Choosy developers turn their noses up at unappealing GLS residential sites

Who wants a secluded spot in Sembawang?

The government did not release many plum residential sites in its 2H15 land sales programme, and cautious developers are expected to snub many of the confirmed residential sites that will be put up for sale in the next six months.

Analysts note that two of the four residential sites in the Confirmed List have “unappealing” attributes, particularly because they are located far from the Central Region and are far from MRT stations.

“The new residential sites that were added to both the Confirmed and Reserve Lists in the 2H 2015 GLS Programme do not have strong or compelling selling factors as they are mainly located outside the Central Region and are not near any MRT stations. For example, the site at Jalan Kandis is in a fairly secluded location in Sembawang,” said Chia Siew Chuin, Director of Research & Advisory at Colliers International.

Ong Kian Lin and Ivan Looi of RHB Research said that developers are typically more interested in sites that offer waterfront living, have close proximity to an existing or upcoming MRT station and are close to renowed primary schools.

“We expect developers’ interest will be high for Alexandra View and Siglap Road. This is because these sites are next to the Redhill MRT Station and a waterfront living area respectively. However, the other two sites at Clementi Ave 1 and Yio Chu Kang Road may not gather many bids from developers. Therefore, we expect the developers to bid cautiously in the challenging market,” they noted.