Dalvey Road GCB sells for S$61 million, Victoria Park bungalow fetches nearly S$52 million

[SINGAPORE] Amid the gentle buzz in the Good Class Bungalow market in recent months, two big-ticket transactions involving relatively new properties have surfaced.

Near the Singapore Botanic Gardens, a house in Dalvey Road has been bought by a philanthropist at S$61 million, which works out to S$4,045 per square foot (psf) on the freehold land area of 15,081 sq ft.

Over in Victoria Park Close, a modern-design house is in the process of being sold for nearly S$52 million, or about S$2,730 psf, on the 999-year leasehold land area of about 18,984 sq ft.

The Dalvey Road property, which spans two storeys and a basement, was sold by Henry Ng, the former chief executive officer of Pan-United Corporation.

He paid S$26 million in 2016 for the bungalow that previously stood on the site; it formed part of The Glencaird Residences collection developed by a unit of Wharf Holdings.

The project was completed in 1999. Ng subsequently tore down that bungalow and invested a substantial amount to build the current house, which was completed in the past couple of years.

The property is now being renovated by the new owner, Wu Ching-Hsin, who is said to hail from Taiwan.

In 2023, Wu and his wife, both naturalised Singapore citizens, set up the AM Family Capital Foundation, which supports charitable causes in Singapore, including in education, healthcare and the arts. The couple have a family office here.

The Victoria Park Close property stands on a downward-sloping site, and is a part two-storey/part single-storey property with an attic, basement and swimming pool. The house has eight bedrooms and 10 bathrooms.

The property is held under DBS Trustee; market watchers suggest the beneficial owner is linked to an Indonesian-turned-Singaporean businesswoman.

In 2016, she paid S$18.2 million or S$959 psf for an old bungalow on the site. The property was sold as part of the estate of Tan Kok Keng, who died after a fight with his son Mark in a semi-detached house in West Coast Rise in 2015.

The businesswoman redeveloped the Victoria Park Close site into the current property, completed a few years ago. In the latest deal, CBRE is understood to have acted for the seller and Realstar for the buyer.

Bungalows in the 39 GCB Areas (GCBAs) are the most prestigious form of landed housing in Singapore. One generally has to be a Singapore citizen to be allowed to acquire a landed property in a GCBA.

Bungalows in such areas are subject to strict planning conditions to preserve their exclusivity and low-rise character. A minimum plot size of 1,400 sq m, or 15,070 sq ft, is specified as the planning norm for newly created bungalows in GCBAs.

These bungalows are nestled mostly in wooded areas on large plots in prime districts 10 (such as Nassim Road, Cluny Hill, Dalvey Road, Victoria Park Close and Queen Astrid Park) and 11 (such as Bukit Tunggal and Eng Neo Avenue). There are also a few GCBAs in districts 20 (Windsor Park), 21 (Kilburn Estate including Yarwood Avenue, and King Albert Park) and 23 (Chestnut Avenue).

Video: What is a Good Class Bungalow?