The Singapore Government, through the URA, has recently made available TWO Reserve List residential development sites for applications. This means that Real Estate Developers who’re keen to buy either one of the land parcels can apply to release it for sale by tender.
Something noteworthy to take into account as well – These are the last two available reserve list sites under the Government Land Sale (GLS) programme for 2021
The Pine Grove land parcels are located next to each other, fronting the Ulu Pandan Road.
GLS Reserve List Sites at Pine Grove (Parcel A & B)
As shown, the maximum number of condo units allocated for Parcel A and Parcel B is 520 units and 565 units respectively.
No doubt that the Ulu Pandan region may give the “ulu” impression, and located faraway from the city centre. However, Pine Grove is actually situated in the Rest of Central Region (RCR), also notably known as the city-fringe areas, encompassing the suburban feel. It’s officially located in District 21, within the Bukit Timah planning area, hence under the RCR.
Nevertheless, it would take about 40 to 50 mins by public transport to the Central Business District (CBD) area. It’s a bus ride from Pine Grove to either Clementi MRT Station or Dover MRT Station, which you can hop onto the train to head into the CBD area.
40 to 50 mins via public transportation may seem like a long commute, however, the commuting duration is about the same regardless. The commute time to the CBD area from the suburban Outside Central Region (OCR) is also slightly under an hour.
Location Map of GLS Sites at Pine Grove Road (Parcel A & B)
Large RCR Residential GLS Sites are Unheard Of!
The government would have launched eight residential development sites for sale by tender in 2021, inclusive of two land parcels for the development of Executive Condominiums (EC). Among these eight land parcels, three of them are located in the RCR. Only one of the three RCR land parcels, namely Jalan Tembusu, could be developed into a large condominium project of more than 500 units.
Confirmed List of GLS Land Parcels in RCR Launched in 2021
To sum it up, it’s not often that the government would offer large residential land parcels in the RCR for sale!
Despite the scarcity of large city-fringe residential land parcels offered for sale, real estate developers may not fancy these two land plots at Pine Grove. The tender for these two Pine Grove sites may not even be triggered anytime soon. WHY?!?!
In the grand scheme of things, the drawback is the sheer large size of the two land sites at Pine Grove. The sweet spot for most developers is 200 to 500 residential units for each condominium development project. Property developments of this scale would be large enough to leverage on the economies of scale, on the other hand, small enough to mitigate the risk of sudden unexpected market changes or a new round of government intervention.
Aerial Views of the Two GLS Sites at Pine Grove Road (Parcel A &B). Source: ERA
Capping the Maximum Number of Residential Units to be Built
An atypical condition arising from the development of the Pine Grove land parcels is the cap at 520 units for Parcel A and 565 units for Parcel B. This is to manage potential backlog of traffic due to increase population when the residential developments are eventually habitable.
Our Take
This regulation imposed on the number of residential units to be built is to encourage developers to build more larger family-size units with at least 3 bedrooms. In essence, Pine Grove is an established residential area near the mature Clementi HDB housing estate. The future condominium developments at Pine Grove would undoubtedly cater to the HDB upgraders, predominantly families with kids who would prefer housing units with at least 3 bedrooms.
Please stay tuned for the next latest research and featured article from Team Live A Home SG! For those who are interested in finding out more or would like to start planning for your property portfolio, you may contact our Live A Home SG team!
