Luxurious Good Class Bungalow near Bukit Timah Road to be sold for whopping $23.88 million

Kalpana Rashiwala
The Business Times
3 March 2017

Property developer Sustained Land's boss, Douglas Ong, is buying a Good Class Bungalow (GCB) along Garlick Avenue in District 10.

The S$23.88 million price translates to S$858 per square foot (psf) based on the freehold land area of 27,829 sq ft. Market watchers consider the psf price to be on the low side, even if the transaction is seen as reflecting purely the land value.

The existing two-storey house on the site, though in liveable condition, is about 18 years old and Mr Ong will most likely redevelop the property.

When contacted, he told The Business Times that one reason for the pricing is that the site cannot be subdivided, given the minimum 15,070 sq ft plot size stipulated by the authorities for any newly created bungalow within a GCB Area. This shrinks the pool of buyers as it may be beyond some budgets.

Another factor that is likely to have affected the pricing for the Garlick Avenue property is that the owners - a couple - are expected to stay on in the house for about six to nine months after the sale is completed. The sellers have also granted Mr Ong a slightly longer than normal period to exercise the option.

This effectively means the sellers will vacate the property in about a year's time - whereas most buyers would want to take possession of the bungalow as soon as possible. The typical completion of sale time for a GCB deal is 12 to 14 weeks from the grant of option.