Good Class Bungalow at Queen Astrid Park rented at record $200,000 a month

June 22, 2022



The Singapore housing market is proving to be a haven for the seriously wealthy, with prices and rents charting new levels. Most recently, a Good Class Bungalow (GCB) at Queen Astrid Park has been let to a Chinese national at a monthly rent of $200,000 or $2.4 million a year.

Accessible via Sixth Avenue and Coronation Road West, the GCB at Queen Astrid Park sits on an elevated, freehold site of 25,439 sq ft, which is largely shielded from street view. The GCB is newly completed.



“It’s the Chinese who are renting GCBs at such levels,” says Jacqueline Wong, executive director, Savills Private Office. “Some are waiting for their Singapore permanent residence or citizenship before buying their own home.”

Word on the street is that the owner of a newly completed GCB designed by Guz Wilkinson, principal and founder of Guz Architects, received an unsolicited rental offer of $380,000 a month for the property. The owner, however, declined the offer as he intended to move into the newly completed house, which has been dubbed “Water Courtyard House”. The unsolicited offer was made by a Chinese resident.

“It’s the very large and luxurious houses that fetch such premiums,” notes Savills’ Wong. “Due to the lack of new stock, these GCBs may not necessarily be brand-new, but must have a contemporary design, with clean lines and designed by a renowned architect.”



‘Private clubhouse’

In land-scarce Singapore, living in a large GCB is the ultimate status symbol. “It’s something that the Chinese, particularly the wealthy from Fujian province, want to secure,” says a real estate broker who specialises in the luxury housing market, and requested anonymity.

Not only are these Chinese willing to pay such premium rents, they are equally willing to splash out millions to fit out these trophy homes, adds the broker. Beyond a residence, the GCBs are regarded as “private clubhouses” to entertain their friends.

A must-have is a private KTV room with state-of-the-art sound system, and the budget there is $1 million. Another requirement is a putting green. “We are not talking about any putting green, but a tournament-grade putting green that Tiger Woods himself would use,” says the broker. “That costs at least $300,000, including all the equipment. And the championship-golf-course grass requires a gardener to tend to it at least twice a week.”



Read more at: https://www.edgeprop.sg/property-new...d-200000-month