S$128.8m sale of Nassim Road bungalow sets record transaction price of S$4,005 psf

Singapore

A RECORD price of S$4,005 per square foot on land area has been set in the Good Class Bungalow market for a transaction in Nassim Road. Already, some market watchers are predicting that the next bungalow to be sold in the prized location is likely to surpass this price.

The benchmark psf price achieved is for a S$128.8 million transaction last month. The buyer is Jin Xiao Qun, the wife of Nanofilm Technologies International founder and executive chairman Shi Xu. The Singapore citizens became a billionaire couple following the company's successful listing on the mainboard of the Singapore Exchange in October last year.

On the 32,159 sq ft freehold site is an old bungalow. It is being sold by Oei Siu Hoa, also known as Sukmawati Widjaja, the controlling shareholder of Top Global.

She acquired the bungalow, named Ladyvale, for S$30.3 million in late 2006 from David Eng of Sparks disco fame; he in turn had bought it from the British government in December 2000 for S$19.3 million or S$600 psf.

Madam Sukmawati also owns a bungalow next door that is developed on a site of about 40,000 sq ft which she bought in 2003 from motoring tycoon Peter Kwee.

It is not known who brokered the latest deal.

"There is extreme scarcity of properties available on Nassim Road, the most prestigious address in the GCB market. And there are top-notch ultra high net worth Singapore citizens - be they locals or naturalised - who are prepared to pay a premium to secure a property for this prized location," said Realstar Premier founder William Wong.

While anyone can buy a non-landed private home in Singapore, one generally has to be a Singapore citizen to be allowed to acquire a landed property in a GCB Area.

The previous high in terms of psf on land for a GCB transaction was S$3,311 psf set in 2019 for James Dyson's S$50 million purchase of a new bungalow in Cluny Road near the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

Veteran GCB agent KH Tan, managing director of Newsman Realty, said the bungalow that Ms Jin is buying is one of the best plots in the exclusive Nassim GCB Area; it is on flat land and in a quiet area, away from the main road. "I would put the fair market price at about S$3,700-3,800 psf; but given the rarity of such a property that is available for sale, I am not really surprised that it has fetched S$4,005 psf."

He expects the transaction to lead to an upward revision in asking prices by GCB owners, especially in prime locations.

Market observers say an obvious potential beneficiary would be former Sincere Watch boss Tay Liam Wee, who is looking to sell his nearby vacant land along Nassim Road. Last month, BT reported the asking price at S$66 million or nearly S$2,760 psf.

Another Nassim Road property that is on the market is a two-storey conservation bungalow that once used to house the Saudi Arabian embassy. The guide price in October 2019 when the tender for the property was launched, was S$175 million or S$2,977 psf based on a land area of 58,784 sq ft. It is owned by Cheong Pin Chuan and his wife; Mr Cheong is the joint chief executive officer of Hong Fok Corporation.

Low interest rates and high liquidity are helping to fuel buying interest in the GCB market. Established wealthy local families are buying them for their children and grandchildren. Another group of buyers are the new rich who have benefitted from an initial public offering (IPO) of their business; or they may be in businesses that have done well during the pandemic. Newly-minted citizens are also drawn to Singapore's overall stability and handling of the pandemic.

Bungalows in the 39 gazetted GCB Areas are the most prestigious form of landed housing in Singapore, with strict planning conditions stipulated by the Urban Redevelopment Authority to preserve their exclusivity and low-rise character.

Nanofilm Technologies was the biggest IPO on the Singapore bourse last year. The company's market capitalisation is around S$3.27 billion - of which Dr Shi's total stake, including that of his wife, is about 55 per cent.