ERA sets up new unit for GCB sales

UPPING the ante on the Good Class Bungalow (GCB) market, real estate agency ERA Realty on Tuesday (Jun 7) announced it has started a new division, called Luxury Homes.

The new unit will focus on GCBs, a highly exclusive niche in Singapore’s luxury residential sector, and be helmed by Douglas Wong and Gladys Foo, senior director and director of Capital Markets and Investment Sales (CMIS), Luxury Homes, respectively. 

This follows on the heels of the February inception of ERA’s CMIS department itself, headed by managing director Steven Tan. It was announced then that the CMIS team was set up to deal with big-ticket assets of high-net-worth (HNW) individuals, family offices, developers, institutional investors and real estate investment trusts (Reits).

Wong and Foo will report to Tan. 

According to a press statement, Wong has accrued more than 26 years of work experience in the Singapore real estate industry, and is a veteran in the luxury residential market specialising in marketing GCBs. To date, he has marketed approximately 1 million square feet of GCB land valued at about S$1 billion and sold around 73 units of GCBs.

Meanwhile, Foo has 17 years of experience in the property industry, spending 10 years focusing on serving HNW individuals in the ultra-luxury sector. She has worked with Wong for 16 years in the GCB sector and was involved in activities such as GCB private treaties, public tenders and trustee sales. 

Noting that GCBs form a very niche market, Marcus Chu, chief executive officer of Apac Realty and ERA Asia Pacific, said ERA has a “huge pool” of ultra-high-net-worth individuals in its database and sees potential in the sector. 

He added that the CMIS department has also set up a Workspace & Culture team, headed by Desmond Lim, director of CMIS, with a focus on commercial and industrial leasing. 

“The team will procure marketing appointments, orchestrate marketing journeys and work with all ERA trusted advisers to market spaces and increase their exposure and opportunities in the business space arena,” Chu noted. 

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ERA launches new business unit for capital markets, investment sales

ERA is a subsidiary of mainboard-listed Apac Realty , which holds exclusive ERA regional master franchise rights in 17 countries in the Asia-Pacific.