FOR the first time in five years, the Government has put a slew of land sites up for outright sale, reflecting its belief that the property market has finally rebounded.
Seven sites will be scheduled for sale in the first half of next year, as opposed to being placed on a 'reserve' list awaiting bidders.
The 'confirmed' sites include a brand-new 'white site'' in red-hot Marina Bay, the Ministry of National Development said in its latest land sales programme.
'For the Government to put up so many sites on the confirmed list shows that it is optimistic about the property market now,' said Ms Tay Huey Ying, director of research and consultancy at property firm Colliers International.
Before 2001, all government land sales were 'confirmed' - meaning that the Government will schedule the sale of the land, regardless of whether developers have shown any interest in it.
Such sales were suspended in 2001 to avoid adding to the supply of land, after the property market hit one downturn after another.
In the last five years, only one site - the Collyer Quay site sold earlier this week - has been sold via the confirmed list.
All other land was only sold after developers submitted bids for sites on the 'reserve list'' of sites available for sale.
At the top of the unusually long 'confirmed' list yesterday was a 1.03ha 'white site' in Marina Bay, behind the popular residential project, The Sail @ Marina Bay.
A 'white site' can be used for any purpose, such as homes, shops or a hotel. But the Marina site has to include a minimum number of offices.
Beyond that, analysts said, the site is likely to be used for either more offices or homes, as the values of both are skyrocketing in the neighbourhood. Marina Bay Residences sold out at record prices last week, while UIC Building in Shenton Way went on the market at a record price on Wednesday.
Also significant is the first release in five years of two 'confirmed' residential sites in Handy Road and Choa Chu Kang, said analysts.
These, along with three other sites on the confirmed list, were already available to developers via the reserve list last year.
The Government said yesterday that selling the Choa Chu Kang plot will help expedite the building of a planned commercial and residential development in the area. The Handy Road site release is also 'timely', given the recent completion of the Singapore Management University.
The seventh plot on the confirmed list is the NCO Club and Beach Road Camp site. It was already scheduled for sale later this month but will now only be sold in March.
Yesterday, market watchers welcomed the Government's cautious use of the confirmed list to sell land, despite the boom in certain segments of the property market.
There should be no fears of oversupply, given that most of the land available for sale was put on the reserve list, they said.
The seven sites on the confirmed list are significantly less than another 32 sites on the reserve list. These will not come on to the market if there are no takers.
These sites include two suburban housing plots, three hotel sites on the city fringe, a 'white site' in Outram Road and a commercial site in Anson Road.
The Real Estate Developers' Association of Singapore (Redas) yesterday said the Government was adopting a 'pragmatic approach'' to releasing land, by keeping the reserve list as its 'mainstay''.
This approach will allow the high-end property recovery to filter down to the other segments of the market, Redas said.
fiochan@sph.com.sg
