Number of Unsold Residential Units
Ministry of National DevelopmentSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the inventory of unsold private residential units and the potential suspension of the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme. Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar asked for the number of unsold units and whether land sales should be halted due to current market conditions. Minister Lawrence Wong replied that unsold units hit a historical low of 25,000 in 2016, while data on homeowner sale intentions is not tracked by the authorities. He noted that housing demand remains robust, with developer sales increasing by 20% to approximately 12,000 units in 2016 compared to the previous year. Consequently, the Government has no plans to halt the GLS programme, as maintaining a steady supply is essential to prevent future shortages.
Transcript
74 Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar asked the Minister for National Development (a) to date, how many unsold dwelling units built by property developers are there still available in the market; (b) how many dwelling units are there available in the market put up for sale by home owners; and (c) whether the Ministry will consider slowing down or halting the sale of land parcels for residential development in light of the current sluggish property market.
Mr Lawrence Wong: At the end of 2016, there were about 9,700 unsold private dwelling units, including from executive condominium developments, which have been launched for sale by developers. These include completed and uncompleted units. If we include those that have received planning approvals but have not yet been launched for sale, the figure is about 25,000 dwelling units. This is a historical low since the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) started compiling such data in 2001.
The Member also asked about the number of dwelling units put up for sale by home owners. URA does not compile such data as home owners are not required to report their intention to sell their homes. The demand for private housing remains robust. In 2016, developers sold about 12,000 dwelling units, or 20% more than the approximately 10,000 units sold in 2015. Apart from housing demand, the Government considers other factors such as overall economic and property market conditions, to determine the housing supply to be provided in each Government Land Sales (GLS) programme.
As the current inventory of unsold units is at a historical low, it is important to maintain a healthy level of housing supply to mitigate any shortages in the future. We do not have immediate plans to slow down or halt the supply of private housing through the GLS programme.