GCB at Swettenham Rd fetches $25.8m

Business Times: Sat, May 19

A GOOD Class Bungalow (GCB) at Swettenham Road was recently sold for about $25.8 million or $1,714 per square foot on a freehold land area of 15,069 sq ft. On site is a bungalow that was completed about a year ago and currently tenanted at a monthly rental of slightly over $40,000. The property has two storeys and a basement. It has five bedrooms and a swimming pool. The buyer is understood to be a Singapore citizen. Newsman Realty is said to have brokered the deal. A two-storey house at Third Avenue is also understood to have changed hands recently at $13.5 million or $1,536 psf. RealStar represented the buyer, a local businessman. The seller was represented by Singapore Residential Properties. According to CBRE's analysis of caveats data, deals in GCB areas this month include a property at Rebecca Road (near Coronation Road) that has been sold for $17 million or $1,575 psf, and another at Margoliouth Road (near Stevens Road/Bukit Timah Road) which fetched $12.2 million or $1,849 psf. Last month, a bungalow at Binjai Park transacted at $12.8 million or $1,049 psf. GCBs typically have a minimum plot size of 1,400 square metres (or 15,069.46 sq ft). But when GCB Areas were gazetted in 1980, they included some smaller existing sites. These are still considered GCBs as they would be bound by other GCB planning rules if they were to be redeveloped. For instance, such plots cannot be further subdivided and they cannot be built more than two storeys high (plus an attic and a basement). Newsman Realty managing director KH Tan observes that house hunters in the GCB market these days are mostly Singaporean buyers looking for a home to live in. He predicts GCB prices will end this year at 10 per cent above end-2011 levels. "Most of the sellers are not in a rush, while buyers are still making purchases," he adds. Coldwell Banker Realtors managing director Alexs Chua expects GCB prices to "easily go up" by $200 to $300 psf this year for ultra-prime locations such as Nassim, Cluny and Dalvey, where there is always very strong demand. "Currently prices in these locations are hovering at about $2,000 psf or higher." For places like Cornwall, Belmont and Leedon, where prices today are about $1,600-1,700 psf on average, prices could probably rise by another $100 to $200 psf this year, he adds. "Out of 10 GCBs put on the market today, owners of two to three are probably 'motivated sellers', ie, they could be emigrating, or downsizing their home. The rest are less motivated to sell unless they get the price they want. "As for buyers, seven out of every 10 are investors. They don't need to buy unless they get a good price. Of the remaining three who are buying for their own occupation, one or two will commit to a purchase on fear that prices may rise further." Realstar Premier managing director William Wong observes that since March, the buyer-seller price gap for GCBs has started to narrow, as buyers lately are more prepared to pay a premium to meet sellers' expectations in prime GCB locations due to limited choice in availability of properties for sale. "In less choice GCB districts, sellers may have trimmed their price expectations to more realistic levels and this has helped seal deals." Outside GCB Areas, a freehold bungalow at Holland Grove Terrace recently changed hands at about $10.5 million or $1,280 psf. It sits on land of 8,219 sq ft. On site is an old single-storey bungalow that is expected to be redeveloped by the buyer - which is a boutique property development company. The site is zoned for two-storey semi-detached use. Coldwell Banker represented the seller in that transaction. Over in the Sentosa Cove upscale waterfront housing locale, YTL sold a 99-year leasehold bungalow on Sandy Island last month for $21.85 million or $2,364 psf on land area of 9,241 sq ft. The buyer is Singaporean. The two-storey property has an attic and basement. It has five bedrooms with a private pool in the waterfront garden and a private berth for a 36-foot yacht. A car lift moves cars to the basement garage, which can accommodate up to three cars. In addition, a passenger lift connects all four levels of the home. Sandy Island - YTL's maiden Singapore project - is a collection of 18 villas designed by famous Italian architect Claudio Silvestrin. The project received Temporary Occupation Permit in the first quarter of this year. YTL has one villa available for sale at the moment with a price tag of about $17 million. It has a land area of about 8,000 sq ft. Source: Business Times