Government ramps up private housing supply; offers three EC sites on Confirmed List
The Reserve Listing includes four exclusive residential locations, one business site, three White spots and one hotel site, that can probably produce an extra 3,475 private residential units and 199,900 sqm (2.15 million sq ft) gross floor area (GFA) of commercial place.
Private household prices are expected to see even more modest gains in 2024, with the collective price surge over the first three quarters of the year at about 1.6%.
In view of the stiff competition for EC locations amongst property developers and rising EC land rates, the government has ramped up 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 just one EC site offered in each of the semiannual land sales programmes, notes PropNex.
Following the progressive ramp-up of private real estate supply in the GLS programmes over the last three years, the stock of exclusive housing units available for sale has increased gradually from 16,100 units at the end of 2021 to around 21,000 units since end-November 2024.
The increase in the EC land source in 1H2025 can “go some way to ease the competition among developers in land tenders and help to moderate EC land cost and prices accordingly”, claims Ismail Gafoor, CEO of PropNex.
In terms of residential units for sale, it’s in line with the 5,050 units used in the Confirmed List of 2H2024. However, it’s almost 60% more than the average source on the Confirmed List in each GLS program from 2021 to 2023.
The ramp-up of supply from the GLS programmes has actually added to the stabilisation of the personal property market, as reflected by the moderation in property price drive. Based on the URA private residential property price index, rate growth has regulated to 6.8% in 2023 from 10.6% in 2021 and 8.6% in 2022.
Hillhaven Sekisui House & Far East Organization
Ten 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 yield an approximated 5,030 household units, consisting of the 980 EC units.
To make sure that there suffices supply to fulfill housing need and to preserve market balance, the government has actually maintained the supply of private property units by supplying 8,505 units in the upcoming Confirmed List and Reserved List of the 1H2025 GLS Government Land Sales (GLS) programme 1H2025.
The 3,475 non commercial units on the Reserve Checklist of 1H2025 are more than the 3,090 units in 2H2024. Including 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.
The last time 3 EC plots were released 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, four EC sites (2 in Yishun, one each in Sembawang and Choa Chu Kang) were released for sale via the GLS.
7 new plots are going to be presented in the 1H2025 GLS program. They consist of 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.
In addition to spots in 2 new real estate districts, most of the spots are nearby MRT stations, which can entice builders and buyers alike, notes Gafoor. “In our view, the most attractive ones are the mixed-use site in Hougang Central (835 units) that will certainly be connected to the Hougang MRT terminal, the Telok Blangah Road plot (740 units) and Dunearn Road (370 units) site in new real estate precincts, and within mins’ stroll to the MRT station, in addition to the Lakeside Drive site (575 units) that is right alongside the Lakeside MRT terminal, Jurong Lake Gardens and the Jurong East commercial center.”
The site of the previous 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 brand-new mixed-use project with 835 housing units and over 400,000 sq ft of commercial area, is sold. It will likely be integrated with the Hougang MRT Terminal on the Northeast Line.
Also on the Confirmed List is the residential plot in Upper Thomson Road (Parcel A), that viewed no bids when its tender finalized in June 2024. In the past, the plot was to provide a blend of non commercial units and long-stay serviced apartments. Of note, the URA has actually offered more versatility this moment; it claimed that serviced apartment/long-stay serviced apartment usage would not be mandated for the site but can be enabled based on approval from technical agencies, notes PropNex.
It was an extraordinary 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 location, and plots in Media Circle (for long-stay serviced apartment use). The URA refused the proposals provided because they were too reasonable. These spots are currently listed on the 1H2025 Reserve Checklist.
