Glenn Kuok and his mother, Lee Yong Lah, are buying a good class bungalow (GCB) in Astrid Hill at Bukit Timah for S$49 million.

Given that the freehold land area is 21,116 sq ft, the mother-and-son pair is paying around S$2,321 per sq ft, according to The Business Times.

Kuok and Lee are, respectively, the son and wife of Kuok Koon Seng, the former chief executive officer (CEO) of SCMP.com, the internet division of Hong Kong media company South China Morning Post.

Kuok Koon Seng is the brother of billionaire Kuok Khoon Hong, the chairman and CEO of Singapore-headquartered agribusiness group Wilmar International.

Details of Astrid Hill GCB

The GCB Kuok and Lee are eyeing is located in the Queen Astrid Park GCB area and is slightly over 10 years old, according to BT.

The GCB's total built-up area is around 12,000 sq ft and features six bedrooms, a swimming pool, a gym, and an entertainment room across two storeys and a basement.

Another bungalow in the same GCB area with a land area of 31,359 sq ft was bought in 2021 by a director and co-owner of an oil and petroleum company for S$44.3 million, reported BT.

In 2022, the buyer was granted an option to purchase another bungalow next to the property for approximately S$55.09 million.

Other GCB transactions

However, Astrid Hill is not the only GCB area that will be welcoming new bungalow owners.

BT reported that it understands a Singaporean member of an Indonesian family in the agricultural and commodities business recently bought a two-storey bungalow in Dalvey Estate near the Singapore Botanic Gardens for S$57 million.

With a total built-up area of around 12,000 sq ft, the bungalow comes with a roof garden, a swimming pool, and a basement.

The buyer paid S$2,990 per sq ft for the 15-year-old property that has an approximate land area of 19,050 sq ft.

Similarly, Wee Boo Tee, a nephew of the late UOB chairman Wee Cho Yaw, is paying S$23 million for an Ewart Park bungalow built on a land area of 15,121 sq ft.

This means the younger Wee will be paying S$1,521 per sq ft for the two-storey property.

Transacted price at 'low side'

One commonality amongst the transactions was the relatively lower prices at which GCBs were sold, reported BT.

This reflects "weaker sentiment" that may have caused sincere sellers to "adjust their expectations" over the last few months, said property market watchers.

Earlier this year, potential buyers decided to wait for GCB prices to drop to a reasonable range after the overall prices reportedly grew 23.8 per cent from S$1,952 per sq ft in 2022 to S$2,417 per sq ft in 2023.

Other factors contributing to buyers' hesitance include the lasting high interest rates and the Singapore authorities' busting of the S$2.8 billion money laundering case in August 2023, according to BT.

Nevertheless, market players said that GCB market sentiment has "improved" recently as a number of owners were able to attract buyers back with "more reasonable price expectations".

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