Good Class Bungalow at Jervois Hill sold for just under $60 mil
AGood Class Bungalow (GCB) at Jervois Hill was said to have changed hands for just under $60 million. The GCB sits on a freehold site of 15,094 sq ft, which translates to a transacted price of about $3,900 psf. The deal was said to be done just a fortnight ago, although a caveat has yet to be lodged.
Word on the street is that the asking price of the GCB was $65 million or $4,306 psf. It would have hit a new all-time high of $4,306 psf for GCBs had that price been achieved. The record price in psf terms held by the GCB at 2 Cluny Hill, which was sold last May for $63.7 million or $4,291 psf, remains unbroken for now.
Still, the purchase price of the GCB at Jervois Hill at under $60 million is just 8% to 10% below the asking price. And at $3,900 psf, the GCB at Jervois Hill has certainly set a new benchmark for luxury bungalows in the Bishopsgate, Chatsworth and Jervois GCB enclave.
Interestingly, this same GCB at Jervois Hill had set the previous record psf price for GCBs when it was last sold for $41.2 million ($,2729 psf) in June 2018. The GCB was newly completed then, having obtained its Temporary Occupation Permit in December 2017. It was developed by Singaporean investor-owner-entrepreneur George Lim and designed in collaboration with architect Pau Loh, managing partner of Tellus Design.
The 12,000 sq ft house has three levels, including the basement. Besides the living and dining room as well as the family room on the first level, the house has a dry and wet kitchen fully fitted with Gaggenau appliances. The main feature of the house is the floating sculptural staircase. The second level has five en suite bedrooms, which come with walk-in wardrobes too.
In the basement is a wall aquarium, large enough for 800 fish. There is also a wine cellar, a home theatre, a dedicated games room, and a carpark that can fit 10 cars.
The GCB was designed with sustainable features, including 300 solar panels on the roof and outdoor decks made of renewable wood.
Back in 2018, the buyer of the GCB at Jervois Hill was Alan Chong, founder of Wah Loon Engineering, who had purchased it for his daughter, Eileen Chong. Having sold it for under $60 million a fortnight ago, Chong would have made a 43% gain in less than four years.
Prior to his purchase of the GCB, Chong and Dymon Asia Private Equity Fund had sold Wah Loon Engineering to Vinci Energies, a subsidiary of Vinci, that specialises in energy and information communication technology services in April 2018. Vinci is a global concessions, construction and energy company founded in France and listed on Euronext Paris with revenue of EUR 49.4 billion in FY2021.
This latest buyer of the GCB at Jervois Hill is also said to be an established Singaporean businessman.
As demand and prices for GCBs and landed residential property islandwide continued unabated, the URA increased Development Charge (DC) rates for landed residential property for the six-month period from March 1 to Aug 31. This is the third consecutive time that landed residential property has seen a hike in DC rates, according to property consultants.
The DC rate for landed residential property increased by 4.8% on average. The largest increase of 10% was seen in the prime districts of Cluny Road/Napier Road/Tanglin Road/Anderson Road/Stevens Road/Dalvey Road.
The significant increase in DC rate was due to strong demand and higher transacted prices of landed property, in particular GCBs, says Lee Sze Teck, senior director of research, Huttons Asia. Landed residential property prices increased 6.6% in 2H2021, and 3.9% in 4Q2021 alone, he adds.