Ravi Chandran
Cushman & Wakefield announced on Jan 7 that it has launched the sale of a Holland Rise Good Class Bungalow site. The 52,992 sq/ft Holland Rise Good Class Bungalow site comprises 3 adjoining plots of vacant land and is accessible via 2 cul-de-sacs, , one at Holland Rise and another at East Sussex Lane.
The Holland Rise Good Class Bungalow site is a mere 10-minute walk to Holland Village MRT station and the Holland Village areas. The Holland Rise Good Class Bungalow site is a 10-15 minute drive to Orchard Road and the central business district. Other prominent buildings in the vicinity include Holland Village Market & Food Centre, the refurbished Holland Piazza Shopping Mall, Holland Road Shopping Centre and the upcoming mixed-use development, One Holland Village. With URA’s plan to inject a fresh wave of life into Holland Village with a new, mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented development, the buzz and vibrancy synonymous with the area will continue to thrive.
The Holland Rise Good Class Bungalow is in close proximity to good primary schools like Henry Park Primary School, Fairfield Methodist School (primary), and New Town Primary School. It is also close to amenities like Giant (Ghim Moh Road), NTUC Fairprice (Buona Vista CC), and Cold Storage Jelita Shopping Centre. The closest shopping malls are Holland Road Shopping Centre, The Star Vista, and Rochester Mall.
Cushman & Wakefield executive director of capital markets, Mr Shaun Poh, said: “Opportunities to acquire large-sized adjoining GCB land plots such as this are extremely rare.” He added that good class bungalows are very appealing to investors despite the pandemic and the economic climate as they are viewed as being a highly resilient and attractive property class.
The expression of interest exercise for the Holland Rise Good Class Bungalow site closes on Feb 9 at 3pm.
GCBs have been in the spotlight since news broke recently that Sir Dyson had forked out $41 million for a hilltop GCB located along Cluny Road with views of the Botanic Gardens, Singapore’s first and only UNESCO Heritage Site.
List Sotheby’s International Realty (List SIR) which reported on the purchase of Sir Dyson, noted that what makes this GCB deal an even greater surprise is that landed properties in Singapore, including the 2,800 plots located in the 39 GCB areas gazetted by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), are classified as restricted properties and are limited for purchase and ownership by Singapore Citizens only. Besides their rarity, GCBs also come with strict planning conditions stipulated by the URA to preserve their exclusivity and low-rise character.
Even ultra high net worth investors, such as the Dysons, need to get special approval from the government to purchase and own GCBs because they are permanent residents. Criteria include making exceptional economic contributions in Singapore and the buyer can only use the GCB for owner occupation.
According to the Singapore Residential Property Act, foreigners are not allowed to own landed properties, which include bungalows. However, foreigners are allowed to own the bungalows at Sentosa Cove, a planned resort island to attract high-net-worth (HNW) foreign investors. Foreigners are allowed to own apartments in Singapore.
Sir Dyson, who is chief executive of Dyson Ltd, had earlier bought the most expensive 99-year-leasehold penthouse situated on a 62nd to 64th floor in Wallich Residence. The three-storey penthouse comes complete with a private infinity pool, jacuzzi, barbecue pit, and private lift lobby.
Mr Poh highlighted that sales of Good Class Bungalows have been fairly active despite the pandemic, with a Good Class Bungalow at 1 Chatsworth Park transacting last month at $44 million, which translates to $2,082 per sq ft (psf) based on land area. He pointed out that closer to the Holland Rise Good Class Bungalow site at nearby Oei Tiong Ham Park, 17A Leedon Park was transacted in September 2020 at S$73 million, which translates to S$1,643 psf based on land area.
In 2019, a GCB plot in the prestigious Nassim Road area was bought by SG Casa Pte Ltd for a record $230 million. The price for the sprawling land of 84,543 sq ft land works out to be S$2,721 psf. The plot of lands comes with a two-storey bungalow, a tennis court and swimming pool. The site has a road frontage that is nearly 100m, and can be redeveloped into four or five bungalows.
List SIR in referring to media report suggested that the party behind SG Casa could be Eduardo Saverin. Mr Saverin became a Singapore citizen in 2012.
Besides Dyson and Saverin, another famous name that has been making rounds in Singapore’s media landscape was Jack Ma, who is said to have purchased a 30,000 sq ft site at Victoria Park Close. The Alibaba co-founder is supposedly building a two-storey bungalow with a basement and swimming pool.
An earlier report by List SIR said that Singapore’s solid economic fundamentals, sound financial framework, ease of doing business, quality education and racial harmony continue to make it one of the choice locations for potential foreign investors, and that this could be the reason why high net worth individuals like Dyson, Saverin and Ma have chosen to invest in real estate here.
Mr Paul Ho, chief mortgage consultant at iCompareLoan, said, “with political stability, it is understandable why Singapore looks attractive to ultra high net worth investors. Due to its limited supply and the prestige associated with these large bungalow plots, GCBs are often sought after by well-heeled individuals.”
Mr Ho added, “Singapore’s business-friendly environment also attracts many ultra high net worth investors to park their assets here. Prices of GCBs have been on a steady increase since 2016 and so it is viewed as a good investment.”
