Taking the current uncertainties into account, the government maintains “a moderate supply of private residential units”, while refraining from introducing “new sites for predominantly commercial or hotel use” in the latest GLS Programme. Image: URA Space
The government on Thursday (3 December) released four Confirmed List sites and nine Reserve List sites under the Government Land Sales (GLS) Programme for the first half of 2021.
The sites can collectively yield around 7,045 private homes, 1,070 hotel rooms and 101,200 sq m gross floor area (GFA) of commercial space.
Two of the Confirmed List sites – Slim Barracks Rise (Parcels A and B) – are new. The Reserve List also features two new sites – Jalan Tembusu (at Tanjong Katong) and Tampines Street 62 Parcel B.
The remaining nine sites were carried over from the Reserve List in the second half of 2020.
In a release, the Ministry of National Development (MND) said the government have carefully calibrated the land supply from the 1H 2021 GLS Programme “to take into account the COVID-19 and macroeconomic situation”.
“Given the continued uncertainties in economic and labour market conditions, the government has decided to maintain a moderate supply of private residential units on the Confirmed List and will not introduce any new sites for predominantly commercial or hotel use in the 1H2021 GLS Programme,” it said.
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“Nonetheless, there is a good selection of sites with additional supply in the Reserve List that developers can initiate for development if they assess that there is demand,” it added.
Desmond Sim, CBRE’s Head of Research for Southeast Asia, noted that the number of residential units on the Confirmed List “has increased to 1,605 units from a five year low of 1,370 units in 2H 2020”.
The hike in residential units will provide a “much-needed boost for developers to shore up their land inventory, given that supply from previous GLS sites has been relatively limited”, he said.
“With healthy demand from the new sale and resale market, coupled with the declining number of unsold units (28,727 units in Q3 2020, down from 29,876 units in the previous quarter), CBRE Research believes that these sites are likely to attract a healthy level of bidding activity, as evidenced by the tenders of the previous two sites (Tanah Merah Kechil Link and Yishun Ave 9).”
Sim expects the Slim Barracks Rise sites to be especially appealing to developers, given their proximity to a transport node and is surrounded by the one-north biomedical hub.
Tricia Song, Colliers International’s Head of Research for Singapore, noted that both sites “are of palatable quantum and could appeal to niche and larger developers looking to combine both sites”.
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Slim Barracks Rise Site A could be built up to 265 housing units and comes with a retail cap of 800 sq m GFA. Slim Barracks Rise Site B, on the other hand, could be built up to 140 housing units, with a retail cap of 400 sq m GFA.
PropNex Head of Research and Content Wong Siew Ying also expects the Lentor Central site to appeal to developers given its location within a well-established residential enclave as well as its proximity to the upcoming Lentor MRT station, which is slated to be ready by 2021.
“In particular, the future development on the site would enjoy unblocked views over the landed property estate in the Lentor area,” she said.
Out of the two new Reserve List sites, Song finds the Jalan Tembusu site to be more attractive since it is situated within the popular East Coast enclave, which has not seen a government land sale since 2001.
“It is also about 700 meters from the upcoming Tanjong Katong MRT station and near primary schools, secondary schools and the Canadian International School,” she said.
But since it is a relatively large site that could yield 640 residential units, Song does not expect the site to be triggered in the near term.
Overall, the Reserve List sites can offer 5,440 residential units, 92,000 sq m of commercial space and 1,070 hotel rooms.
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