Debate over whether selling more land

Even as the government yesterday rolled out seven sites that can potentially generate about 3,000 private homes, a discussion has surfaced as to whether releasing more land will have the desired effect of cooling the market.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority and Housing & Development Board, as state land sales agents, yesterday launched the tenders for three private housing sites on the confirmed list - a plot near Sengkang MRT Station, another a stone's throw from Buangkok MRT Station, and the third at Pasir Ris Drive 3.

URA also announced that a reserve-list plot at Boon Lay Way near Jurong East MRT Station had been triggered for launch following a successful application by a developer.

In addition, three reserve-list sites - one next to Redhill MRT Station and two District 10 sites at Farrer Drive (next to Sommerville Grandeur and near Farrer Road MRT Station) and at the Farrer Road/Lutheran Road corner, a short distance from Botanic Gardens MRT Station - are being made available for application on the reserve list this month. The seven 99-year leasehold sites can potentially generate nearly 3,000 homes.

The government supplied land under the confirmed list for a total of about 16,200 private homes including ECs last year. The supply for the first-half 2012 confirmed list is about 7,020 units.

The biggest of the plots on offer is the confirmed-list plot near Sengkang MRT Station, which could yield around 710 homes. Property consultants polled by BT varied widely in their forecasts of top bids - $400 to 550 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr). Keppel Land paid about $502 psf ppr for the next-door site (being built into The Luxurie condo) at a tender in March 2011.

One MRT stop closer to town, at Buangkok, forecasts for top bids for a condo plot that can yield about 580 homes range from $320-500 psf ppr.

For the Pasir Ris Drive 3 site, consultants indicated the highest bids could come in at $300-460 psf ppr. A nearby site drew a $472 psf ppr top bid at a tender that closed last week.

The developer that successfully applied for the release of the reserve-list condo plot in the Jurong East MRT vicinity has undertaken to place a minimum bid that reflects about $409.85 psf ppr.

Source: Business Times – 17 April 2012