SINGAPORE: The Ministry of National Development said in a statement on Tuesday (June 25) that the Government Land Sales Programme for the second half of 2024 will yield around about 8,140 private residential units, 113,650 sqm gross floor area of commercial space, and 530 hotel rooms.
The MND said in its announcement that the housing market has shown signs of stabilisation, and that price momentum has eased, but added that the government is set to keep on catering to housing demand and maintain market stability.
“The Government will continue to release a steady supply of private residential units over the next few years, with supply calibrated to account for prevailing economic and property market conditions,” said the ministry.
The total supply of 11,110 housing units is the highest since 2013.
“The supply is from a good mix of sites across different geographical regions that offer a variety of housing options to meet different needs and preferences.
In addition, the Government will make available a selection of sites on the Reserve List that can yield an additional 3,090 units for developers to initiate for development if they assess that there is demand,” the MND said.
This will result in the largest private housing supply in over a decade, even as developers appear to be developing cold feet, Bloomberg pointed out.
It added that higher interest rates and lower foreign demand are the reason for the cooling property market.
Case in point: For the first time in two decades, no bids were placed for a plot of land at Upper Thomson last Wednesday (June 19). The site had been designated for 640 residential units, including 100 long-stay serviced apartments.
The tender for the residential Government Land Sale (GLS) site closed with no developers bidding for it, despite speculation from market watchers that there would be up to three bids.
The Business Times quoted consultants as saying they had expected the site to have received offers between S$750 to S$1,020 per square foot per plot ratio.
The 262,875 sq ft site is a 99-year leasehold, with around 21,528 sq ft of commercial space at the first story and a minimum of 1,000 sq m for a childcare centre.
The absence of bids for the site follows the trend of decreasing private home sales this year. An already low rate of 301 units sold in April was followed by an even smaller volume the following month, with only 221 units sold.
In April, another site at Upper Thomson Road had only one bid, jointly submitted by GuocoLand and Hong Leong Holdings. The S$780 million or S$905 psf ppr bid is only for residential purposes and can accommodate 940 units. /TISG
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