Five confirmed and eight reserve list sites to be launched under H2 2019 GLS programme

The sites can yield 6,430 private residential units and 92,000 sqm GFA of commercial space.

The second half 2019 (H2 2019) Government Land Sales (GLS) programme, which comprises five confirmed list sites and eight reserve list sites, has been released, an announcement by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) revealed.

These sites can yield about 6,430 private residential units, 92,000 sqm gross floor area (GFA) of commercial space and 1,100 hotel rooms.

The five confirmed list sites are private residential sites, including one executive condominium (EC) site, which can yield about 1,715 private residential units (including 480 EC units).

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According to CBRE’s head of research for Southeast Asia Desmond Sim, out of the five residential sites in the confirmed list, a new site along Irwell Bank Road was included whilst the other four sites including the EC were transferred from the H1 2019 reserve list.

“One notable change was the site on Canberra Drive in H1 2019, which has been split into two sites namely Canberra Drive (Parcel A and Parcel B). CBRE views this as a positive move from the state planners – on the back of the growing unsold inventory, developers are observed to be restrained on high-unit yielding sites in light of impending ABSD remission rules on development sales success. The site dissection has made the sites (Parcel A and B) more palatable for developers to consider,” he explained.

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 and an estimated 1,000 units from the first phase of the Kampong Bugis site), 92,000 sqm GFA of commercial space and 1,100 hotel rooms.

URA first unveiled the plans for the White site at Kampong Bugis in a 2017 exhibition. With a sizeable land area, the Kampong Bugis site is located at the mouth of Kallang River with 1.1 km of water frontage and will be released under the H2 2019 reserve list for sale to a master developer.

“The intention is for a single developer to comprehensively master plan the site, and implement district-wide urban solutions (e.g. district-wide pneumatic waste conveyance system and a storm water treatment and water management system) for a smarter, greener and more sustainable housing typology,” URA noted. The site could potentially yield 4,000 private residential units and an additional 50,000 sqm for complementary uses such as retail, offices, community uses, serviced apartments and sports and recreational facilities. The entire Kampong Bugis precinct is estimated to be completed over nine to 11 years.

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Other than the White site at Kampong Bugis, the H2 2019 reserve list will have another White site at Woodlands Avenue 2 for a mixed-use development to help sustain the development momentum of Woodlands Regional Centre as a major commercial node outside the city, which is in line with the government’s objective of bringing job opportunities closer to homes.

A new hotel site at River Valley Road will also be added to the H2 2019 reserve list. Together with the existing White site at Marina View, which has been carried over from the H1 2019 GLS programme, they will provide ample opportunities for developers to initiate additional supply of hotel rooms over and above the current pipeline supply.

Meanwhile, there is a large supply of around 44,000 private housing units in the pipeline. This comprises around 39,000 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. In addition, there are around 24,000 existing private housing units that remain vacant.

“In contrast, demand has continued to fall since the introduction of the property market cooling measures in July 2018. Overall transaction volume declined for the third straight quarter in Q1 2019, whilst developers’ demand for land has also moderated,” URA said.

Also read: Developer sales fell 75.5% to 444 units in April

Given these factors, the government has reportedly decided to reduce the supply of private residential units on the confirmed list for the GLS programme. Together with the supply in the pipeline, the supply for the H2 2019 GLS programme will sufficiently cater to the housing needs of our population. “The government will continue to monitor the property market closely and adjust the supply from future GLS programmes, as necessary,” URA noted.