Good Class Bungalows (GCB) | Lush Dream Home

Tag Archives: Good Class Bungalows (GCB)

Q3 investment sales jump 71%: report

Posted on 29 Sep 2009 | Comments Off

CBRE raises total sales forecast for 2009 to $7.5b from $2b 3 months ago

THE investment sales market continued to improve in Q3, boosted by a large number of good class bungalow (GCB) transactions, according to a new report.

Total investment sales in the current quarter have so far amounted to $3.28 billion, an increase of 71 per cent from the previous quarter, said CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) in its report yesterday.

With the strong showing, CBRE is bumping up its forecast for total investment sales for the whole of 2009 to as much as $7.5 billion. Three months ago, the property firm estimated that total sales would exceed $2 billion by end of the year.

In Q3, residential investment sales made up the bulk of the transaction volume. Residential investment sales – including GCB sales – accounted for $2.2 billion in transacted value, or 67 per cent, of the quarter’s total investment sales. This is 92 per cent higher than the $1.2 billion residential investment sales recorded in Q2.

And to date, GCB sales have made up a quarter of total residential investment sales in Q3, with 35 GCB sales between July and September totalling some $535 million. Several of these GCBs were sold for above $1,000 per square foot of land and these included the sale of 6 Leedon Park for $19.4 million, and 42 Dalvey Road and 12 Bishopsgate for $19.0 million apiece. Continue reading →

Comments Off on Q3 investment sales jump 71%: report

Posted in Property Market / Real Estate

Tagged Good Class Bungalows (GCB), Investment Sales, Singapore Investment Sales, Singapore Property, Singapore Property Market

The growing GCB market

Posted on 24 Sep 2009 | Comments Off

Prices have more than doubled over the last decade

PRICES of good class bungalows (GCBs) have picked up strongly since early this year, topping prices fetched in the last property peak in 2007. GCBs are owned by a select group of wealthy individuals, who may well own more than one such bungalow. There are an estimated 2,500 GCBs in Singapore today. By definition, GCBs need to have a plot size of at least 1,400 sq m (15,070 sq ft) and be located in one of the areas zoned for GCBs.

Sought after: With the strong demand for GCBs, we are beginning to see a shortage of such properties for sale, especially in the prime areas

Their prices have more than doubled over the last decade, with the average price today being about $1,000 per sq ft (psf) to $1,200 psf of land in prime areas such as Tanglin. For example, a GCB in Ladyhill Road with a land area of 16,340 sq ft was sold at $8.23 million in September 2000. This works out to $504 psf. In the current market, the same bungalow would easily fetch more than $18 million, or about $1,100 psf.

Similarly, a GCB in Bishopsgate with a land area of 19,300 sq ft was sold for $11 million or about $570 psf in November 2000. A similar unit today would fetch $20-22 million.

The rising number of high net worth foreigners who become Singapore permanent residents (PR) and citizens form the bulk of prospective buyers for GCBs. Apart from this group, we are also starting to see investment companies acquiring GCBs for their portfolios.

It is generally perceived that with the pricing of premier condominiums ranging between $2,500 psf and $3,500 psf, there is a lot of upside growth for GCBs whose average price is about $1,000 psf.

With the strong demand for GCBs, we are beginning to see a shortage of such properties for sale, especially in the prime areas. GCB prices have risen steadily since the start of this year, and have climbed by nearly 25 per cent in less than a year. Continue reading →