More GLS residential sites to be triggered for sale as developers rush to replenish landbanks

Private land sales are out of vogue.

There was a time when developers preferred to accumulate land parcels through private land deals, but all that is now in the past. As cooling measures keep a lid on private transactions, a report by DTZ said that more residential sites on the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme Reserve List might be triggered for sale to meet developer demand.

Qualifying Certificate rules and Additional Buyers’ Stamp Duties have which effectively curbed developers’ interest to purchase land privately through en bloc sales, DTZ said, pushing more firms to explore their options with public sales.

The report said that some possible sites that may be triggered include the land parcel at Margaret Drive and Bartley, where both areas saw healthy sales in recent private launches.

In the 1H 2016 GLS Confirmed List, the land parcel at Martin Place offers an attractive proposition to developers. The 1.59 ha land parcel, which can yield about 445 apartments, is located within the prime District 9, and is proximate to River Valley Primary School. 

“The future pipeline supply for residential developments in prime districts is limited, and such sites will be hard to come by. Using recent transactions in the vicinity as a gauge, we anticipate the winning bid to be around $450m ($940 per sq ft per plot ratio),” said Dr. Lee Nai Jia, DTZ’s Research Head