It looks like the luxury-home market is still going strong, unlike the mainstream residential market, which has seen a slowdown in transactions since September, when the government introduced measures to quell speculation.

According to market sources, an Indonesian buyer paid S$33.4 million (RM81.7 million), or S$4,150 psf, recently for the junior penthouse of over 8,000 sq ft at Far East Organization’s luxury boutique condominium Boulevard Vue on Cuscaden Walk. That beats the previous record for highest-priced apartment set during the last boom in 2007, when a 6,157 sq ft apartment at SC Global’s The Marq on Paterson Hill was sold for S$31.4 million, or S$5,100 psf.

In the Good Class Bungalow (GCB) segment, No 3 Leedon Park, with a land area of 41,850 sq ft, was said to have been sold for S$40 million, or S$956 psf, in September. However, the caveat has yet to be lodged.

According to market sources, the S$40 million price tag is considered the highest quantum price paid for a GCB year-to-date. The buyer is believed to be a Singaporean and the deal is said to have been brokered by Credo Real Estate.

This Good Class Bungalow at 6A Leedon Park was sold for S$35.5 million or S$1,407 psf just last month. It's one of the highest prices achieved in terms of price psf in the GCB market.Meanwhile, niche GCB developer George Lim’s 6A Leedon Park was sold for a cool S$35.5 million to a buyer, believed to be a Singaporean. The deal is said to have been brokered by K H Tan, a specialist marketing agent in the GCB segment and managing director of Newsman Realty. With a land area of 25,231 sq ft, the price works out to an average of S$1,407 psf.

“The sale price is equivalent to the replacement cost of buying a GCB land parcel today and building a new bungalow yourself,” says Lim. Based on GCB land prices in the prime Leedon Park area, which are around S$1,000 psf currently, a piece of land similar in size to that of 6A would cost around S$25 million, and the construction cost for the 16,000 sq ft mansion that Lim built is estimated at S$10 million. Hence, the amount works out to the equivalent of the sale price. 

The brand-new GCB at 6A Leedon Park has five bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms, a state-of-the-art kitchen, formal living room and dining room, breakfast room as well as lift. The basement den houses a private gym, a home theatre, a wine cellar for 3,000 bottles and a custom-built aquarium. The grounds are fully landscaped and come with a swimming pool, gazebo and steam room as well as koi pond. “The best thing about this house is that you can move in right away; if you built your own house, you’d have to wait three years,” says Lim.

A veteran developer, Lim has wasted no time in recycling the proceeds from the sale of the bungalow to purchase more GCB sites. In October, he scooped up one of the three sub-divided parcels at 16 Leedon Park, paying S$15 million, or S$959 psf, for the 15,635 sq ft site.

According to sources, K H Tan is said to have brokered the sale of two of the three sub-divided plots at 16 Leedon Park. The original owner had purchased the 52,528 sq ft freehold site in April last year for S$43.2 million, or S$832 psf, in a deal brokered by CB Richard Ellis.

Only one caveat for the three sub-divided GCB plots at 16 Leedon Park has been lodged with URA Realis to date, which was for S$20.1 million. Word on the street is that it’s for the largest of the three plots, and the site area is around 20,000 sq ft. The other two GCB plots of about 15,000 sq ft each have been sold for around S$15 million apiece. Both buyers are believed to be Singaporeans, and one of them was Lim.

In addition to the site at 16 Leedon Park, Lim also bought a 20,000 sq ft site in Binjai Park for S$15.85 million, or S$792 psf in October. He plans to develop both sites into new luxury bungalows and repeat the success he’s had with his seven previous GCBs, all of which have been sold.

GCB prices have soared in the last three years. “When I bought my last site at 6 Leedon Park, I paid S$17.85 million for it,” recalls Lim. The price worked out to an average of S$441 psf for the 40,462 sq ft freehold site in 2006. He subsequently tore down the old GCB and subdivided the plot into two smaller GCB plots, Nos 6 and 6A, and built two brand-new luxury bungalows. He sold the smaller of the two, No 6, in July last year for S$19.4 million, or S$1,277 psf, and most recently, 6A for S$35.5 million.

Meanwhile, the GCB at 20 Victoria Park, with a land area of 32,077 sq ft, was sold in September this year for the auspicious price of S$38,666,999, or S$1,205 psf. The GCB changed hands just two years ago for S$29.5 million, or S$920 psf, according to URA Realis.

October also saw two caveats lodged with URA Realis for GCBs sold above S$35 million. One was for the conservation bungalow sitting on a 43,497 sq ft site at 5 Chatsworth Park. It changed hands for S$37.5 million, or S$862 psf. The buyer is also said to be a Singaporean. The other was for 39A Ridout Road, which has a land area of 40,677 sq ft and was sold for S$37 million, or S$910 psf.

So far, most of the GCB transactions, particularly these large ones, have been done discreetly via private treaties. Even the GCBs that have been put up for auction sale have been predominantly owner’s sales, unlike during the Asian financial crisis and the last recession of 2002/04, when most of the GCBs that were put up for auction sale were mortgagee sales.

“GCB buyers are very location- and bungalow-specific, and will look at the regularity and shape of the land, as well as the property,” says Grace Ng, deputy managing director and auctioneer at Colliers International. “This year, very few, in fact, hardly any, GCBs were sold via auction.”

A GCB at 8 John Road in Caldecott Hill Estate was put up for auction sale by Jones Lang LaSalle in October at an opening price of $18 million, but was subsequently withdrawn as there were no bids. It’s now available for sale via private treaty, with an indicative price of S$17 million, or S$976 psf, for the 17,427 sq ft freehold site. The price is benchmarked against the brand-new GCBs, which are priced in the S$1,200 to S$1,300 psf range currently, says JLL’s head of auction department, Mok Sze Sze.

A GCB  put up for auction sale by Colliers on Nov 25 is 10 Swiss Club Lane. It’s also an owner’s sale. The bungalow sits on a 17,550 sq ft freehold site at the end of Swiss Club Lane, off Swiss Club Road and has a swimming pool and sprawling garden. Although the property is 20 years old, it is very well maintained and is currently tenanted, says Colliers’ Ng, who’s marketing the property. The indicative price of the GCB is S$16 million, which works out to S$912 psf.

“GCBs are pretty hot right now,” says Shaun Poh, senior director of investment advisory services and auctioneer at DTZ. “As long as prices are reasonable, you can sell your property. You only get stuck if your asking price is substantially above valuation.”

Cecilia Chow is City and Country editor at The Edge Singapore


This article appeared in City & Country, the property pullout of The Edge Malaysia, Issue 784, Dec 7-13, 2009. 

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