2018 has seen its fair share of movers and shakers in Singapore’s property scene, with new records set in the Good Class Bungalow category. As the year comes to a close, we have compiled for you the 12 biggest real estate transactions in the categories of Good Class Bungalow, Sentosa Cove Bungalow, Luxury Apartment, En Bloc Sale as well as Government Land Sales, both Residential and Commercial-Residential.
Good Class Bungalow
Besides being the GCB with the highest transacted price in 2018, this Dalvey Road property is also the GCB with the highest price ever recorded through caveats. Its price tag can be attributed to its large land area, elevated grounds and proximity to the Singapore Botanic Garden. At 53,054 sq ft, it can be subdivided and redeveloped into 2 or 3 big GCBs.
3 Jervois Hill is a newly built bungalow with three levels, including the basement, and has set the highest psf for 2018 as well as the highest psf ever for a GCB. The pièce de résistance of the house is a floating staircase in the entrance hall, which is both a work of art and an innovation. The highlight of the basement is the wall aquarium — with up to 800 fish — in the games room.
Sentosa Cove Bungalow
6 Cove Grove is one of the few villas in Sentosa Cove which has a big land area of over 18,000 sq ft. Its unique location allows it to have a view of the waterway in the front and a view of the sea at its rear. The current record holder for this category is still 127 Cove Drive, which has a land area of 15,929 sq ft and offers a sea view. It was sold for $39 mil in February 2012.
107 Cove Drive has been dubbed the “Stereoscopic House” because it has been shaped to frame the view of the sea and Southern Islands with a distorted tube-like volume. The existing record is held by 81 Ocean Drive, which has a land area of 9,440 sq ft. It was sold at $2,989 psf (or $28.2 mil) in October 2010.
Luxury Apartment
One of the two penthouses of New Futura was top on the list in terms of both the absolute price and highest psf this year. Launched in January 2018, the 124-unit New Futura was 84% sold by September. There are only two penthouses in this development, each perched at the top of the two 36-storey towers, offering a 360-degree city view. The penthouse which was sold comprises two levels, five bedrooms, a Poggenpohl Kitchen and a swimming pool.
The record for absolute highest price is a penthouse on the 32 level of Le Nouvel Ardmore which transacted at $51 mil (or $3,757 psf) in April 2015, while the highest record in terms of psf is a 4-bedroom unit on the 20 th level of the Marq on Paterson Hill which was priced at $6,650 psf in November 2011.
En Bloc Sale
This record deal is only surpassed by the sale of Farrer Court for $1.34 billion in 2007. The new project to be developed on it is estimated to breakeven around $2,700 psf which will translate to a potential selling price of above $3,000 psf.
The new record collective sale price set by Park House trumped the previous peak of $2,526 psf/pr set by Hampton Court in 2013. Besides local developers, the site had attracted developers from China, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Government Land Sale Site (Residential)
The bid for the West Coast Vale plot was 35% higher than the $592 psf/pr paid for the neighbouring plot, the site of Twin View. The new project onsite is Whistler Grand which was launched in November at $1,380 psf. The all-time record for the highest price for a GLS site is Stirling Road for $1.002 bn
in May 2017.
The consortium who bought this site comprised Far East Consortium and New World Development (both Hong Kong-listed developers) as well as SC Global Developments (local developer). SC Global Developments chairman and chief executive Simon Cheong said he is optimistic about this site because it has been more than a decade since the government sold a residential site along Orchard Road. This GSL site (residential) also holds the record for the highest $psf/pr ever.
Government Land Sale Site (Commercial – Residential)
There were a total of 15 proposals for this mixed-use site, which was sold by the government through the concept-and-price method. The winning design submitted by a consortium led by Far East Organization is divided into three zones: Commons Square, which can hold events such as weekend
markets and outdoor performances; Communal Green, which is a courtyard flanked by shops leading to a water court and a terraced water feature; and Pocket Park, which opens into Lorong Mambong in Holland Village.
This Holland Road GLS site is now also the record holder for the highest psf/pr ever, while the record for highest price ever transacted was $1,428,880,000 in Yishun Avenue 2 or Central 1.
Note: The above transactions are based on caveats lodged, and do not include record deals with no caveats lodged that were reported in the media.