Government ramps up private housing supply; offers three EC sites on Confirmed List
The rise in the EC land source in 1H2025 might “go some way to soothe the opposition amongst developers in land tenders and assist to moderate EC land cost and prices appropriately”, says Ismail Gafoor, CEO of PropNex.
To guarantee that there suffices supply to satisfy real estate need and to preserve market stability, the government has sustained the supply of exclusive 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.
In view of the rigid challenge for EC locations among property developers and going up EC land prices, the government has actually ramped up the supply of EC sites, with 3 plots potentially producing 980 units in the Confirmed Checklist of 1H2025. This is a change from previous GLS programs ever since 2018, with only one EC spot presented in each of the half-yearly land sales programmes, notes PropNex.
Exclusive household costs are expected to see more small increases in 2024, with the collective cost raise over the first three quarters of the year at about 1.6%.
In terms of 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 standard supply on the Confirmed List in each GLS program from 2021 to 2023.
The Reserve List consists of four private housing locations, one commercial location, 3 White locations and one hotel site, that can possibly 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 ramp-up of supply from the GLS programmes has added to the stabilisation of the private property market, as shown by the constraint in property price drive. Based on the URA private residential property price index, cost expansion has regulated to 6.8% in 2023 from 10.6% in 2021 and 8.6% in 2022.
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 introduced for tender. In 1H2014, 4 EC sites (2 in Yishun, one each in Sembawang and Choa Chu Kang) were launched available for sale using the GLS.
The 3,475 non commercial units on the Reserve Checklist of 1H2025 are greater than the 3,090 units in 2H2024. Including the Reserve List, the total private real estate supply of 8,505 units in 1H2025 is on a level with the 8,140 units in 2H2024.
Following the progressive ramp-up of private housing supply in the GLS programs over the last three years, the inventory of exclusive 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.
Ten plots are going to be supplied under the Confirmed List, consisting of nine housing sites, three of which are executive condo (EC) plots. The tenth plot is a housing cum commercial area. The 10 sites can yield an estimated 5,030 household units, including the 980 EC units.
7 brand-new plots will be presented in the 1H2025 GLS programme. They consist of a plot at Lakeside Drive around 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 spots in 2 new real estate precincts, the majority of the sites are close to MRT stations, that might attract property developers and homebuyers alike, notes Gafoor. “In our sight, the most tempting ones are the mixed-use site in Hougang Central (835 units) that will be attached 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 minutes’ stroll to the MRT terminal, as well as the Lakeside Drive site (575 units) that is right beside the Lakeside MRT terminal, Jurong Lake Gardens and the Jurong East commercial hub.”
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 developer site, and plots in Media Circle (for long-stay serviced apartment use). The URA declined the quotes supplied because they were too low. These locations are now listed on the 1H2025 Reserve List.
Also on the Confirmed Listing is the non commercial plot in Upper Thomson Road (Parcel A), which observed no quotes 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 more versatility this time around; it said that serviced apartment/long-stay serviced house use would not be mandated for the site but can be enabled subject to approval from technical firms, notes PropNex.
The location of the previous Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society on Dorsett Road, off Rangoon Road, which can generate about 430 units, will even be released for sale in 1H2025. A residential and commercial site at Hougang Central, that can yield a brand-new mixed-use property development with 835 housing units and over 400,000 sq ft of commercial area, is offered for sale. It will likely be integrated with the Hougang MRT Terminal on the Northeast Line.
