The Government Land Sales (GLS) Programme for the first half of 2012 (1H2012) will comprise 14 Confirmed List sites and 27 Reserve List sites.
These sites can yield about 14,100 private residential units, including 3,500 Executive Condominium (EC) units, 218,000 sqm gross floor area (GFA) of commercial space and 4,800 hotel rooms.
The Ministry of National Development (MND) announced this on Wednesday.
All 14 Confirmed List sites are for private residential developments, including five EC sites. These sites can yield about 7,000 residential units (including 2,900 EC units).
Of the 27 sites in the Reserve List, 15 are residential sites (including one EC site), two are commercial sites, two are white sites and eight are hotel sites. These sites can yield about 7,100 private residential units, 218,000 sqm GFA of commercial space and 4,800 hotel rooms.
The potential yield of about 7,000 residential units from the 14 Confirmed List sites set aside for private residential developments is slightly less than the 8,100 units in the second half 2011 (2H2011) Confirmed List.
The MND said that in deciding on this supply, it has taken into consideration the large supply of 81,600 private residential units (including 5,300 EC units) that are already available in the pipeline as at the third quarter of 2011 as well as the possible moderation in investment demand for private housing due to Wednesday’s announcement of an Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD).
The ABSD of between 3 per cent and 10 per cent will be imposed on certain categories of residential property purchases. It will be imposed over and above the current Buyer’s Stamp Duty and take effect from December 8.
Most of the private residential sites in the 1H2012 GLS Programme, including the 15 sites on the Reserve List, are located in the Outside Central Region or in locations in the Rest of Central Region where more affordable private housing is expected to be built.
The 1H2012 Reserve List will have two sites for office development. The first is the white site at Marina View, which is already available in the 2H2011 Reserve List. This site will be carried over to the 1H2012 Reserve List.
The commercial site at Sims Avenue/Tanjong Katong Road, which was put up for tender under the 2H2011 Confirmed List but was not awarded, will also be added to the 1H2012 Reserve List.
The MND said it is not releasing any site for office development via the Confirmed List in 1H2012, as there is already a large supply of office space in the pipeline, amounting to 933,000 sqm GFA.
A significant portion of the pipeline office space supply, about 410,000 sqm GFA, is located outside the Central Area. These developments at Buona Vista, Jurong Gateway and Paya Lebar will sustain the government’s plans to decentralize work places to the regional centres and will add to the supply of more affordable office space for businesses which do not need to be in the Central Business District, said the MND.
In addition, there is more supply from projects that are pending approvals such as at Choon Guan Street and the six plots of land at Marina Bay and Ophir Road/Rochor Road by M+S Pte Ltd .
Together, these projects are estimated to add another 400,000 to 500,000 sqm GFA of office space. The potential office supply in the 1H2012 Reserve List will provide opportunities for developers to trigger more office supply if there is demand, said the MND.
As for the supply of hotel rooms, the 1H2012 GLS Programme will include two new hotel sites at Jurong Town Hall Road and East Coast Road.
Together with the existing sites carried over from the 2H2011 GLS Programme, these two new hotel sites on the Reserve List will provide ample opportunities for developers to initiate additional supply of hotel rooms over and above the pipeline supply of about 11,000 hotel rooms as at the third quarter of 2011, said the MND.
Source : Channel NewsAsia – 7 Dec 2011
