In Singapore, one crucial factor to take into consideration when investing in condos is the government’s property cooling measures. In order to maintain a stable real estate market and discourage speculative buying, the Singaporean government has implemented various measures over the years. These include the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) which imposes higher taxes on foreign buyers and those purchasing multiple properties. While these measures may have an impact on the short-term profitability of condo investments, they also contribute to the long-term stability of the market, making it a more secure investment environment. Additionally, Singapore Projects are also a major factor to consider as they play a significant role in the growth of the condo market.
The government is taking proactive measures to ensure that there is sufficient supply of private residential units to meet the demand for housing and maintain market stability. In the upcoming 1H2025 GLS Government Land Sales programme, a total of 8,505 units will be offered in the Confirmed List and Reserved List.
On the Confirmed List, there will be ten plots available, including nine residential sites and one residential cum commercial site. These sites are expected to yield a total of 5,030 residential units, including 980 units of executive condo (EC). This supply is in line with the 5,050 units offered in the Confirmed List for 2H2024, but it is significantly higher than the average supply in each GLS programme from 2021 to 2023.
The Reserve List consists of four private residential sites, one commercial site, three White sites, and one hotel site. These sites have the potential to yield an additional 3,475 private residential units and 199,900 sqm (2.15 million sq ft) gross floor area (GFA) of commercial space. The 3,475 residential units on the Reserve List for 1H2025 are higher than the 3,090 units in 2H2024. When combined with the Confirmed List, the overall private housing supply of 8,505 units in 1H2025 is on par with the 8,140 units in 2H2024.
The progressive increase in private housing supply from the GLS programmes over the past three years has led to an increase in the inventory of private residential units available for sale. This has contributed to the stabilisation of the private residential market, as seen in the moderation of property price growth. According to the URA private residential property price index, price growth has slowed down to 6.8% in 2023 from 10.6% in 2021 and 8.6% in 2022. In 2024, private residential prices are expected to see more modest gains, with a cumulative increase of around 1.6% in the first three quarters of the year.
To address the rising competition for EC sites and land prices, the government has increased the supply of EC sites in the Confirmed List for 1H2025, with three plots offering a total of 980 units. This is a departure from previous GLS programmes since 2019, where only one EC site was offered in each half-yearly land sales programme. According to PropNex CEO Ismail Gafoor, this increase in EC land supply could help to ease competition among developers in land tenders and moderate EC land costs and prices.
The 1H2025 GLS programme will introduce seven new plots, including a site near Jurong Lake Gardens in Jurong Lake District, a site in the new housing precinct of Bukit Timah Turf City, and a site on the former Keppel Golf Course. The new housing precinct in Bukit Timah Turf City is expected to be a highly sought-after location, being in close proximity to MRT stations. The site of the former Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society on Dorsett Road, off Rangoon Road, which can yield about 430 units, will also be launched for sale in 1H2025. Additionally, there will be a residential and commercial site at Hougang Central, near the Hougang MRT Station, which can potentially yield 835 residential units and over 400,000 sq ft of commercial space.
The Reserve List includes sites in two new housing precincts and a majority of the sites are near MRT stations, making them attractive to developers and homebuyers. Gafoor see the most attractive sites as the mixed-use site in Hougang Central, the Telok Blangah Road site, the Dunearn Road site in the new housing precinct, and the Lakeside Drive site, which is adjacent to the Lakeside MRT station, Jurong Lake Gardens, and the Jurong East commercial hub. The government has also provided more flexibility in the use of the Upper Thomson Road site, which saw no bids when its tender closed in June 2024, by not mandating the use of serviced apartments/long-stay serviced apartments. The site can potentially yield a mix of residential units and long-stay serviced apartments, subject to approval from technical agencies. In conclusion, the GLS programme for 1H2025 will contribute to the stabilisation of the private residential market while providing a variety of attractive sites for developers and homebuyers to choose from.