A freehold bungalow under construction in Tanglin Hill is in the early stages of being sold for close to S$93.9 million, or nearly S$6,200 per square foot on the land area of 15,150 square feet—a new record land rate in the Good Class Bungalow (GCB) market.
The two-storey bungalow, with a high-ceiling attic and a large basement, will have six bedrooms and a swimming pool. The property’s built-up area is almost 30,000 sq ft, including the basement, which holds the entertainment area, a wine cellar and space for over a dozen cars.
The property is being developed by the Soh family, which is behind listed lifestyle developer Meir Homes.
The transaction is understood to be at the option-grant stage; the deal was entered into in March.
The Business Times could not ascertain the buyer's identity.
One generally has to be a Singapore citizen to be allowed to buy a landed property in a GCB Area.
Bungalows in the 39 gazetted GCB Areas are the most prestigious form of landed housing in Singapore, with strict planning conditions to preserve their exclusivity and low-rise character. Among other things, a minimum plot size of 1,400 square metres or 15,070 sq ft is stipulated as the planning norm for newly created bungalows in GCB Areas.
There are only around 2,700 bungalows in these areas.
The S$6,197 psf price for the Tanglin Hill property surpasses the record land rate of S$4,500 psf set in 2023 by Cuscaden Peak Investments’ sale of three Nassim Road bungalows. The total price for the three properties was S$206.7 million.
The three bungalows were sold individually, to Singaporean members of the Fangiono family, which is behind Singapore-listed palm oil producer First Resources.
Before that, the highest land rate for a deal in a GCB Area was S$4,291 psf, set in 2021 when local technopreneur Tommy Ong picked up a Cluny Hill bungalow while it was under construction.
That deal, which amounted to S$63.7 million, was for a property with a land area of 14,843 sq ft. Ong sold Singapore-based e-commerce marketing platform Stamped.io to Canada-listed WeCommerce Holdings for up to US$110 million that year.
The Cluny Hill bungalow was also developed by the Soh family under the Meir Homes banner.
Much like that transaction, the family’s latest GCB sale in Tanglin Hill is expected to entail a long option-exercise period granted to the incoming buyer, with a substantial option fee.
Both properties were designed by Wallflower Architects.
The Soh family paid S$30 million a few years ago for the Tanglin Hill site, on which sat an old bungalow.
While the family has achieved a record price for the bungalow it is developing there, most other recent GCB deals have been struck at prices described by property market watchers as being on the low side, notwithstanding that the properties are not brand new.
An industry player said a record psf price is likely to raise GCB owners’ expectations of the value of their properties, even if their property may be older or have different site attributes.
Credit: The Business Times
