In response to stronger buyer demand and declining unsold inventories from developers, the authorities announced yesterday that they will increase the supply of land up for tender under the government land sales program in 2H2017. The confirmed list of sites will yield 2,840 private housing units, which is 20% higher (510 units) than the 2,330 units put out in 1H2017.

By putting out a stronger supply, we see the authorities signalling that they remain cognizant of the risks for an unsustainable surge in home prices at this junction. In addition, MAS Managing Director Ravi Menon also stated that adjustments to measures earlier this year do not signal the start of the unwinding of property cooling measures.

We believe it is a positive that the government has put out an increased supply of land, particularly as developers are finding it challenging to replenish their dwindling land bank in a competitive land acquisition environment. Given improving fundamentals in the sector, we continue to forecast for an inflection point in physical home prices by 2018 and have an OVERWEIGHT rating on developers.

Our top picks are CapitaLand [BUY, FV: S$4.07], Wheelock SG [BUY, FV:S$2.27] and Wing Tai [BUY, FV:S$2.37].

Source: OCBC Research - 30 Jun 2017