Artist’s impression of the new Jurong Innovation District. Source: JTC
There were no property-related measures announced in Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat’s maiden budget speech, which came as no surprise to experts.
“(The) absence of changes to market cooling measures was expected as the government has conveyed its concern that premature easing of market cooling measures might lead to a market rebound,” said Tay Huey Ying, Head of Research, JLL Singapore.
CBRE Research expects the government to continue monitoring the residential market.
Meanwhile, analysts are excited about the future development of the Jurong Innovation District (JID). Phase one is expected to be ready in 2022.
“(The) new precinct in the north-western part of the island embodies the ‘live, work, play, learn and create’ concept. It aims to be the industrial park of the future, where it ties up manufacturing, academia and research in one location,” said Desmond Sim, Head of Research, Singapore & South East Asia at CBRE.
“The development of the JID will see the currently sleepy Jurong West locale transformed into a thriving hub of activity. As the development of the JID takes shape, we can expect demand for real estate ranging from homes, offices, retail, hospitality and industrial to rise, and along with this, a general rise in real estate values in and around the JID,” noted Tay.
She added: “It would also trigger private-sector interest in real estate development and investment, and thus, we can expect to see an increased level of activity in this locality in time to come. Potentially, the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme might soon start to incorporate land parcels in and around the JID to kick-start the transformation.”
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
