http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real...to-fetch-s258m

Ridout Rd site gets nearly 10 bids, Gallop Rd GCB to fetch S$25.8m

9 Apr


THE tender for a 73,277 sq ft freehold Good Class Bungalow (GCB) site at 35 Ridout Road closed on Wednesday and is said to have attracted close to 10 bids. Market watchers reckon the highest bid could be around S$85 million. Subject to planning permission, the land area is large enough to be subdivided into four smaller GCB plots.

According to an earlier media report, the property is a trustee sale due to a court order arising from the resolution of a dispute in the family of the late property tycoon Chow Cho Poon. The trustee is expected to take some time to make a decision. DTZ conducted the tender.

GCBs are the most prestigious type of landed housing in Singapore because of the planning constraints imposed by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), which has designated 39 locations on mainland Singapore as Good Class Bungalow Areas. GCBs have a minimum land area of 1,400 square metres (15,069 sq ft) and cannot be built more than two storeys high (plus an attic and a basement).

Meanwhile, a GCB at Gallop Road is in the early stages of a transaction. Talk in the market is that the property, near a cul-de-sac, is being sold for S$25.8 million, which works out to S$1,712 per square foot on land area of 15,070 sq ft. On site is a two-storey bungalow with five bedrooms and a swimming pool. The built-up area is around 6,500 sq ft. The property was completed in 1984, based on URA Realis information. It was refurbished eight years ago by design house Bedmar and Shi.

The property is being sold with vacant possession.

The seller is Anthony Ng, founder of tuition centre chain Mavis Tutorial Centre and an avid bungalow investor. He paid S$23.5 million for the Gallop Road property in November 2011, going by URA Realis caveats information.

Earlier this year, another bungalow on Gallop Road changed hands for S$24 million or S$1,564 psf on land area. On site is an old two-storey bungalow with a basement and a pool, on a downward-sloping site. The property was bought by Quek Kon Hui, managing partner of Apac Capital Partners, who is likely to rebuild the house.

Singapore Christie's Homes managing director Samuel Eyo said: "There is still a healthy flow of Singaporeans looking for GCBs. The majority of buyers would be first-time GCB owners keen on a bungalow with an 'entry-level' price of S$25-30 million. The next group of potential buyers are fewer in number but who can afford up to S$40-50 million. They are in search of GCBs on a bigger piece of land that could potentially be subdivided for the next generation.

"The highest league, comprising may be the top 5 per cent of Singapore's wealthiest individuals and families, can afford a GCB purchase of say S$70 million and above."

Prices of GCBs are holding firm especially for bungalows on regular-shaped plots and on an upslope, added Mr Eyo.

In Chee Hoon Avenue, a freehold GCB has been put up for sale via a tender exercise that closes on May 20, 2015.

The indicative value of the property is S$25 million, which translates to S$1,399 psf on a land area of 17,868 sq ft.

"With its frontage of about 39 metres and an average depth of about 42 metres, it is suitable for additions and alterations or redevelopment to optimise the potential of this land," CBRE said in news release on Wednesday. The group is the sole marketing agent for the tender exercise.

The property is located along Chee Hoon Avenue, in a cul-de-sac, off Adam Road. It comprises a part one/part two-storey detached house which was originally built in the 1960s and renovated in 2005. The property's built-up area is about 3,300 sq ft (excluding car porch and rear terrace of around 1,000 sq ft). The bungalow has two bedrooms and a study room.