Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said the government, real estate industry and homeowners have a shared interest in ensuring a stable and sustainable property market, reported The Straits Times.
In fact, the government “has always taken a medium-term approach towards managing land supply, based on fundamental demographic and economic factors, and has encouraged a competitive and transparent environment to ensure a well-functioning property market,” he said at last night’s anniversary dinner of the Real Estate Developers’ Association of Singapore (REDAS).
He noted that the government introduced several measures “to smooth out the cycles and promote market sustainability over the medium term.”
Meanwhile, REDAS President Augustine Tan revealed that developers remain concerned over the growing supply-demand imbalance.
He cited a survey of 14 projects which showed that prices for some apartments were lowered by up to 11 percent, with several projects having to cut prices twice.
In addition, around 3,000 units from projects built on sites from the Government Land Sales Programme in 2012 are still unsold.
“The total number of unsold units is about 40 percent of the 7,500 units that developers are expected to sell this year,” he said.
Moreover, the cost of construction had also increased due to improved quality as well as higher specifications for home finishes and fittings.
“Prices cannot drop too deeply without affecting the quality of our products and operational obligations,” added Tan.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
