Central Region share of GLS confirmed list on the rise

After creating jobs closer to homes in the suburbs in recent years, the government is increasingly bringing private homes closer to jobs in the city.

In the confirmed list of the Government Land Sales (GLS) Programme for H2 this year, the proportion of private housing supply in the Central Region has risen to 33.2 per cent. This is up from 28.9 per cent in H1 2014 and 15.1 per cent in H2 2013. The recent low was 8.6 per cent in H1 2012.

Central Region comprises Core Central Region (CCR) and Rest of Central Region (RCR).

"The sale and development of residential sites in the Central Region," said a spokeswoman for the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), "will provide more housing options nearer to employment centres within the Central Area.

"Overall, there is still a good distribution of residential sites across the regions to provide different housing choices."

Central Area includes the financial district and the Orchard Road shopping belt.

Some market watchers noted that while the planning authority has been pushing for decentralisation in recent years - to move jobs to locations such as Tampines, Jurong East and Woodlands - it probably deems it timely now to also bring homes closer to jobs in the city. Both strategies are aimed at cutting the commute between home and work, easing pressure on the strained transport infrastructure.

Some observers also reason that with a more stable property market now and bigger price drops in CCR and RCR compared with OCR, the timing is better to increase the Central Region's share of private housing supply. Had the authorities released more prime sites earlier during the market euphoria, there would have been a danger of bullish land bids sparking another round of price increases.

The CCR comprises postal districts 9, 10 and 11, the Downtown Core Planning Area (including the financial district) and Sentosa. RCR covers city-fringe locations such as Bukit Merah, Toa Payoh, Geylang, Sims Avenue and Paya Lebar Road.

On the H2 2014 confirmed list, a commercial and residential site near Holland Village MRT Station to be launched in December is expected to generate some 580 private homes. Those who will live in these homes would be close to employment centres such as one-north or Orchard Road. Similarly those who will reside in the 440 private homes expected on the Paya Lebar Road/Sims Avenue commercial site to be launched in October would be closer to workplaces in say Bugis, Beach Road and other parts of the CBD - compared with those living in say Yishun or Changi.

Source: Business Times 18th June 2014

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Central Region share of GLS confirmed list on the rise

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