Government Releases Four Residential Sites Under 2H2024 Gls Programme
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and Housing Development Board (HDB) have announced that the government has released four sites for sale under the 2H2024 Government Land Sales (GLS) Programme. This was announced through a joint press release on Oct 17.
Out of the four sites, two have been launched for sale under the Confirmed List, while the remaining two are available for application under the Reserve List. The two sites on the Confirmed List are Lentor Gardens and River Valley Green (Parcel B). The Reserve List sites are Marina Gardens Lane and Woodlands Drive 17.
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The Lentor Gardens site is zoned for residential development, while the Woodlands Drive 17 site is for the development of an executive condominium (EC). The remaining two sites, River Valley Green (Parcel B) and Marina Gardens Lane, are zoned for residential with commercial use on the first storey.
The Lentor Gardens site spans 222,161 sq ft and is the seventh plot to be launched in the developing Lentor Hills Estate. It has the potential to yield around 500 units, which will be a mix of low-rise residential blocks and mid-rise blocks of up to 16 storeys. Some of the other projects in the area include Lentor Modern, Hillock Green, Lentoria, Lentor Hills Residences, Lentor Mansion, and a project by CSC Land, Hong Leong Holdings’ Intrepid Investments and GuocoLand which has yet to be revealed. The tender for the Lentor Gardens site on the Reserve List has not yet been triggered.
According to Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics at Huttons Asia, only 352 units (14.2%) of the 2,477 residential units launched in the Lentor area remain unsold. This shows that there is a demand for living in the private residential enclave of Lentor, easing concerns of a possible supply overhang in the area. Huttons expects one to three bidders for the site, with a top bid of between $900 and $1,000 psf per plot ratio (ppr). The tender for the Lentor Gardens site closes on April 3, 2025.
The River Valley Green (Parcel B) plot spans 126,325 sq ft and has a maximum gross floor area (GFA) of 442,138 sq ft. It has the potential to accommodate about 475 residential units. According to the site’s land tender requirements, it will have direct access to the nearby Great World MRT Station along the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL). Marcus Chu, CEO of ERA Singapore, notes that the site’s location is well-connected to major roads and expressways like Central Expressway (CTE) and Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE) by private transport, while the Great World MRT Station provides easy access to the Orchard Road shopping district, which is just one stop away.
Lee notes that the area already has a pipeline of incoming residential housing. Two other sites in the area have been awarded this year- one in April to a joint venture (JV) between City Developments Limited (CDL) and Japanese real estate developer Mitsui Fudosan, and another in June to Winchamp Investment, a subsidiary of Wing Tai Holdings. Lee estimates that both sites could be launched next year, yielding a total of 1,120 residential units. Furthermore, another GLS site at River Valley Green (Parcel C) is set to be launched in December 2024, according to URA. If this site is awarded, Lee predicts that the area could see almost 2,200 units for sale over the next few years. Therefore, developers are likely to be cautious in their bids, given the expected supply of new private units entering the market in the area. He estimates that the site could attract one to three bidders, with a top bid of $1,200 to $1,300 psf ppr. The tender for the River Valley Green (Parcel B) site closes on Feb 7, 2025.
The EC site at Woodlands Drive spans 271,326 sq ft and has a maximum GFA of 461,255 sq ft. If the site is triggered for sale and awarded, the new development could yield 420 EC units. It is close to Woodlands South MRT Station on the TEL, and the station is one stop from Woodlands Regional Centre and two stops to the upcoming RTS link to Johor Bahru. It would also be the first EC site launched for sale in Woodlands South since 2013. The last EC site that was launched for sale has been developed into the 561-unit Bellewoods. Lee estimates that 6,500 HDB flats in Woodlands were completed from 2016 to 2018. This could contribute to the pool of potential buyers for a future EC development in the vicinity.
The other Reserve List site is located at Marina Gardens Lane and spans 64,663 sq ft, with a maximum GFA of 362,119 sq ft. It is zoned for residential with commercial use on the first storey and is close to the upcoming Marina South MRT station on the TEL. Lee believes that this site is unlikely to be triggered for sale due to the availability of other attractive sites on the 2H2024 Confirmed List such as Bayshore Road, Chencharu Close, Chuan Grove and Holland Link. The Marina Gardens Lane site is also close to another GLS site at Marina Crescent, which was moved to the Reserve List earlier this year after the sole bid of $770.5 million ($984 psf ppr) was assessed to be too low by URA. The bid price reflected a nearly 30% haircut off the land rate of $1,402 psf ppr that a Kingsford Group-led consortium paid for a neighbouring plot in Marina Gardens Lane in July 2023.