Tycoon couple Gordon and Celine Tang’s son picks up Second Avenue GCB for S$53 million

[SINGAPORE] Ron Tan, executive chairman and group chief executive officer of immersive entertainment group Neon, formerly known as Cityneon, has sold his Good Class Bungalow (GCB) in Second Avenue for S$53 million to Tang Jialin.

Tang, who is in his late 20s, is the CEO of SingHaiyi Group and Tang Organization. Both companies are fully owned by his parents, Gordon and Celine Tang.

The price paid by Tang Jialin works out to nearly S$2,652 per square foot (psf) on the freehold land area of about 19,988 square feet. The transaction was completed recently.

Standing on an elevated site, the two-storey bungalow with a basement is understood to have been built about 12 years ago. It has a built-up area of about 12,200 sq ft. The bungalow has five bedrooms, a few other rooms, a lift, a swimming pool and a wine cellar.

Tan paid S$38 million for the property in 2023. It is in the First/Third Avenue GCB Area (GCBA).

Bungalows in the 39 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.

Deal in Dalvey Estate

Meanwhile, signs point to the 21,882 sq ft GCB plot in Dalvey Estate belonging to former president Ong Teng Cheong’s family being sold to Wan Yaojun. The Singapore citizen, who is in his early 20s, owns 49 per cent of Hoovasun, which partnered Qingjian Realty and Forsea Residence to clinch the 99-year leasehold Media Circle (Parcel A) at a state tender that closed in March. The site is zoned residential with commercial at first storey.

Singapore-incorporated Hoovasun’s primary business activity is listed as real estate development, and the company was set up in December 2022.

Market watchers said the price fetched for the Dalvey Estate property is slightly more than the S$60 million (about S$2,742 psf on land area) indicated by Cushman & Wakefield when it launched an expression of interest exercise for the plot in January.

The property is one of two adjoining freehold land lots held by Ong Tze Guan, the older son of Singapore’s first elected president, and his former sister-in-law Wang Yi Yi, according to a title search on the property, The Business Times reported previously.

The other land lot houses a two-storey bungalow with a swimming pool; the bungalow is conserved.

On the site that is changing hands are an ancillary building with a car park and driveway; this part of the property does not have conservation status. The site, which is perched on elevated grounds, is suitable for buyers who want to build a multi-generational home or developers who may want to redevelop it into a GCB for sale, Cushman & Wakefield said in its statement in January.

Transaction in Chee Hoon Avenue

In Chee Hoon Avenue, an option to purchase a newly built house for S$55 million was exercised last month.

The price works out to S$3,955 psf on the freehold land area of 13,906 sq ft. The house, which has two storeys with a basement, an attic and a swimming pool, is being sold by Tan Koo Chuan, who developed the property. He is the founder of Yi Kai Development.

New owner of Joan Road bungalow

In Joan Road, which is in the Caldecott Hill Estate GCBA, the S$47 million sale of a two-storey bungalow with six bedrooms built in the 1960s was completed last month. The price works out to S$1,594 psf on the freehold land area of 29,483 sq ft.

The new owner is Chua Poh Seng, one of the two shareholders of Singa-Dynamics (SEA), which has three core businesses – distribution of personal protective equipment; building and construction; and ship repair and engineering – according to its website.

The Joan Road bungalow was sold by the three sons of the late Cecil Vivian Richard Wong, a famous accountant who served as an independent director on the boards of various companies, including CK Tang, Pan-United Corp and Venture Corp. He was also the chairman of Bukit Sembawang Estates.