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Thread: Land dose to quench thirst for cheaper homes

  1. #1
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    Default Land dose to quench thirst for cheaper homes

    http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/arch...-cheaper-homes

    Published June 14, 2012

    Land dose to quench thirst for cheaper homes

    More ECs and sites in suburban areas aimed at 'sandwich class'

    By michelle tan


    [SINGAPORE] Satisfying the demand for more affordable private homes seems to be the government's focus in its land sales programme for the second half of 2012.

    Most sites in the confirmed list of the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme announced yesterday are in the suburban Outside Central Region (OCR) and Rest of Central Region (RCR). This includes wholly private and executive condominium (EC) sites.

    Said Chia Siew Chuin, Colliers International's director of research and advisory: "As expected, the government is unlikely to relent on the continued injection of land for private residential housing - given the strong demand from home buyers and the continued active participation of developers in land tenders, in which bids are generally still bullish."

    ECs continue to feature strongly, with six out of the 13 residential sites (one of which is a mixed use site) on the confirmed list being allocated for such developments, potentially yielding some 3,100 EC units, slightly more than the five sites or 2,900 EC units offered in the first half of 2012.

    "There has been a steady increase in EC supply under the confirmed list since 2H 2011, signifying the government's intention to provide more homes for the sandwich class," pointed out CBRE executive director Joseph Tan. He also said that injecting more EC sites could stabilise prices.

    Some choice sites are up for grabs, including a private housing site along Commonwealth Avenue and a mixed-use residential site at Yishun Ring Road.

    Lee Sze Teck, senior manager of DWG's research and consultancy division, said developers are likely to battle over these two sites. He said: "The Commonwealth Avenue site is considered to be the plum site as it is opposite Queenstown MRT station and within a few minutes drive to town and Orchard. The Yishun Ring Road site is also attractive as it plugs a gap in the neighbourhood as it is not near Northpoint Shopping Centre thus there is a need for amenities. Additionally, mixed use developments are also increasingly popular with buyers."

    Meanwhile, a commercial site at Venture Avenue (Jurong Gateway) was also placed on the confirmed list. Industry watchers see this as a welcome move and expect the site - which will be sold with a minimum office GFA quantum - to draw interest as the government has committed to develop the district into a vibrant commercial hub.

    Also within the commercial sector, the Sims Avenue/Tanjong Katong Road site on the reserve list saw some sale conditions being revised. The site's minimum hotel use requirement has been removed and some residential use allowed to give the developer greater flexibility.

    For instance, the developer may choose to create an integrated office-retail-residential development, an office-retail-hotel development or an office-retail development after the change. However, single ownership for both the office and retail space will be required.

    Also on offer on the reserve list will be one new commercial site along Cecil Street/Telok Ayer Street, which is presently occupied by the Telok Ayer Performing Arts Centre (which will be relocated sometime next year). One new hotel site - comprising a plot at Victoria Street/Ophir Road (formerly a wholesale market) - has also been put into the second-half's reserve list.

    Yesterday, the MND announced that the confirmed list for H2 2012 will comprise a total of 12 private residential sites, a commercial and residential site as well as 2 commercial sites, which can be developed into 7,100 private residential homes and a gross floor area of about 861,112 sq ft of commercial space.

    On the other hand, the reserve list will include a total of 24 sites, of which 14 are designated for private residential developments, 2 for white sites, 2 for commercial sites and the remaining six for hotel developments. These sites can also be developed into 7,100 private homes, 3.3 million sq ft (GFA) of commercial space and 3,700 hotel rooms.

  2. #2
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    Default Sites for 14,185 homes up for sale

    http://www.straitstimes.com/PrimeNew...ry_810621.html

    Sites for 14,185 homes up for sale

    Exec condos feature strongly in residential plots to be released

    Published on Jun 14, 2012

    By Esther Teo, Property Reporter


    THE Government is moving to keep up with the red-hot demand for property by rolling out 39 sale sites in the second half of the year that could yield 14,185 homes.

    Several of the plots are in suburban areas like Punggol, Sengkang and Jurong, where demand, especially for executive condominiums, remains high.

    The release of land is in line with the previous six months' supply. For the first half of this year, supply that could accommodate 14,140 units was released, while in the second half of last year, it was 14,195.

    The National Development Ministry said yesterday that despite the 86,000 private homes in the pipeline - of which 38,000 remain unsold - demand for private housing remains strong.

    The new land release comprises a mix of residential, commercial, hotel and mixed-use sites, with 15 plots on the confirmed list and 24 on the reserve list.

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

    Sales figures suggest developers will be eager for more land.

    An average of 2,290 homes were sold in each of the first four months of the year, well ahead of the monthly average of 1,300 units from 2008 to last year.

    However, prices remained mostly flat, with the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) price index inching down 0.1 per cent in the first quarter of this year.

    Many of the newly released residential sites are in the suburbs, with executive condo plots making up half of all confirmed list residential sites.

    Experts say this indicates the Government's intent to keep catering to the so-called 'sandwich class' - likely first-time home buyers and HDB upgraders with a monthly household income of $10,000 to $12,000.

    They say demand for land is also expected to remain healthy, but noted that areas like Pasir Ris, Punggol and Sengkang have hosted many new launches, so interest might be more subdued.

    Mr Png Poh Soon, head of research at Knight Frank, said executive condos featured strongly in the latest sales programme as they are priced attractively and have seen strong interest from developers and home buyers.

    But some experts have raised concerns of an oversupply once homes built on sites released since the Government Land Sales programme was ramped up in the second half of 2010 hit the market.

    The ministry yesterday also said that a further 80,280 sq m of commercial space will be made available on the confirmed list. This includes a site in Jurong as part of plans to develop commercial hubs outside the city.

    Six hotel sites are up for grabs on the reserve list, potentially adding to the 12,000 rooms already in the pipeline.

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