Govt unveils land sales programme for H1 2018
Six confirmed list and nine reserve list sites will be launched under the H1 2018 Government Land Sales (GLS) programme, announced the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Wednesday (13 December).
These land parcels could potentially yield approximately 8,045 private homes and 63,960 sq m in gross floor area (GFA) of commercial space.
According to Colliers International’s director and head of research Tricia Song, the amount of upcoming residential stock was within its expectations.
“The government has not bumped up the supply significantly. In fact, the total number of housing units remains relatively the same with the H2 2017 GLS programme of 8,000-plus units.
“This came about as the government took into consideration the large potential supply of around 20,000 units from awarded en bloc sales and GLS sites that have not yet been granted planning approval, on top of the around 18,000 unsold units that already have planning approval.”
In particular, the six confirmed list sites are mostly intended for private homes, including one for executive condominiums (ECs). These are expected to generate about 4,450 sq m GFA of commercial space and 2,775 private units, including 450 ECs.
Among the confirmed list sites, the plots at Cuscaden and Mattar Road are expected to be the most sought-after due to their location and size, said Edmund Tie & Co’s research head Dr Lee Nai Jia.
“For the Cuscaden site, we expect bids of around $1,600 to $1,750 psf per plot ratio (ppr), while bids at Mattar Road should range from $1,200 to $1,400 psf ppr. The number of units to be built on the land parcel at Silat Avenue may be on the high side, despite its favourable location.”
Similarly, Song believes that the land parcel in Cuscaden Road will be the most attractive. The rare luxury housing site has a palatable quantum of 170 units with an average size of 1,000 sq ft, and is projected to benefit from the recent sale of the prime Jiak Kim site.
The Mattar Road site could pique the interest of developers as it’s very close to the Mattar MRT station and there is limited supply in the area. But it is a relatively untested non-landed private residential location surrounded mainly by industrial estates, landed housing and HDB flats.
Likewise, the Canberra Link EC site could also be popular given its proximity to the upcoming Canberra MRT station, and there is a limited supply of such residences in the vicinity, Song noted.
Meanwhile, the URA released the details of the nine reserve list sites, which consists of one commercial site and eight private housing plots, including two EC sites. These are expected to yield 59,510 sq m GFA of commercial space mostly for offices and 5,270 private houses, including 1,255 ECs.
Of these, Song is optimistic that the land parcels in Sims Drive and Peck Seah Street will be the most desirable. The former is within walking distance to the Aljunied MRT station. The latter is in the Central Business District near the Tanjong Pagar MRT station, and the last time a housing site was offered there was in 2007.
Likewise, Lee revealed that the Peck Seah Street plot is near many eateries and offices, and he thinks the site will get bids ranging from $1,600 to $1,750 psf ppr.
This article was edited by Keshia Faculin.
