Lentor, River Valley, Marina Gardens, and Woodlands are the launch sale locations for URA and HDB

The government claims that in future GLS initiatives, it would keep releasing a consistent number of private residential units.

October 17, 2024

CONDOsingapore.com

On Thursday, October 17, four residential land parcels were made available under the second phase of the 2024 Government Land Sales (GLS) programme by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and the Housing & Development Board (HDB).

These include a residential plot at Lentor Gardens, an executive condominium (EC) site at Woodlands Drive 17, and sites at Marina Gardens Lane and River Valley Green (Parcel B), which are designated residential with first-story business.

With the capacity to produce 500 and 475 residential units, respectively, the plots at Lentor Gardens and River Valley Green (Parcel B) were put up for sale under the verified list.

These two locations are among 5,050 residential units that will be made available under the H2 2024 GLS program's confirmed list.

Applications are being accepted for the sites at Marina Gardens Lane and Woodlands Drive 17, which have the capacity to produce 390 residential units and 420 EC units, respectively, under the reserve list.

A site on the reserve list is placed up for tender when a developer submits a bid that the government accepts, but sites on the confirmed list are opened on time regardless of demand.

With supplies adjusted to account for current economic and property market circumstances, the government said that it would "continue to release a steady supply of private residential units in coming GLS programmes."

Next year, the River Valley Green (Parcel B) site tender ends at noon on February 7 and the Lentor Gardens site tender expires at noon on April 3.

Possible demand

Analysts predict low demand in the midst of cautious market circumstances and plenty of fresh supply in the region for the 20,639.4 square metre (sq m) plot at Lentor Gardens, the seventh parcel to be made available for purchase in the Lentor residential development.

According to Nicholas Mak, chief research officer of Mogul.sg, Guocoland, Hong Leong Holdings, TID, or a combination of the three developers have purchased five of the six plots in the Lentor that have been auctioned so far.

"Being in competition with these three developers who have a strong market presence and more robust pricing power in that sub-market, there is little incentive for other developers to bid aggressively for the seventh GLS site at Lentor," Mak said.

The CEO of ERA Singapore, Marcus Chu, emphasised that in the last two years, the majority of bids for prior Lentor GLS sites have been between one and two.

For the future Lentor Gardens property, he said, "we can expect the same number of around one bid with slower market conditions expected to maintain its status quo."

Chu expects that some developers may feel "confident enough" to pursue the site, but he thinks the bids won't be aggressive, with the top bid falling between S$945 and S$995 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr), considering that buyers have responded favourably to previous launches in the Lentor area.

With this site, Lentor will have around 3,454 units; as of October 17, 2,477 units from five projects had already been released, leaving only 352 units unsold, according to Huttons Asia CEO Mark Yip.

"This should allay worries about a supply overhang in Lentor and demonstrates buyers' receptiveness towards living in the private residential enclave," he added.

Huttons believes there may be up to three bids and a peak price between S$1,200 and S$1,300 per square foot for the River Valley Green (Parcel B) property, which is located in a desirable residential area and will have direct access to the Great World MRT station.

Yip anticipates that developers may exercise caution in their bids despite the site's desirable position and easy access to the station, even in light of the improving market mood and interest rate reduction.

Chu also anticipates a "muted outcome" for the River Valley property after accounting for the sluggish market circumstances at the moment.

"We can anticipate the site attracting a similarly low number of one to two bids, with a range of around S$485 million to S$529 million (S$1,100 to S$1,200 psf ppr)," he added, based on findings at the nearby River Valley Green and Zion locations.

Wing Tai Holdings purchased another site at River Valley Green for over S$464 million, or roughly S$1,325 per square foot, after an earlier June tender received just two offers.

Yip thinks the Woodlands Drive 17 property will probably be put up for sale out of all the reserve list locations. It would be the first Woodlands South location to be up for applications since 2013.

Developers have shown a strong interest in previous EC land bids since public-private hybrid projects often sell well and swiftly.

Because they are less expensive than private condominiums in the same neighbourhood, ECs are well-liked by purchasers. Additionally, owners have recently reaped significant financial gains when they sell their EC apartments after the required five-year occupancy term, Mak added.

Huttons predicts that four to six buyers would compete for the property if it is put up for sale, with a high price of between S$650 and S$700 per square foot.

Yip, however, thinks it is doubtful that the Marina Gardens Lane property would be put up for sale since the H2 2024 GLS confirmed list includes other desirable locations like Bayshore Road, Chencharu Close, Chuan Grove, and Holland Link.