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SINGAPORE – The supply of private residential homes from sites confirmed under the government’s land sales program (GLS) for the first half of next year has increased modestly after being drastically reduced in the second half of this year due to the impact of the Covid- 19 pandemic.
The private housing supply of 1,605 units from four sites on the confirmed list is 235 units or roughly 17% more than the 1,370 units at those sites under the second half of the GLS 2020 program, according to figures released by the Ministry of Development. National (MND) on Thursday (December 3).
It is still below the 1,775 units of those sites under the first half of the GLS 2020 program.
The confirmed list includes an executive condominium (CE) site that can produce around 590 units. The other three sites also offer up to 9,200 gross square meters (GFA) of retail space.
On the reserve list are five private residential sites (including one EC site), three white sites, and one hotel site. These sites can produce around 5,440 private residential units (including 700 EC units), 92,000 square meters of GFA of commercial space and 1,070 hotel rooms.
In this way, a total of 7,045 private homes can potentially be developed on the confirmed and reserve list sites. This is 5.6% more than the 6,670 units of the GLS program for the second half of this year.
The land supply was “carefully calibrated to take into account Covid-19 and the macroeconomic situation,” the MND said.
“Given the continuing uncertainties in economic and labor market conditions, the Government has decided to keep a moderate supply of private residential units on the Confirmed List.
“However, there is a good selection of additional supply sites on the Reserve List that developers can initiate for development if they assess that there is demand.”
As in the second half of this year, no new sites for predominantly commercial or hotel use will be launched in the first half of 2021.
A total of five residential sites, three white sites and one hotel site carried over to the first half of next year.
GLS ‘private housing supply from confirmed listing sites in the second half of this year fell by 23 percent to the lowest level since the second half of 2009, during the global financial crisis when no confirmed listing sites were released .
But Singapore’s private housing market has remained resilient despite the economic downturn. Private home prices rose 0.1 percent in the first nine months of this year compared to 2.1 percent growth last year, and minus 5.2 percent during the global financial crisis. New home sales from project launches increased for five consecutive months this year, while developers have been actively, albeit cautiously, bidding for GLS sites.
“The increased supply is a response to healthy demand in the market,” said Mr. Lee Sze Teck, director of research at Huttons Asia real estate agency.
“Perhaps, aware that the effects of the pandemic may continue to be felt in the coming quarters, the supply of land has not increased any further,” he added.
He also noticed signs of more activity in the real estate market: the number of unsold unfinished units has decreased since the first quarter of 2019 to 26,483 units, the recent GLS tender saw a large number of bidders and the block market witnessed two collective sales in the span of two weeks.
On Thursday, MND said the government will continue to closely monitor the economic and real estate market conditions and “will adjust the supply of future GLS programs as necessary.”
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