Govt expected to reduce private housing land for H1 2015

The government is expected to trim down the supply of land intended for private housing on the confirmed list for H1 2015 Government Land Sales (GLS) programme due to rising vacancies and sluggish sales, according to property experts in media reports.

Chua Yang Liang, JLL’s Research Head for Southeast Asia, said, “The period of supplying sufficient land to meet the pent-up demand arising from the large population growth between 2007 and 2009 is over. Now the state is likely to be looking at maintaining sufficient new supply to meet the long-term housing need, i.e. from new household formation.”

In concurrence, Savills’ Alan Cheong noted “the general undersupply situation has been resolved and thus the GLS Programme may reflect a more sedentary pace in line with demographic trends.”

R’ST Research believes the land to be released under the confirmed list for the second half of next year can yield about 1,900 units, while JLL projected a higher figure of around 3,700 units.

On the other hand, experts feel that land on the reserve list would be enough for 6,000 to 7,000 private homes, including Executive Condominiums (ECs). This is roughly the same as the 6,305-unit supply in H2 2014 and will serve a buffer in case there is a rebound in market demand.

In terms of location, the government is expected to release land for EC and private housing in Punggol, Woodlands, Sengkang, Jurong Lake District and maybe even at the Seletar Farmway area.

“…there is potential to release more EC sites in Jurong since the area is fast rejuvenating, and given the near sell-out of Lake Life at its recent launch,” said R’ST Research Director Ong Kah Seng.

In the EC segment, Ong predicted that government would reduce the supply on the confirmed list for H1 2015 to merely 500 units compared to 1,520 units in H2 2014, but Colliers International’s Director Chia Siew Chuin projected a higher figure of about 1,000 units.

Image source: Jacklee; Wikimedia Commons

Muneerah Bee, Senior Journalist at PropertyGuru, edited this story.