En bloc no-deals, and how to encourage more baby-making

IS THE writing on the wall for residential collective sales? Pine Grove’s fifth attempt at an en bloc sale drew no bids at its S$1.95 billion price tag, Ry-Anne Lim reports. The deal would have been a big one to swallow at any time. Land betterment charges payable on the huge 99-year-leasehold Holland area site were estimated at a hefty S$1 billion, taking the effective purchase price close to S$3 billion.

With the government signalling it will release increasingly more supply into the housing market to curb rising prices and market measures eroding demand, developers are showing little appetite for big-ticket buys.     

Even more land is being prepped for future housing use. Several tracts of land in Sengkang and one-North have been rezoned and are being readied for housing, Jessie Lim finds out. Thousands of new homes could come up on large plots in Sengkang, while a parcel previously zoned for business park use in Media Circle may soon be set aside for new homes.