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SINGAPORE: Just a day after introducing anti-speculation measures, the government has moved to raise housing supply.
The Housing and Development Board (HDB) is offering 3,032 new flats - the largest supply of flats in a single launch to date.
And to provide more housing options, five sites slated for some 2,000 private residential units have also been released.
The message to the market is clear - there's no need to rush.
"The government is sending a strong signal to all citizens that you don't have to worry. In terms of land, there are enough parcels that will be released. There are enough new units - both HDB as well as condominiums - that will be constructed," said Chris Koh, director of Dennis Wee Group.
1,408 new flats in Yishun will be offered under the Build to Order (BTO) system.
The project is known as the Yishun Riverwalk, and its flats are located at the cross-section of Yishun Ring Road, Yishun Street 31 and Yishun Avenue 6.
The units range from studio apartments to five-room flats.
There are 254 units of studio apartments, 250 units of three-room, 652 units of four-room and 252 units of five-room flats.
Facilities provided in this development include an eating house, a mini-mart, two shops, a child care centre and a Residents' Committee Centre.
A four-room unit costs between S$214,000 and S$268,000.
Another 1,624 units spread over 10 non-mature estates will be available under the Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercise.
The estates include Bukit Batok, Hougang and Woodlands.
The units range from two-room to executive flats.
A four-room flat under the SBF is priced between S$190,000 and S$380,000.
There will be 55 units of two-room flats, 53 units of three-room standard flats, eight units of three-room premium flats, 1,081 units of four-room flats, 338 units of five-room flats and 89 units of executive flats.
With Tuesday's launch, HDB would have offered close to 13,000 flats for sale since the start of this year.
Flat buyers can expect BTO projects in areas such as Bukit Panjang, Punggol, Sengkang and Woodlands later this year.
In September, about 1,300 flats will be put up for sale in Woodlands.
Five sites have also been released for private residential development.
They are at West Coast Link, Petir Road, Alexandra Road, Pasir Ris Drive 3 and Tanah Merah Kechil Road.
Only the site at Petir Road is on the Confirmed List of the Government Land Sales Programme.
The other four are on the Reserve List and will be released for tender only when the government receives an acceptable minimum bid.
"I think it (the government) is watching it both ways. As much as they don't want prices to go up, they also don't want prices to come down drastically. As long as there is demand, they will increase supply. But if there's no demand, it won't make sense to release so much supply," said Koh.
Ngee Ann Polytechnic Lecturer Nicholas Mak expects there will be interest from developers for the sites located near MRT stations, such as the ones in Tanah Merah and Alexandra.
With an increased housing supply and the introduction of anti-speculation measures, market watchers expect home prices to stabilise in the next one to two months.
-CNA/wk/ls
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