Government to release land for about 4,500 new private homes in first half of 2026
New requirements were also announced for private developers to provide prospective home buyers with more details on floor plans and their track records.
Private residences and HDB blocks seen in the distance in Singapore (File photo: CNA/Jeremy Long)
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SINGAPORE: Land to build more than 4,500 new private residential units will be released under the government land sales (GLS) programme for the first half of 2026.
This is comparable to the supply in the second half of 2025.
It will bring the overall number of new private homes in the pipeline to more than 58,000 units, Minister for National Development Chee Hong Tat said on Thursday (Nov 13).
Speaking at the Real Estate Developers’ Association of Singapore’s (REDAS) 66th anniversary dinner, Mr Chee also announced new requirements for private developers to help prospective buyers make better-informed decisions.
For instance, developers will have to provide more details on floor plans, as well as information on their past track records.
To help developers secure showflat sites, measures will be streamlined to shorten the processing time.
HOUSING DEMAND
Mr Chee said the government is committed to supporting Singaporeans' homeownership aspirations.
"We have ramped up the supply of both public and private housing over the past few years, and will continue to sustain a high level of supply over the next few years," he said at the Shangri-La Hotel.
He noted that from 2025 to 2027, the government will launch around 55,000 Build-to-Order (BTO) flats, up from an earlier target of 50,000.
During the same period, land for more than 25,000 private residential units will be released through the GLS programme.
Prices in the housing market have also moderated in recent months, Mr Chee said, adding that the government will continue to monitor this amid changing interest rates.
HDB resale prices have increased at a slower pace of 0.4 per cent over the third quarter of 2025 – the slowest in five years.
It also marks the fourth consecutive quarter of slowing price growth and represents the lowest quarter-on-quarter increase since the second quarter of 2020.
In the private housing market, prices increased by about 3 per cent in the first three quarters of 2025 – broadly the same pace as 2024.
“We will monitor the market closely and calibrate the supply of public and private housing, to ensure a stable and sustainable housing market,” Mr Chee said.
Housing is a key theme of the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) Draft Master Plan 2025. Mr Chee said at the event that the finalised masterplan will be gazetted in December, marking the next phase of Singapore's urban transformation.
URA’s Master Plan charts land use plans and outlines Singapore’s development priorities for the next 10 to 15 years. It is reviewed every five years.
Among the housing strategies are to develop more inclusive, affordable and accessible homes, as well as units in more central locations such as Pearl’s Hill and Bukit Timah.
UPDATED RULES FOR DEVELOPERS
Regulations to protect home buyers will be enhanced, Mr Chee announced, with changes set to take effect early next year.
Developers will be required to provide additional details on new housing projects in sales documents.
This includes clear markings of:
- Structural walls and distribution boards on the unit floor plans
- Lifts and utility chambers on storey floor plans
- Refuse chute and chamber, car park ventilation shafts, vehicular and pedestrian access, and other details on site plans
“This is to provide upfront clarity to home buyers on the layout plans, to reduce possible disagreements between developers and buyers downstream,” Mr Chee said.
Developers will also be required to provide information to prospective home buyers on their track records, including the banding of their past projects under the Construction Quality Assessment System (CONQUAS) framework.
In addition, the commencement date for the defects liability period and home buyers’ liability for maintenance charges will be pushed back - from the 15th day after the progress payment notice issued at the Temporary Occupation Permit to the 35th day.
New measures will be introduced to improve the process of searching for showflat sites, which Mr Chee acknowledged could be "challenging and time-consuming".
Currently, developers identify vacant land for showflat sites and submit requests to the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) to secure a Temporary Occupation Licence.
Under a new initiative, state land sites that are suitable for showflat use would have been pre-identified and cleared with the relevant agencies, therefore reducing the processing time.
The list of sites will be made available from Nov 14 through SLA’s portal for Temporary Occupation Licences (TOL) and will be reviewed annually.
This will enable developers to halve the time it currently takes to obtain agencies' approvals, Mr Chee said.
"At the same time, we hope that developers will also continue to adopt innovative and land-efficient approaches, including using virtual showflats ... because we do have limited land supply," he added.
Developers who find the pre-identified sites unsuitable for their use may submit their applications for other sites to SLA under the usual process.
The TOL period for developments within the central area will also be extended to three years from the previous two years.
