CNA : Changes made to Reserve List system

Changes made to Reserve List system
By Mok Fei Fei, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 08 March 2010 1701 hrs

SINGAPORE: Changes will be made to the government's Reserve List system to make the supply of land more responsive to the market.

Announcing the changes in parliament on Monday, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said his ministry will ensure that there is an adequate supply of land to support economic growth.

Among the changes is the reduction of the deposit required from successful applicants of the Reserve List sites from five per cent to three per cent of the minimum bid.

The deposit will be subject to a cap of S$5 million, to reduce the cash flow burden to successful applicants.

Another change is that a Reserve List site may be released for sale immediately if there is more than one party that submits a minimum bid price close to the government's reserve price for the site.

Previously, a site is only released for sale if a developer submits a minimum bid that matches or exceeds the reserve price.

The third change to the system is that the government will make available a larger supply and wider variety of sites in the Reserve List in the second half this year.

Mr Mah said that the aim is to give developers more choices.

He said: "The government will continue to ensure that there is adequate supply of private housing to meet the needs of both locals and foreigners through the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme. There is an ample supply of private housing in the pipeline to meet demand over the next one to two years, so buyers need not rush into the market.

"We will also continue to ensure that we have an adequate supply of commercial space, in terms of both quantity and mix."

The government will announce details of the second half of the GLS programme by June 2010.

- CNA/sc