The latest Government Land Sales (GLS) programme could turn out to be the most interesting in years.

The latest Government Land Sales (GLS) programme could turn out to be the most interesting in years.

Barring a reserve list hotel site at the junction of Jalan Bukit Merah and Alexandra Road - which is slated for a 560-room hotel - the sites on the GLS are widely considered ‘attractive’ by property analysts.

Savills Singapore director of marketing and business development Ku Swee Yong says he is ‘pleased’ with the residential sites because he expects demand for new condominiums to be high.

The sites, located in areas like Alexandra Road and Tanah Merah Kechil, look destined for the upgrader and mid-tier market. And this is exactly where Mr Ku reckons the demand will be.

‘The bulk of the job creation in the future will be mid-to-low level, with many jobs filled by expatriates,’ he said. ‘They will need private housing in these mass market areas.’

Offering something for everyone, the government has also put a landed housing site on the confirmed list. What is unusual about this site is that it is expected to be sold in small parcels - something not seen since 2001. ‘This adds spice and excitement to the market and allows for creative developments,’ Mr Ku said.

If there is another anomaly in the GLS list, it has to be the executive condominium (EC) site on Punggol Road. Many in the industry had thought ECs were slowly being phased out.

CBRE Research executive director Li Hiaw Ho said: ‘It is likely that the government is offering an EC site in light of the escalating prices of private homes, to cater to the needs of the sandwich class.’ The last EC site was offered in 2004, Mr Li pointed out.

The most interesting sites could be those that will be made available for the development of transitional offices.

Details of these sites are not available yet, but the Ministry of National Development says it is working closely with other agencies to coordinate the offerings.

So far, it has identified one suitable site near Newton MRT station. The development is expected to be about three to four storeys, and built in about a year at relatively low cost.

This may be an untested market, but Knight Frank director and head of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak believes even these sites will be popular.

‘I have spoken to agents on the ground and they have said that companies are willing to consider such transitional office space,’ he said.

‘It will need to be cheap - and fast to build. It will also depend on the location. I think developers will be interested but it will have to come down to dollars and cents.’

One exclusion from the GLS list is prime residential sites, which could perhaps have helped cool the high-end market. But as with the prime commercial office sector, a delicate balance needs to be maintained.

‘There will be quite a lot of supply in the high-end market with all the collective sales done. So why would the government want to add to that supply?’ said Mr Mak.

Source: The Business Times, 15 June 2007