Fewer Government Land Sales launches this year has contributed to fierce competition among developers and escalating land prices. (Photo: Nikki De Guzman)
The number of bids for Government Land Sales (GLS) launches has been on the rise this year amid fierce competition among developers to acquire land sites, reported Singapore Business Review citing a Maybank Kim Eng report.
Average bids for executive condominium (EC) sites climbed from seven to 10 this year, while bids for private residential sites remained at 10.
Maybank Kim Eng also highlighted an increase in land prices as property developers locked horns.
“Fierce competition has led to escalating land prices this year, arising from limited land-banking options as the government scales back GLS launches this year,” it said.
In fact, the highest bid for a Sengkang site, which stands at $287 million, was 17 percent above the price of another nearby site sold in August 2014.
A similar trend was also seen in the EC market, where prices have soared 16 to 25 percent from last year.
“We expect continued keen interest in the remaining three residential land parcels for launch in the next few months,” the report added.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
