The high-end bungalow market showed significant improvements since the start of the year, with property agents even expecting to sell more units.
“I expect to sell six to eight out of the 15 good class bungalows (GCB) on hand within six months” said K.H.Tan, Newsman Realty’s managing director.
ERA Property Agent George Lee and Savills Director Steven Ming are also upbeat on the sales prospects. Lee hopes to sell two GCBs within two months, while Ming is yet to close a number of deals for prestige homes.
The current state of the housing market is a far cry from where it is during the first quarter of the year, when residential investment sales, including GCBs, are down by 60.7 percent vis-à-vis the fourth quarter of 2008.
Based on the caveats record in the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) Realis system, Savills Singapore estimates that there are only two deals closed during the first quarter of the year, increasing to seven in April and May.
According to Tan, the average GCB prices per sq. ft. are up by 10% to 15% since last month. GCB prices in District 10 range from $800 to $100 per sq. ft. in January, compared with the current price range of $1,000-$1,200. The demand for GCB is expected to increase further as more foreigners settle in Singapore. Tan estimates that foreign home ownership will increase GCB prices by 30%.
A typical GCB costs $10 million and measures at least 15,069 square feet. An URA survey, encompassing 39 areas, estimated that there are 2,400 GCBs to date.