By Emilyn Yap

THE Housing & Development Board (HDB) yesterday released a residential site at Hougang Avenue 7 for application by interested developers.

The 99-year leasehold parcel is on the reserve list and can yield up to 395 condominium units, HDB said.

The site spans 168,251 square feet, has a maximum gross plot ratio of 2.8, and a maximum gross floor area of 471,102 sq ft.

It is near the Hougang and Kovan MRT stations, as well as Hougang Mall, Hougang Plaza and Heartland Mall.

Caveats lodged show that units at the nearby Kovan Residences changed hands at between $798 and $1,009 per sq ft (psf) last month.

Just about two weeks ago, the government also made a residential site on the reserve list at Hougang Ave 2 available to developers. Another four plots will be coming up from now to May.

An additional four sites from the confirmed list will also be making their way to the market.

The authorities have ramped up the release of sites under the H1 2010 land sales programme as home prices spiked last year, and developers put in fierce bids during state land tenders.

On Monday, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan further announced that the H2 2010 land sales programme will carry a larger number and greater variety of sites on the reserve list.

Still, there is likely to be 'good demand' for sites in the current land sales programme, said DTZ South-east Asia research head Chua Chor Hoon.

'With the H2 2010 land sales programme still a few months away, developers will not wait for it to be announced as some need to replenish their land bank and there are attractive sites in the H1 2010 programme.'

Meanwhile, developers continue to see fairly healthy demand for newly launched projects. Sing Holdings will hold a preview of its 229-unit development at Cairnhill Road, The Laurels, in both Singapore and Jakarta this weekend.

It plans to release about 100 units at an average selling price of around $2,850 psf. As at yesterday, it had sold more than 80 units from earlier private previews.

This article was first published in The Business Times.