Land for 14,000 homes up for sale

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Land for 14,000 homes up for sale

Government earmarks 32 sites for release in the first half of next year

Published on Dec 15, 2012

By Esther Teo Property Reporter


THE Government is keeping up its rapid pace of land release in the first half of next year to meet unrelenting strong demand from home buyers.

It has earmarked a total of 32 sites for release under the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme in the six-month period.

These sites could yield 14,035 private homes, including 3,100 units of the increasingly popular executive condominiums (ECs).

The latest slate of sites is in line with supply from July to December this year, when sites able to accommodate 14,185 units were released.

Of the latest sites, 13 are on the confirmed list and go on sale regardless of interest, while 19 are reserve list sites put up for tender only if a developer makes an acceptable initial offer.

The Ministry of National Development (MND) said in a statement yesterday that this will provide an adequate supply of private housing to meet continued demand. A whopping 19,507 new private homes were sold in the first 10 months of this year - easily eclipsing the record of 16,292 sold in the whole of last year.

Most of the new sites are in suburban and city fringe areas such as Woodlands and Punggol, where more affordable private homes are set to be built, MND said.

Buying demand has been strongest, and private home prices have risen the most in these areas. Suburban home prices rose 3 per cent in the first nine months of the year, compared with an overall 1 per cent private market gain.

But the latest list also includes choice sites in areas like Mount Sophia and Coronation Road.

Experts say the Government has kept its foot on the supply pedal as land prices at recent tenders have kept inching upwards.

Almost 94,000 private homes are set to be completed in the next few years as at Sept 30 - raising fears of a possible oversupply.

But prices are not expected to fall with this new flood of supply as the market is still being held up by low interest rates and ample funds, property watchers noted.

Mr Nicholas Mak, head of research at SLP International, believes sites at Coronation Road, Mount Sophia and Siglap Road may attract high bids.

He expects prices to rise 1.5 per cent to 5 per cent next year.

Colliers International research and advisory director Chia Siew Chuin said the release of more generic mass market and EC sites will help to rein in price gains.

"However, the attractive sites will fuel interest and competitive bidding. This provides some level of support for the market, but prices are not expected to run away."

EL Development managing director Lim Yew Soon said in the light of the supply in the pipeline, it helps that many of the plots on the confirmed list are EC sites catering largely to genuine buyers. But he said that while there are well-located sites close to MRT stations, some are in the same area.

The GLS also includes commercial sites, with a potential 315,000 sq m in gross floor area of largely office and retail space and 1,740 hotel rooms to be pushed out.

This includes a new Havelock Road hotel reserve list site and two commercial and residential sites in Yishun and Potong Pasir.

MND said apart from the GLS, land and properties are also made available by various government agencies. These include localised retail facilities at parks, MRT stations and community centres.

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Choice sites in latest govt land sale

Keen bids likely for landed housing site in Coronation

Published on Dec 15, 2012

By Esther Teo Property Reporter


PLENTY of plum sites are nestled among the slate of new plots in the Government's latest land sale programme to whet the appetites of developers.

Some are mixed-use developments close to MRT stations that are expected to attract keen interest and high bids, while others are choice residential sites in prime areas such as Coronation Road and Mount Sophia.

A commercial and residential confirmed list site next to Yishun MRT station, for instance, will be put up for sale in June, while a similar site next to Potong Pasir MRT station sits on the reserve list.

Similar integrated developments in Punggol and Bedok have already proved to be a winning formula for developers and these new sites are likely to carry on the trend, experts said.

Confirmed list sites go on sale regardless of interest, while those on the reserve list are put up for tender only if a developer makes an acceptable initial offer.

Other choice confirmed list sites include a Mount Sophia site near Dhoby Ghaut MRT station, where three MRT lines intersect, and a rare landed housing site at the junction of Coronation and Victoria Park roads that can yield 140 homes. It is also close to the popular Nanyang Primary School.

Colliers International research and advisory director Chia Siew Chuin noted that it has been more than a year since a landed residential site has been made available on the confirmed list. The Coronation site could see "intensely competitive" bids, she added.

"This comes as a pleasant surprise to the market and offers a good opportunity to developers.

"Any stigma surrounding the site, which was previously a Chinese cemetery, is expected to ebb once it is sold and developed, especially since land resource for private landed residential development is fundamentally scarce in Singapore," Ms Chia said.

The reserve list also offers some sites with good locations, experts added. Sites next to MRT stations as well as sites in popular central regions might be triggered for tender.

Knight Frank research head Png Poh Soon picked Potong Pasir as a potential hot spot next year.

The area lacks commercial amenities, so the reserve list for a mixed-use development at the junction of Upper Serangoon and Meyappa Chettiar roads is timely.

"The traditionally quiet area has sprung alive in recent years following the launch of Nin Residence and a slew of other new residential developments such as Sant Ritz and Sennett Residence," he added.

"Coupled with limited land sites for such integrated developments, we expect strong interest from developers for this particular land site."

Colliers' Ms Chia added that the Toa Payoh residential site that can yield 550 units could also be triggered for sale.

"The site is in a popular housing estate that has a fairly central location. The host of amenities in Toa Payoh and the site's proximity to Braddell MRT station would make it an attractive one."

Tuan Sing Holdings chief financial officer Chong Chou Yuen said that the landed housing site in Coronation Road and the Potong Pasir site are the ones he would pick as the most attractive.

"Landed housing sites are rare and so the Coronation site is likely to be keenly contested.

"The Potong Pasir site is close to the MRT station and to our existing project, Sennett Residence... The area is likely to become a good residential hub."

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Prime picks

Published on Dec 15, 2012



CORONATION ROAD

Size: 3.8ha for landed housing
No. of units expected: 140
Attributes: A sizeable plot of land situated in the prime Bukit Timah residential enclave. It is surrounded by mostly low-rise housing and good schools.

Given the premier address, it will be very sought after by developers.



MOUNT SOPHIA

Size: 2.37ha for residential use
No. of units expected: 505
Attributes: The prime District 9 site is made up of the old Methodist Girls’ School and Trinity Theological College in a central, unique and quiet residential enclave. The unique history of the location may strike a sentimental chord with home buyers.



TOA PAYOH

Size: 1.26ha for residential use
No. of units expected: 550
Attributes: The site is in a popular housing estate that has a fairly central location. The host of amenities in Toa Payoh and the site’s proximity to Braddell MRT station would make it an attractive one.



SIGLAP ROAD

Size: 2ha for residential use
No. of units expected: 780
Attributes: The site is located behind Victoria School, close to the nearby recreational area of East Coast Park, the food and beverage offerings along East Coast Road, as well as good schools in Marine Parade.



POTONG PASIR

Size: 1.99ha for commercial and residential use
No. of units expected: 810
Estimated commercial space: 5,000 sq m
Attributes: This mixed commercial and residential site is located right in front of Potong Pasir MRT station and the nearby St Andrew's Village.

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Published December 15, 2012

MND opens up plum sites for private housing

Upcoming land sales programme keeps a lid on total supply but ratchets up the 'prime quotient'

By Kalpana Rashiwala


THE Ministry of National Development (MND) brought some joyous tidings with the announcement that it will release some plum sites for private housing in the first half of the coming year. Many are in locations that have been rarely touched of late as part of the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme.

MND is trying to pull off a balancing act. It will be releasing roughly the same quantum of land over the next six months as it did in the current half-year. It is seeking the right balance between developers' appetite for residential land and potential oversupply as a record number of homes come onstream in the next few years.

Still, market watchers were surprised by the choice sites up for grabs. These include a landed housing site in Coronation Road/Victoria Park Road that can generate about 140 landed homes. The plot is next to the Victoria Park and Rebecca Park Good Class Bungalow Areas. It used to be a Chinese cemetery, where graves were exhumed sometime ago. The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) will launch this site in March.

In June, the URA will roll out a site on Mount Sophia, a chunk of which comprises an area which most recently housed the arts enclave called "Old School" and formerly accommodated the Methodist Girls' School. The 2.4-ha site - which includes the former Trinity Theological College and Nan Hwa Girls' School - can be developed into a low-rise condo of about 505 units.

Yet another low-rise condo site is at Faber Walk in the Ulu Pandan area which can yield about 210 units, slated for launch in April. All three land parcels are on the confirmed list, where sites are launched according to a pre-stated schedule, regardless of demand.

In the reserve list, a 2-ha plot on Siglap Road - next to Victoria School, flanked by Mandarin Gardens and Laguna Park, and facing East Coast Park and beach - will be made available in May. As it is on the reserve list, it will be launched for tender only upon successful application by a developer.

"The prime quotient in the GLS Programme has gone up," says Jones Lang LaSalle's head of investments Karamjit Singh. "I suppose they would have figured that supply in the mass-market segment has been well provided for in the past three years' GLS Programmes, and it is probably time to start introducing some supply a few notches higher," he added.

He acknowledged that these plum sites pose competition to en bloc sale sites - the traditional source of high-end residential development land. "But again, developers know that en bloc sites are mostly freehold whereas GLS plots are 99-year leasehold. Ultimately, it boils down to value and price proposition."

Developers are also expected to be keen on two new commercial and residential sites introduced in the H1 2013 programme - a confirmed list plot in Yishun Central (next to the MRT station, bus interchange and Northpoint Shopping Centre) and a reserve list plot next to Potong Pasir MRT Station, says DTZ's Asia-Pacific research head Chua Chor Hoon.

"These will be popular because residential projects which are part of mixed developments next to MRT stations have been highly sought after by home buyers," said Ms Chua.

MND will be launching confirmed-list sites that can generate some 6,935 private homes (including 3,110 executive condos or ECs). Through the reserve list, it is offering land for a further 7,100 private homes. The quantum is similar to the current H2 2012 slate.

Knight Frank chairman Tan Tiong Cheng observed that ECs make up 45 per cent of the confirmed list's residential supply for H1 2013. "It is clear Government thinks that demand for ECs is still strong."

Mr Tan also observed that the three plum sites on Coronation Road, Kim Tian Road and Mount Sophia account for 16 per cent of the supply of homes from the confirmed list.

On the reserve list, he identified four plots - in Siglap Road, Stirling Road, Alexandra View (Parcel A) and Prince Charles Crescent (Parcel B) - which will yield about 3,055 private homes - or 43 per cent of the reserve list's supply. "If you exclude ECs, these plum sites' share of the reserve list supply is even higher."

HSR Property Group's special adviser Donald Han notes that the bulk of new housing supply in recent years has been focused on the suburban or Outside Central Region and "there is a need to balance this by supplying more sites in the prime districts". He added: "Judging from recent prime state tenders in Farrer Road, Jervois Road and the Alexandra corridor - demand has been brisk."

Pointing to the choice housing sites on the latest slate, Savills Singapore's research head Alan Cheong notes that notwithstanding an almost symmetrical GLS programme - in terms of supply quantum - in H1 2013 as the current half, "GLS sales proceeds may be better".

Responding, the URA's spokesman said: "Most of the private residential sites in the (H1 2013) confirmed list are in Outside Central Region or Rest of Central Region - where more affordable private housing is expected to be built".

The H1 2013 confirmed list will supply about 33,360 sq m gross floor area (GFA) of commercial space, with reserve list sites that can generate a further 281,320 sq m. Both figures are lower than the 80,280 sq m and 308,200 sq m respectively in the current half. Market watchers suggest MND's strategy reflects the current soft mood in the office leasing market.

MND noted that H1 2013's reserve list will have three sites for office developments - at Marina View/Union Street in the new Downtown, Cecil Street and Sims Avenue - which are being carried over from the H2 2012 reserve list. These can be triggered by the market, if there is demand. Currently, there is about 1.17 million sq m (12.6 million sq ft) GFA of office supply in the pipeline.

Hotel rooms supply from H1 2013's sites will halve to 1,740 rooms, from 3,655 in the current half. In both periods, the supply is solely through the reserve list.

HSR's Mr Han suggests that the authorities may have become more cautious about the outlook for visitor arrivals given the sombre state of major economies.

On a brighter note, he highlighted that MND has introduced a new hotel site in Havelock Road - the former Warehouse disco - which should be hotly contested for its bite size (URA estimates it can generate 35 hotel rooms) appeal to new entrants and boutique hoteliers. "We expect a record price for hotel land, in terms of unit land price to be achieved for the plot," he said.