Investing in a Singapore Condo requires careful consideration of its potential rental return. This refers to the annual rental income as a percentage of the condo’s purchase price. Various factors like location, property condition, and market demand can greatly impact the condo rental yields in Singapore. Typically, areas near business districts or educational institutions tend to offer higher rental yields due to their high demand. To gain valuable insights into the rental potential of a specific Singapore Condo, it is essential to conduct thorough market research and seek guidance from real estate agents. This will help in making an informed decision regarding the investment.
In order to meet the growing demand for housing and maintain stability in the market, the government has announced the sustained supply of private residential units in the upcoming 1H2025 GLS Government Land Sales (GLS) programme. The programme will offer a total of 8,505 units in the Confirmed List and Reserved List.
Out of the ten plots offered in the Confirmed List, nine are residential sites and three are executive condo (EC) plots. The tenth plot is a residential cum commercial site, with a potential to yield 5,030 residential units including 980 EC units. This is in line with the 5,050 units offered in the Confirmed List of the 2H2024 programme, but almost 60% higher than the average supply in each GLS programme from 2021 to 2023.
The Reserve List includes four private residential sites, one commercial site, three White sites and one hotel site, which could potentially yield an additional 3,475 private residential units and 199,900 sqm (2.15 million sq ft) gross floor area (GFA) of commercial space. This is higher than the 3,090 units offered in the 2H2024 programme, bringing the overall private housing supply in 1H2025 on par with that of 2H2024.
The progressive ramp-up of private housing supply in the GLS programmes over the last three years has increased the inventory of private residential units available for sale, from 16,100 units at the end of 2021 to around 21,000 units as of end-2024. This has contributed to the stabilisation of the private residential market, with a moderation in property price momentum. The URA private residential property price index showed a growth of 6.8% in 2023, compared to 10.6% in 2021 and 8.6% in 2022. The expected price increase for 2024 is around 1.6%.
To address the rise in EC land prices and competition among developers for EC sites, the government has increased the supply of EC sites, with three plots offering 980 units in the Confirmed List of 1H2025. This is a change from previous programmes since 2019, which only offered one EC site in each half-yearly land sales programme. This could potentially help to moderate EC land cost and prices.
Seven new plots will be introduced in the 1H2025 GLS programme, including a plot near the Jurong Lake Gardens in Jurong Lake District, and a plot in the new housing precinct in Bukit Timah Turf City. The site of the former Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society will also be launched for sale, along with a residential and commercial site at Hougang Central, which can yield a new mixed-use development with 835 residential units and over 400,000 sq ft of commercial space. The residential plot in Upper Thomson Road, which saw no bids in the previous tender, will also be offered for sale with more flexibility this time.
In the past year, for the first time, URA did not award the tender for three plots due to low bids. These sites are now listed on the Reserve List.
The majority of the sites in the 1H2025 GLS programme are near MRT stations, which could appeal to developers and homebuyers. The most attractive ones are the mixed-use site in Hougang Central, the Telok Blangah Road plot, the Dunearn Road site in a new housing precinct, and the Lakeside Drive site near the Lakeside MRT station, Jurong Lake Gardens and the Jurong East commercial hub.