Three freehold bungalows on Nassim Road have been listed for sale by Cuscaden Peak Investments

The asking price is a record S$5,200 per square foot on land area, which comes out to approximately S$239 million in total.

Sep 26, 2022

The asking price of S$5,200 per square foot (psf) on land area has been set for the three freehold homes located along Nassim Road that are held by Cuscaden Peak Investments. These bungalows are located along Nassim Road. This would be a record price for bungalow redevelopment land in a Good Class Bungalow (GCB) Area if it were to be accomplished.

The two-story bungalows, which were finished around 23 years ago, underwent major renovations in the year 2015. They have built-up sizes ranging from around 6,950 to 7,400 square feet (sq ft), and they are currently tenanted, with the earliest lease expiry date falling in late July 2023.

Each of the bungalows has a swimming pool and five bedrooms, and it sits on a plot of land that is more than 15,000 square feet.

Times Properties, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cuscaden Peak Investments, has appointed Realstar Premier as the exclusive marketing agent for the three bungalows, each of which has a site area of 15,131 square feet, 15,542 square feet, and 15,264 square feet respectively. Realstar Premier will be responsible for bringing potential buyers to the properties. (Before it was sold off to private investors in May, the company that is currently known as Cuscaden Peak Investments was originally known as Singapore Press Holdings Private Limited.)

An expression-of-interest exercise is now being carried out by Realstar about the properties. According to William Wong, who established the boutique property firm, the deadline for prospective buyers to submit their proposals is on November 3.

Cuscaden Peak Investments is providing interested parties with a few different choices.

It is possible to sell the entire property, which has a total area of 45,937 square feet and is home to the three homes.

Another option would be to combine two of the bungalow plots into one larger site measuring 30,673 square feet and then sell that site while also selling the remaining bungalow, which is situated on 15,264 square feet of property, to a third party.

The third potential course of action is to sell each of the three bungalows separately.

During the upward trend in the GCB market in 2017, many purchasers participated who had built their fortunes in the technology industry or other new economy industries. Some of these industries have been negatively impacted by factors such as the IT downturn, the collapse of the cryptocurrency market, and volatile equity markets. In addition, widespread geopolitical and macroeconomic worries are dragging down business mood.

Despite this, Wong is certain that there will be a significant amount of interest in the bungalows on Nassim Road.

Some local families who now live in great GCB locales like Cluny, Dalvey, Tanglin, and Chatsworth are mulling about the possibility of selling their current houses and upgrading to a more prominent site in the Nassim neighbourhood if the chance presents itself. "We also have viewings set up for family offices and ultra-high-net-worth newly-minted Singapore citizens originating from China," he added. "We are quite excited about this opportunity."

"Nassim is the most prestigious address in the GCB. Bungalows in the area are rarely available for purchase, and even when they are, there may be obstacles present, such as an uneven land shape or a conservation home on the site, which restricts the redevelopment choices that may be pursued with the property.

Wong recalled that over the course of his career, there have been a number of instances in which potential buyers, including naturalised citizens, have emerged in the GCB market ready to make an acquisition on Nassim Road. However, these buyers were unable to complete the transaction because the majority of owners were unwilling to part with their prized possessions.

The record price of S$4,005 psf for bungalow redevelopment land in a GCB Area was set in March of last year by Jin Xiao Qun, the wife of Nanofilm Technologies International founder Shi Xu, when she purchased an old bungalow on a 32,159 sq ft site on Nassim Road. The asking price of S$5,200 psf for Cuscaden Peak Investments' 3 Nassim Road bungalows is 30 percent higher than that

The previous year was also when the new record price of S$4,291 psf for a new bungalow in a GCB Area was established. This was for the purpose of the local IT entrepreneur Tommy Ong buying a freehold home that was in the process of being built on a 14,843 square foot property along Cluny Hill. He purchased the home for $63.7 million Singapore dollars.

Wong stated that the asking price for the asset owned by Cuscaden Peak Investments, which is located in the ultra-prime Nassim Road GCB Area, is not unreasonable taking into consideration the fact that prices in prime GCB locations have already increased by at least 25 percent since the beginning of the previous year.

Bungalows in the 39 gazetted GCB Areas are the most premium kind of landed housing in Singapore. The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has severe planning criteria that must be adhered to in order to retain the bungalows' low-rise character and exclusive nature. As part of the planning rule for newly-created bungalows in GCB Areas, a minimum plot size of 1,400 square metres (about 15,070 square feet) is required to be satisfied. Other requirements also apply.

Another limitation is a height restriction of no more than two stories (though an attic and basements are allowed).

The GCB Areas stand out due to the size of their plots as well as their position in verdant and lush surroundings. In addition, there is a value associated with having one of these residences due to the fact that there are about 2,700 fewer of them in Singapore.

For the most part, in order to be eligible to own landed property in a GCB Area, one has to be a citizen of Singapore.

If each of the three bungalows owned by Cuscaden Peak Investments and located along Nassim Road were to be sold separately at a price of S$5,200 per square foot (psf) on land area, the total price for each property would be around S$79–80 million.

In addition, the new owner could spend an additional S$20-25 million on construction costs to redevelop each site into a brand-new upscale villa with a built-up area of approximately 25,000 square feet – comprising two levels, an attic, and basement space. This would require the new owner to spend an additional S$20-25 million on construction costs.

The all-in cost of S$100-105 million would be close to the almost S$100 million at which a few owners constructing GCBs in key sites like as Tanglin and Dalvey are contemplating leaving their investments. These prominent locations include Tanglin and Dalvey. These bungalows are being constructed on land sizes ranging from 15,500 to 17,000 square feet in size.

Wong emphasised, however, that reconstruction is not the only option available to customers who purchase bungalows on Nassim Road from Cuscaden Peak Investments: "These 3 properties are in usable shape. It is possible for prospective purchasers to live in the homes; in fact, the fact that these three bungalows are close to one another makes them ideally suited for a large family that spans many generations. There is also the possibility that the new owner or owners may continue to rent out these houses, taking advantage of the robust market for rentals in GCB at the moment.

According to the information that can be found on the website of Cuscaden Peak Investments, the business is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cuscaden Peak Pte Ltd, which is a consortium consisting of three shareholders. These shareholders are Hotel Properties, Mapletree Investments, and CLA Real Estate Holdings.