The 14 sites under the 2H2022 GLS programme comprise six Confirmed List sites and eight Reserve List sites (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/The Edge Singapore)
SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - The Singapore government has announced 14 sites under the 2H2022 Government Land Sales (GLS) programme, comprising six Confirmed List sites and eight Reserve List sites.
The Confirmed List comprises four private residential sites, one Executive Condominium (EC) site and a commercial & residential site. Three of the sites — Bukit Timah Link, Hillview Rise and Lentor Gardens — were moved from the Reserve List to the Confirmed List. The remaining three — Marina Gardens Lane, the Tengah Plantation Loop and Tampines Avenue 11 — are new sites.
In total, the sites will yield an estimated 3,505 residential units, including 495 EC units.
Source: URA
This represents a 25.9% increase from the 1H2022 Confirmed List supply, which saw a total of 2,785 units. It is also the highest number of Confirmed List units since 2H2014, which had 3,915 units, notes Catherine He, Colliers’ head of research.“The higher number of units will provide a much-needed boost for developers to shore up their land inventory,” she remarks.
Given healthy new home sales, healthy employment levels and low unsold housing inventory, Colliers’ He believes the sites are likely to attract a healthy level of bids.
Meanwhile, the eight sites on the Reserve List comprise four private residential sites, two EC sites, a white site and a hotel site. If all of these sites were triggered for sale, they could yield another 3,805 private residential units, including 1,000 EC units, 861,113 sq ft of commercial space and 530 hotel rooms. (Find Singapore commercial properties with our commercial directory)
Source: URA
One of the most notable land parcels in the 2H2022 Confirmed List is the Marina Gardens Lane site. The 1.23ha site is the first GLS parcel in the Marina South precinct, in the Rest of Central Region (RCR). Estimated to be launched for sale in December, the site can yield around 795 residential units.
The site will likely be hotly contested when launched given its central waterfront location, opines Alice Tan, head of consultancy at Knight Frank Singapore. “When completed, [the development] will have unobstructed views of the CBD, Gardens by the Bay, Marina Reservoir and sea views,” she points out.
Lee Sze Teck, senior director (research) at Huttons Asia, shares similar views, noting that the site offers a first-mover advantage for developers and buyers in Marina South. It will also benefit from being directly linked to the upcoming Marina South MRT station on the Thomson-East Coast Line, he adds.
Nonetheless, he cautions that the huge outlay required for the site, estimated at around $1 billion, may attract just a handful of developers. The tender of a white site at Marina View which closed last September saw IOI Properties Group emerge as the sole bidder for the 0.78ha plot. The company submitted a bid of $1.508 billion, which works out to a land rate of $1,379 psf per plot ratio.
Another standout on the Confirmed List is the commercial & residential site at Tampines Ave 11. Measuring 5.07ha, it is the largest site on the list and can yield around 1,190 residential units as well as 150,695 sq ft of commercial space. It is targeted for launch in December.
The site is expected to drive development in Tampines North, resolving the current dearth of amenities in the area, says Ong Teck Hui, senior director of research & consultancy at JLL.
However, given the plot size, the cost for this site is also expected to reach $1 billion, which could be a deterrent to potential bidders, he cautions. This comes as the recent tender closing for the GLS site at Dunman Road, which breached the $1 billion mark, drew only two bidders.
Nonetheless, the sizeable commercial component may boost the attractiveness of the plot given its location within an enclave of BTO flats that provide a large resident catchment, points out Steven Tan, CEO of OrangeTee & Tie.
Further, he anticipates the residential component to benefit from strong upgrader demand. “Quite a number of HDB flats there have reached their minimum occupation period in recent years and these families will be keen to upgrade and will be looking for a new condo in the area,” he explains. (Find HDB flats for rent or sale with our Singapore HDB directory)
The Confirmed List land parcel at Bukit Timah Link is expected to generate keen interest given its “palatable size and strong location attributes”, comments Wong Xian Yang, head of research, Singapore, at Cushman & Wakefield.
The 0.46ha site can yield some 160 units and is slated to launch for tender in August. Located within walking distance to the Beauty World MRT station on the Downtown Line, the site is adjacent to The Linq@Beauty World, developed by BBR Holdings. The small freehold mixed development with a total of 120 residential units was launched in 2020 and is fully sold out, which Wong highlights bodes well for the Bukit Timah Link plot.
Another small parcel under the Confirmed List will also launch in August — the 1.03ha Hillview Rise site that can yield 335 residential units. Located in the established and popular Hillview enclave, the site is a short walk from the Hillview MRT station. It is expected to fetch a land price of below $300 million, notes JLL’s Ong, which should attract good demand from developers given the palatable quantum.
The 530-unit Lentor Gardens site, scheduled to launch in October, is the fifth site released in the Lentor area. Another site (Lentor Central) has also been added to the Reserve List. Altogether, the six new residential developments could add about 3,000 new residential units upon completion, observes Lam Chern Woon, head of research and consulting at Edmund Tie. “The sizeable upcoming supply is likely to help satiate pent-up demand for the tranquil neighbourhood,” he remarks.
Meanwhile, the EC site at Tengah Plantation Loop, which can yield 495 units, is the second one in the Tengah area. It follows the keenly contested Tengah Garden Walk site that drew seven bids during its tender last May before being awarded to a joint venture between City Developments and MCL Land at a record $603 psf per plot ratio.
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