Singapore holds land supply for private homes steady for 1H2020
SINGAPORE — The Singapore government will be holding the land supply for private homes steady for the first half of 2020 to continue catering to the housing needs of the population.
The government has decided to keep the supply of private residential units on the confirmed list for the first-half (1H) 2020 Government Land Sales (GLS) programme broadly similar to that for the 2H2019 programme.
Three confirmed list sites and eight reserve list sites are set to be released under the programme, according to a statement by the Ministry of National Development (MND) on Tuesday (3 December). These sites can yield about 6,490 private residential units, 114,000 sq m gross floor area (GFA) of commercial space and 1,070 hotel rooms.
Of the 6,490 private units, 1,775 units are in the confirmed list and 4,715 units are on the reserve list, which may not be triggered for sale.
The three confirmed sites are two private residential sites, including one executive condominium (EC) site, and one mixed commercial and residential site. Together they can yield about 1,775 private residential units, including 600 EC units, and 22,000 sq m GFA of commercial space.
The reserve list comprises four private residential sites (including one EC site), three white sites and one hotel site. These sites can yield about 4,715 private residential units, including 595 EC units, 92,000 sq m GFA of commercial space and 1,070 hotel rooms.
The government has lined up a conservative slate of land supply for the first half of 2020 amid slowing economic growth, substantial pipeline of residential units, and relatively more muted demand for homes on the back of fresh cooling measures, said Tricia Song, head of research for Singapore at Colliers International.
“We believe this will help to continue to stabilise the property market, particularly given the cocktail of challenges including more subdued economic outlook, geopolitical tensions in the region, and trade uncertainties,” she added.
The ministry said the supply of private units in the pipeline remains high, at around 39,000 units. This comprises around 34,000 unsold units from GLS and en-bloc sale sites with planning approval, and an additional 5,000 units from sites that are pending planning approval.
“While the demand for private housing units has increased in the past two quarters, the overall transaction volume has remained modest relative to the period leading up to the introduction of the property market cooling measures in July 2018,” the ministry said.
Meanwhile, developers’ demand for residential land remains moderate and there continues to be bidding interest for GLS tenders, it added.
The government said it will continue to monitor the property market closely and adjust the supply from future GLS programmes as necessary.
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