What you can get for S$30 mil in Singapore — Good Class Bungalow on Andrew Road

Transactions in the Good Class Bungalow (GCB) segment — the crème de la crème of luxury houses — have picked up pace. Some buyers have not lodged a caveat, thus, the actual number of deals may be even higher, according to market sources.

Based on caveats lodged, sales activity in 1H2017 has been largely in line with 2H2016, according to CBRE Research. A total of 22 GCBs worth S$463.91 million (RM1.46 billion) were sold in 1H2017, compared with 23 GCBs sold for a total of S$490.17 million in 2H2016. It is a 55% y-o-y increase in sales value from 1H2016, when 14 GCBs were sold for S$298.36 million. Average prices of GCBs fell 6.9% from 2H2016 to S$1,242 psf in 1H2017, based on land area.

Improved market sentiment has also encouraged more owners to put their GCBs on the market for sale. An example is a Balinese-style GCB on Andrew Road: The 2½-storey house has a built-up area of 12,000 sq ft, and contains six bedrooms, two glass-enclosed entertainment rooms that open out to the swimming pool, as well as a spacious living and dining area with a double-volume ceiling. The kitchen is also sizeable. The two entertainment rooms can be converted into bedrooms, according to Jasarine Lee, associate senior team director of Century 21, who is marketing the GCB.

The house is said to be designed by renowned local veteran architect Timothy Seow and was completed in 2000. It occupies a freehold site of 19,500 sq ft. The property is on the market for S$32 million, or S$1,641 psf based on land area.

The owner purchased the property in 2004 and upgraded it as well as installed a home lift. “The house appeals to those who want a resort-style property with lush greenery,” says Lee.

The GCB on Andrew Road is located in the Caldecott Hill Estate in prime District 11. The last transaction in the estate was done two years ago, when a bungalow at Caldecott Close, sitting on a freehold site of 10,118 sq ft, was sold for S$15.2 million (S$1,503 psf), according to a caveat lodged in November 2015. On Andrew Road, the last transaction was in February 2014, when a house built in 1977 and sitting on a sprawling 31,108 sq ft site was sold for S$27 million.

This article first appeared in The Edge Property Singapore, a pullout of The Edge Singapore, on Aug 29, 2017.

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