three years, the supply of private housing units offered for sale has actually increased progressively from 16,100 units at the end of 2021 to around 21,000 units as of end-November 2024.
In regards to residential units for sale, it’s in line with the 5,050 units provided in the Confirmed List of 2H2024. Nevertheless, it’s just about 60% higher than the average source on the Confirmed List in each GLS programme from 2021 to 2023.
In view of the tight challenge for EC locations amongst developers and rising EC land costs, the government has increase the supply of EC sites, with three plots potentially generating 980 units in the Confirmed Checklist of 1H2025. This is a shift from previous GLS programmes since 2018, with just one EC area offered in each of the half-yearly land sales programmes, notes PropNex.
Private residential prices are expected to see even more modest gains in 2024, with the collective price increase over the first 3 quarters of the year at around 1.6%.
The last time three EC plots were released for sale in an one GLS programme 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 (two in Yishun, one each in Sembawang and Choa Chu Kang) were launched for sale via the GLS.
The 3,475 non commercial units on the Reserve List 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 level with the 8,140 units in 2H2024.
The ramp-up of supply from the GLS programmes has contributed to the stabilisation of the exclusive property market, as mirrored by the moderation in property price momentum. Based on the URA private residential property price index, price development has actually moderated to 6.8% in 2023 from 10.6% in 2021 and 8.6% in 2022.
The Reserve Listing includes four private housing locations, one business site, 3 White sites and one hotel site, which can probably generate an additional 3,475 private residential units and 199,900 sqm (2.15 million sq ft) gross floor area (GFA) of commercial place.
The increase in the EC land source in 1H2025 can “go some way to lighten the competition amongst developers in land tenders and assist to moderate EC land cost and prices accordingly”, states Ismail Gafoor, CEO of PropNex.
7 new plots are going to be introduced in the 1H2025 GLS programme. They consist of a plot at Lakeside Drive nearby the Jurong Lake Gardens in Jurong Lake District, Dunearn Road in the new housing development in Bukit Timah Turf City, and Telok Blangah Road on the former Keppel Golf Course site.
In addition to sites in 2 brand-new housing districts, most of the sites are near MRT stops, that might attract developers and property buyers likewise, notes Gafoor. “In our view, the most tempting ones are the mixed-use site in Hougang Central (835 units) that will certainly be linked to the Hougang MRT terminal, the Telok Blangah Road plot (740 units) and Dunearn Road (370 units) site in brand-new real estate precincts, and within mins’ stroll to the MRT station, as well as the Lakeside Drive website (575 units) that is right next to the Lakeside MRT station, Jurong Lake Gardens and the Jurong East commercial center.”
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 refused the quotes supplied because they were too low. These sites are now listed on the 1H2025 Reserve Checklist.
The spot of the previous Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society on Dorsett Road, off Rangoon Road, that can yield about 430 units, will in addition be launched for sale in 1H2025. A residential and commercial site at Hougang Central, which can generate a brand-new mixed-use development with 835 residence units and over 400,000 sq ft of commercial space, is sold. It will likely be integrated with the Hougang MRT Terminal on the Northeast Line.
Also on the Confirmed Checklist is the residential plot in Upper Thomson Road (Parcel A), which viewed no bids when its tender shut in June 2024. In the past, the plot was to offer a mix of residential units and long-stay serviced apartments. Of note, the URA has actually supplied even more flexibility this time; it stated that serviced apartment/long-stay serviced apartment usage would not be mandated for the site however can be permitted subject to authorization from technical agencies, notes PropNex.
