http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/arch...eals-done-late

Published June 23, 2012

Several big bungalow deals done of late

By Kalpana Rashiwala


SEVERAL big-ticket bungalow deals have been transacted recently - both in the Good Class Bungalow (GCB) market on mainland Singapore and at Sentosa Cove.

An old two-storey freehold bungalow at White House Park changed hands recently at $24.8 million, which translates to nearly $1,650 per square foot (psf) on freehold land area of about 15,036 sq ft.d

The bungalow on the site has five bedrooms and a study.

It is being sold with vacant possession. The buyer, a Singapore citizen, is expected to redevelop the property.

RealStar Premier represented the buyer, while the seller is said to have been represented by DTZ.

At Jervois Hill, two vacant plots have been transacted in the past few months.

The more recent deal, at $21 million, is for a plot of 15,095 sq ft. Word in the market is that the unit land price of $1,391 psf is low for the area because there is an electrical substation on the site.

Newsman Realty is said to have represented the sellers, one of whom is seasoned bungalow investor Thomas Chan.

The sellers bought the property for $19 million in 2010 from Vincent Tan Kim Yong, group chairman and chief executive officer of Advanced Integrated Manufacturing Corp, which is listed on Singapore Exchange.

In February this year, Dr Tan also granted an option for the sale of one of his other plots on the street for $32 million or $2,118 psf.

That transaction is said to have a long completion period.

If that transaction is completed, it will set a new record for a Good Class Bungalow Area, surpassing the $2,081 psf achieved in July last year for 6 Chatsworth Road, diagonally opposite the Indonesian Embassy.

According to an earlier report, Dr Tan picked up seven plots on Jervois Hill totalling over 100,000 sq ft in land area for more than $80 million in 2007 from Hong Leong Group.

Over in the upscale waterfront housing locale of Sentosa Cove, an ocean-fronting bungalow along Cove Drive changed hands last month for nearly $22.2 million, which works out to around $2,787 psf on land of 7,963 sq ft.

The 99-year leasehold property is a few houses away from the bungalow that Citi Private Bank chairman Deepak Sharma and his surgeon wife Susan Lim sold earlier this year for $39 million or $2,448 psf. The bungalow has a land area of 15,929 sq ft.

It is understood that a few bungalow deals are brewing on Treasure Island, and at higher prices than the $1,766 psf fetched for a transaction about two months ago.

That deal, which involved a bungalow sitting on land of 8,496 sq ft, sold for $15 million.

Samuel Eyo, director of prestige homes at Savills Singapore, said that activity in the GCB market is dominated these days by end-users, and transacted prices are generally within the "reasonable range".

Newsman Realty managing director KH Tan said that activity in the GCB market in the first half of this year picked up after an initial knee-jerk slowdown following the introduction of the additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD) in December last year. "I would say prices are quite stable these days," he said.

As for Sentosa Cove, while there have been a lot of viewings including by Chinese investors, there have not been many transactions.

The 10 per cent ABSD payable by foreigners who are not Singapore permanent residents (PRs) on any residential property purchase in Singapore is probably the main deterrent, Mr Tan added.

Sentosa Cove is the only place in Singapore where non-PR foreigners may buy a landed home, although this is subject to permission from the Land Dealings (Approval) Unit.