On August 4, the government proposed changes to the Land Titles (Strata) (Amendment) Bill that could make it easier for owners of ageing condos to sell their properties en bloc. The proposed legislation lowers the consent threshold required to launch a collective sale, setting it at 70 percent for developments between 40 and 59 years old and 65 percent for those over 60. The stated goal is to spur redevelopment of large, aging properties to increase private residential supply and provide an exit for owners whose land leases are eroding.
Lowering the threshold
The adjustments aim to address one specific bottleneck in the process: the difficulty of securing enough owner consent to launch a tender. By lowering the quota, more collective sale committees could theoretically get their properties to market. The legislation also floats the possibility of tiered thresholds, where older developments would require progressively less consent.
However, the proposed rules address the administrative hurdle of getting owners to agree, but they do not solve the economic realities of selling the property. Even if a committee can launch a tender, the chances of a successful sale depend on factors outside their control, such as the behavior of developers and government land sales.
Developer competition
Developers face a choice between buying land through a collective sale or securing it through government land sales (GLS). GLS sites offer a more straightforward bidding process without the complexities of dealing with minority objections, last-minute legal action, or changes to reserve prices. Because of this, many developers prefer GLS sites.
In 2024, the total GLS supply translated to about 11,110 new private homes coming online, the highest increase in new condo supply since 2013. The 2025 programme followed with close to 9,800 units from successfully tendered sites. The 2H2026 Confirmed List alone contains nine sites capable of yielding at least 4,745 private homes. It is not just the quantity of these sites that matters, but also the quality, which often includes prime locations and proximity to amenities.
Competition for land
Consider the New Upper Changi Road site in Bedok, which closed earlier this week. UOL Group, CapitaLand Development, and Singapore Land bid $1.4 billion, or $1,537 per plot ratio. Despite being in a suburban location, this price seemed reasonable to many developers because the site is close to an MRT station, malls, and a deep pool of potential buyers, including HDB upgraders.
Compare this to High Point, a freehold condo at 30 Mount Elizabeth in prime District 9. The development relaunched its collective sale tender after its fifth attempt failed. Its asking price is $2,645 per square foot, totaling around $580 million. While the price per square foot is higher, the total value is significantly lower than the Bedok site. In this case, the GLS site is often seen as the safer and more reliable option for developers.
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Changing price trends
There was a time when an en-bloc seller could look just beyond their immediate neighborhood if they found themselves priced out of a replacement in the same location. However, the gap between average land prices in the outside central region (OCR) and more central regions has narrowed substantially over the past few years.
In 2014, average condo prices in the central region were around $1,942 psf, with the RCR at $1,401 psf and the OCR at $1,069 psf. By 2025, these prices had risen to about $2,620 psf, $2,357 psf, and $1,769 psf, respectively. In 2014, the CCR was about 82 percent more expensive than the OCR, but by 2025, that gap had shrunk to about 48 percent. This narrowing gap places en-bloc sellers in a difficult position. They need sufficient sale proceeds to buy a suitable replacement home, but even if they settle for an OCR alternative, housing prices have become relatively more expensive.
For owners of older, larger units, the situation is even more complex. Even with a marginal premium over resale values, they may find that the same amount of space in a comparable location requires a substantial top-up in price. The double whammy of high land prices and the need for significant cash outlays means that simply reducing the quota for consent does not guarantee a successful sale.
Additional costs
Another factor limiting developer interest is the increase in Land Betterment Charges (LBC). These are taxes payable when a site is enhanced, such as when intensifying land use by building more units. From September 2026, LBC rates for non-landed residential use increased by an average of 3.4 percent. Rates rose in 70 out of 118 sectors, ranging from about 1 percent to 29 percent increases.
These rising costs further reduce the margin between what owners need and what developers can afford to pay. While lowering the consent threshold helps owners agree to sell, the combination of high GLS supply, rising land prices, and increased LBC means that developers may still overlook en-bloc sites, even in prestigious locations.
A targeted approach
The government may need to consider more targeted incentives rather than a blanket lowering of thresholds. The proposed changes could lead to more en-bloc attempts, but the success rate is likely to remain low. Instead of making every en-bloc sale easier, the authorities might identify specific ageing developments where redevelopment is vital and offer one-off incentives, such as longer deadlines for Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) or flexibility on LBC.
