Holland-Bukit Timah GCB Fetched More Than $30 Million In Resale Gains In March

Renewed momentum in the landed resale market in March    

Based on URA Realis caveat data, about 128 landed homes were transacted on the resale market in March 2024; the combined transaction value came up to $692 million – expanding from February (99 deals valued at $539 million). Upon an analysis of each transaction and their respective gains, most landed deals were profitable. In a ranking by gross profit garnered, the list of top 10 transactions consisted of landed homes located across the island, including in Bukit Timah, Serangoon and Novena. The top 10 landed home transactions in March booked gains ranging from about $4.3 million to $30 million. The top gainers were scattered across the island, four out of the top 10 landed transactions were located in the Core Central Region (CCR), another four were located in the Outside Central Region (OCR) while the remaining two were located in the Rest of Central Region (RCR).

Landed home resale activity in March picked up after a slow month in February due to the seasonal lull and festive holidays. In March, there was a larger proportion of higher priced landed homes being sold compared with the previous month. Based on URA Realis caveat data, about 36% of resale landed homes sold in March were priced at $5 million and above, compared with about 31.3% in February. Meanwhile, 64% of the resale landed transactions were priced at below $5 million in March – lower than the 68.7% proportion in the previous month.

Chart 1: Price range of private resale landed transactions in February 2024 vs March 2024

Source: PropNex Research, URA Realis

Top 10 resale landed transactions in terms of estimated gains*

Source: PropNex Research, URA Realis

*Gains are derived from the resale transaction for each unit against the unit’s last caveated transaction. The gains reflected is gross – it has not accounted for the applicable seller’s stamp duties, interest payable, taxes and other relevant divestment costs.

**Annualised gain is the compounded annual rate of return which shows the rate of return over the time period between the point of resale and the property’s last caveated transaction, expressed in annual percentage terms. The formula for determining this is simply: [(current resale price) / (purchase price)] ^{time period in years}-1

Top landed transaction with highest gains (overall)

The top landed transaction in the month was for a Good-class Bungalow (GCB) near one of Singapore’s exclusive landed neighbourhoods in the CCR, in Ford Avenue (District 10). The property was sold for $39.5 million in March and achieved an eye-watering gross profit of $30 million from the last caveated price lodged in November 2006 - booking an annualised gain of 8.6%. This freehold property sits on a plot with a land area of nearly 20,000 sq ft, with the sale price reflecting a unit price of $2,516 psf on land area. According to media reports, the property was bought by Grant Wee, the youngest child of UOB’s CEO Wee Ee Cheong. The property is a short walk to the Holland Village MRT station on the Circle Line which take residents to the city in less than 30 minutes. The property is also near quaint cafes and nightlife amenities in the Holland Village lifestyle enclave.

Top landed transaction with highest gains (Core Central Region)

The second best performing landed transaction in the CCR was for a freehold detached house along Berrima Road in the Novena planning area (District 11). The property was sold for about $12.68 million, reflecting an estimated gain of more than $8.03 million, representing an annualised gain of 5.8% per year from its last caveat lodged in April 2006 - with a holding period of nearly 18 years. The property is a short walk from the Botanic Gardens MRT interchange station, on the Circle Line and Downtown Line, which takes residents to the city in about 20 minutes. It is also located close to Singapore’s first UNESCO World Heritage site, the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

Top landed transaction with highest gains (Rest of Central Region)

The best performing landed home transaction in the RCR was for a semi-detached house along Boscombe Road in the Marine Parade planning area (District 15). The property was sold for about $9.45 million, reflecting an estimated gain of $7.24 million, representing an annualised gain of 8.7% per year from its last caveat lodged in November 2006 - with a holding period of more than 17 years. The property is located just a short walk from the upcoming Tanjong Katong MRT station on the Thomson East-Coast Line.

There second-best performing city fringe transaction was for the sale of a detached house in Jalan Belangkas in Geylang (District 13). The property is within walking distance to the Mattar MRT station on the Downtown Line. It was sold for $9.5 million in March, with its last caveat being lodged in April 2021. The sale price is up by about $5.2 million from the previous caveated price, marking a whooping annualised profit of 32.1% over less than 3 years.

Top landed transaction with highest gains (Outside Central Region)

The most profitable deal in the suburbs in March was the sale of a semi-detached home in Brighton Crescent in Serangoon (District 13). The property was sold for $8.3 million, up by $6.7 million from the last caveat lodged in May 2002. This reflects an annualised profit of 7.8% over a holding period of nearly 22 years. The two-storey detached house is situated in the heart of the Serangoon Gardens landed housing area. Residents enjoy convenient access to the heartland amenities within this estate such as the Serangoon Garden market, Chomp Chomp Food court and MyVillage at Serangoon Gardens.

The second best performing suburban landed home transaction in the top 10 rankings was the sale of a semi-detached house on Braemar Drive, in District 19 (Serangoon). The freehold property was sold for $6.3 million, up by $5.07 million from the last caveat lodged in October 2000 – this reflects an annualised profit of 7.2% after a holding period of 23 years. The property is located within the quieter nook of the Serangoon Garden landed enclave.

If you are looking for high-end homes or good class bungalows in Singapore, contact PropNex’s GCB and Prestige Landed department for buying opportunities and insights on the landed residential property market.

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