Singapore Releases New Residential Sites as Housing Market Stays Hot

The Singapore government on Tuesday released two residential development sites capable of delivering a total of 1,540 private homes, as officials look to boost housing supply in a city-state reeling from runaway housing prices.

In a set of coordinated moves, the Urban Redevelopment Authority launched a 2.05 hectare (5 acre) parcel for sale on Jalan Tembusu in the Marine Parade area that can yield up to 840 residential units, while the Housing Development Board introduced Tampines Street 62 Parcel B, a 2.8 hectare plot designated for 700 executive condominium units.

The two sites are the first made available in 2023 under the government land sale programme’s confirmed list, forming part of the 4,090 residential units scheduled to become available via the list in the first half of 2023. The tender for the two 99-year leasehold sites will close at noon on 18 July, the agencies said in a release.

Singapore home prices grew by 8.4 percent last year despite government cooling measures, with recent home launches continuing to sell out within their first month of sales as Lion City homebuyers brush aside rising interest rates.

Nearby Benchmarks

The URA’s Jalan Tembusu site is about 700 metres (766 yards) north of the future Tanjong Katong MRT station on the opposite side of Mountbatten Road. The plot can be developed to a maximum gross floor area of 72,003 square metres (775,034 square feet) and a height of 75 metres (246 feet).

The site sits near the upcoming Tembusu Grand project of City Developments Ltd and Hongkong Land unit MCL Land. CDL paid S$768 million ($569 million), or S$1,302 per square foot of built space, for its site at the intersection of Tanjong Katong Road and Jalan Tembusu in January of last year, with MCL later acquiring a 49 percent stake in the venture.

Also close by is a new project along Dunman Road being developed on a GLS plot sold to Gordon Tang-controlled SingHaiyi for S$1.28 billion ($1 billion), or S$1,350 per square foot, last June.

Chia Siew Chuin, head of residential research at JLL Singapore, said the top bids for the URA site could exceed S$1 billion and range from S$1,300 to S$1,350 per square foot.

“It could draw less than five bids, as developers are expected to remain cautious due to increased risks from high acquisition and construction costs amid soaring interest rates,” Chia said.

Executive Action

The HDB’s executive condo site at Tampines Street 62 Parcel B is within walking distance of the future Tampines North MRT station on the Cross-Island Line and the mixed-use Tampines Avenue 11 development.

The site sits next to another EC plot (Parcel A) awarded for S$422 million (S$659 per square foot) to a Qingjian and Santarli joint venture in August 2021. Parcel A was launched as Tenet EC in December 2022 and has sold 607 out of its 618 units at a median price of S$1,385 per square foot since launch, according to government data.

The positive response to Tenet and the healthy sales at another recent EC launch, the sold-out Copen Grand, should bolster developers’ confidence in this public-private hybrid segment, said Wong Siew Ying, head of research and content at PropNex Realty.

“Developers would see ECs as a safer option given the typically steady demand for new ECs among first-timer buyers and HDB upgraders,” Wong said.