(Above) Prime property: The bungalow has five bedrooms, a
spacious living area and an entertainment room. It sits on a land area
of 15,929 sq ft and has a 99-year leasehold tenure.
By Kalpana Rashiwala, with additional reporting by AsiaOne
IN the latest sign of a revival in the high-end bungalow market, a
seafronting bungalow at Cove Drive has changed hands at $39 million, a
record absolute price for a bungalow in the upscale waterfront
residential district of Sentosa Cove.
This surpasses the previous high of $36 million for a bungalow on
Paradise Island that was transacted in 2010. That worked out to $2,403
per square foot (psf) on land area of 14,983 sq ft for the
waterway-facing property.
A look inside Sentosa Cove Click on thumbnail to view |
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According to The Straits Times, the home is believed to be owned by
embattled surgeon Susan Lim, who was alleged to have charged a member of
the Brunei royal family $24.8 million for seven months of treatments.
She was also said to have made false representations in invoices. She
later took the Singapore Medical Council (SMC) court to block an inquiry
by a second medical disciplinary committee looking into complaints on
overcharging.
In the latest deal at Cove Drive, the price works out to $2,448 psf
based on the land area of 15,929 sq ft. The property is understood to
have been sold by a Singaporean to a buyer from India who is said to be
involved in the resources sector.
The completed bungalow includes five bedrooms, a spacious living area
and an entertainment room. Newsman Realty represented the seller.
Residential properties on Sentosa Cove have 99-year leasehold tenure.
The previous record for a Sentosa Cove home was the sale of a 14,983
sq ft bungalow on Paradise Island. Located in the northern part of
Sentosa Cove, the bungalow is believed to have been bought by a
Singapore permanent resident from China, Mr Shen Bin.
The $36 million home Click on thumbnail to view |
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He is believed to be the son of Shen Wen Rong, the president of
Chinese firm Sha Steel. The elder Mr Shen is listed as the 13th richest
person in China in the 2011 Hurun Wealth Report.
On mainland Singapore, too, talk in the market is that another
headline-grabbing price may be set in a Good Class Bungalow Area (GCBA)
involving a vacant plot at Jervois Hill. The agreed price is said to be
$31 million or about $2,050 psf based on the freehold site's land area
of around 15,120 sq ft.
A Singaporean investor is thought to have entered a deal to sell the
land to a party who is said to have paid a higher-than-normal option
deposit. The deal also involves a completion period of one year - longer
than the usual three months. Word on the street is that the buyer will
be applying to become a Singapore citizen.
Purchases of landed homes on mainland Singapore by foreigners
(including permanent residents) is restricted. Such buyers have to
obtain permission from the Land Dealings (Approval) Unit or LDAU.
Applicants have to fulfil certain criteria before permission is granted,
including being a Singapore PR and making significant economic
contribution to the country.
Sentosa Cove is the only place in Singapore where non-PR foreigners
may buy a landed home, though still subject to LDAU approval.
A foreigner (including a PR) may own only one landed home in
Singapore (including Sentosa Cove) and this must be used for own
occupation. The land area for the property must not exceed 15,000 sq ft.
Property market watchers say the $2,050 psf for the Jervois plot is a
new high for the area. 'That's the kind of pricing one would expect in
the Nassim and Dalvey areas,' said a seasoned GCB agent.
Last week, BT reported that motoring tycoon Peter Kwee had sold a
vacant plot of about 23,920 sq ft at Nassim Road for about $47.8 million
or $2,000 psf.
The psf record price for a GCBA is held by 6 Chatsworth Road, which
transacted at $2,081 psf in July last year. This slightly surpassed the
previous record of $2,038 psf for 16 Cluny Road set in February 2011.
That deal in turn broke the previous high of $1,899 psf for 32H Nassim
Road in October 2007. However, the Chatsworth bungalow and 32H Nassim
Road have smaller land areas than the typical minimum GCB plot size of
15,069.50 sq ft.
When GCBAs were gazetted in 1980, they included some smaller existing
sites. These are still considered GCBs as they would be bound by the
other GCB planning rules if they were to be redeveloped. For instance,
such plots cannot be further sub-divided.
Another recent GCBA deal is at Wilby Road, where an old two-storey
bungalow sold for $15.2 million or $1,093 psf. The site area is 13,906
sq ft. RealStar Premier Group represented the buyer. Other recent
bungalow deals outside GCBAs are said to include a property at Jalan
Arnap in the prime One Tree Hill locale, which fetched $12.5 million or
about $1,710 psf based on land area of about 7,300 sq ft. On site is an
over 30-year-old bungalow.
At Jalan Jambu Ayer in the Binjai Park area, an old bungalow on a
rectangular plot with land area of about 7,212 sq ft and wide frontage
of about 17 metres is understood to have changed hands recently for $9
million or about $1,248 psf. At Sunset View in the Clementi area,
RealStar brokered the sale of a freehold bungalow for $7.5 million or
$1,190 psf based on land area of 6,302 sq ft.
After an initial knee-jerk reaction to the introduction of the
additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD) that took effect on Dec 8, house
hunters have started to return to the bungalow market since the Chinese
New Year period.
On Sentosa Cove, Newsman Realty managing director KH Tan said foreign
interest is returning, with potential buyers from places like China,
Indonesia and India. 'They come from a range of backgrounds, including,
industrialists (eg in the coal-mining industry) and even developers from
China. Some have children studying in Singapore while others find
Singapore an interesting global city. They believe there's room for
substantial price appreciation in Singapore bungalow prices.'
On the GCB front, Coldwell Banker Realtors managing director Alexs
Chua said although transaction volumes have slipped, transacted prices
are generally holding well.
'Some sellers are revising their prices now - not because prices are
set to fall but rather they have realised they had overpriced right from
the start. In the prime GCB locations such as Nassim, Dalvey or
Tanglin, sellers would rather withdraw their properties from the market
than lower their prices.
'However, in the less prime GCB estates where demand is not as
strong, some sellers have adjusted their asking prices and usually these
are the motivated ones. Those who don't need to sell their GCBs
acknowledge that this is not exactly the best time to do so,' he added.
Under the ABSD regime, PRs pay 3 per cent ABSD on their second and
subsequent residential property while Singaporeans pay the same ABSD
rate on their third and subsequent residential property. Foreigners,
however, must pay 10 per cent ABSD on any residential property purchased
in Singapore.
This article was first published in The Business Times.