Buoyant Times for Luxury Homes in Safe-Haven Singapore

While the Covid-19 pandemic rages on, there have been several eye-popping transactions of coveted landed homes in Singapore’s Good Class Bungalow (GCB) areas this year. A record price of S$4,005 per square foot (psf) on land area was set when Jin Xiao Qun, the wife of Nanofilm Technologies International’s founder and executive chairman Shi Xu, bought a 32,159 square feet (sq ft) freehold site with an old bungalow in Nassim Road for S$128.8 million. Entrepreneurs associated with the technology boom have featured prominently among buyers of houses in GCB areas this year. Razer’s co-founder and chief executive Tan Min Liang; TikTok’s chief executive Chew Shou Zi; gaming chair maker Secretlab’s co-founder Ian Ang; and Tommy Ong, who sold his Singapore-based e-commerce marketing platform Stamped.io, are among the buyers of bungalows in GCB areas. GCBs are typically restricted to Singapore citizens, unlike landed homes in Sentosa or high-end condominium units anywhere in Singapore, where foreigners are free to buy. Analysis of URA Realis caveats data downloaded on Sept 14 by List Sotheby’s International Realty (List SIR) showed 70 transactions in GCB areas totalling S$2.08 billion since the start of this year (with the latest deal dated Sept 2). This figure exceeds that for the whole of last year – 46 deals totalling S$1.09 billion. According to CBRE, average land prices of GCB transactions rose around 22 per cent in H1 2021 to S$1,728 psf, compared to 2020. The property consultancy noted that GCB activity was boosted by fresh demand from digital economy entrepreneurs and key executives, and continued demand by new citizens.