Huh? What is a reserve list?

July 27, 2008
FINANCIAL QUOTIENT
Huh? What is a reserve list?

* Where do you see this?

In articles about property and Government announcements about the
sale of land.

* What does it mean?

It refers to a method of selling land that the Government introduced
in June 2001.

A site on the reserve list will be put up for tender only if
developers indicate interest in it by submitting a minimum bid that
is acceptable to the Government.

Every six months, the Government rolls out its latest land sales
programme. If sites on a reserve list are not triggered for sale in
the six months they are made available, they will probably be carried
over to the list for the following six months. Alternatively, the
Government could put the sites on the confirmed list (see next week's
column) for the following six months.

* Why it is important?

This system introduces greater flexibility into the land sales
programme, enabling the Government to respond to market demand. This
land sale method was the only one employed by the Government for
nearly four years, following the economic and property slowdown that
set in after Sept 11.

Developers like this system as it is market-driven, allowing them to
adjust supply to meet demand.

* So you want to use the term. Just say ...

'Put off by weak sentiment and sales volumes, developers have held
back from applying for reserve list sites so far this year.'