ERA’s Jeffrey Sim: If GCB prices continue to rise, land price in Binjai Park will reach $2,000 per square foot next year (Photo: Albert Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
In the Good Class Bungalow (GCB) enclave of Binjai ParkMany old bungalows were razed to the ground and converted into new, huge villas. One of the few GCBs that is still in its original condition is the property at 41 Binjai Park.
It has an elevated 21,246 sq. m lot with freehold title, a crescent driveway and two entrances. The property has a single-story main house and several outbuildings built in the 1950s.
Source: EdgeProp Landlens
The owner was Heng Cher Siang, who was the first principal of Anderson Secondary School from 1965 to 1973. Heng recently died at the age of 96 and her estate is offering the property for sale.
Read also: Convicted oil magnate OK Lim sells his third GCB for $43 million
A search of the land registry shows that the purchase of the property was approved on June 1, 1956. Her nephew Robin Heng, the appointed executor, says his aunt bought the land in the 1950s.
Seventy years ago, Heng’s aunt paid “less than $11,000” for the property. She was a dog lover and had the name of one of her dogs, Apollo, painted on one of the outbuildings. Heng expects the new owner will demolish the existing property and build a new contemporary bungalow.
The GCB in Binjai Park has a crescent-shaped driveway and two entrances (Photo: Albert Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
Renovation potential
Jeffrey Sim, head of the consulting group at ERA Realty Network, is the sole marketing agent for the property. The location’s biggest advantage is its regularity: “It’s square and faces east,” he says.
For a GCB, the URA’s guideline is that the built-up area can only occupy 40% of the plot area. The plot area of Plot 41 Binjai Park is approximately 8,500 square feet.
According to Sim, the owner can build a two-storey bungalow with an attic and a basement with a gross floor area (GFA) of between 1,500 and 2,300 square metres.
Since the site is 2m above street level, Sim reckons the cost of building an underground parking garage won’t be exorbitant. He estimates that a new basement would accommodate an entertainment room and a garage for up to 20 cars.
Read also: Jervois Hill GCB property back on the market for USD 46 million, down from USD 53 million
Construction costs have also increased post-Covid, and Sim estimates that the cost to build a new home is between $700 and $1,000 per square foot. Based on the estimated gross floor area, that would be between $12 million and $25 million.
“If you look at the houses here, you will see that many have been demolished and rebuilt,” says Sim. “Very few buyers have retained the original structure.”
The original main house and outbuildings from the 1950s stand on an elevated plot of 21,246 square feet (Photo: Albert Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
Famous neighbors
The neighbourhood also has prominent residents, including Jet Li, a Chinese martial artist and actor who has moved to Singapore; Peter Seah, non-executive chairman of DBS, Singapore’s largest bank; Singapore’s Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon; and Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and Environment. A street away, on Swiss Club Road, is the private home of Singapore’s ninth President, Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
Binjai Park’s residents include several prominent businessmen, including Desmond Ong, founder and CEO of Galmon, a company that provides mobile elevating work platforms such as articulated boom lifts, and Zhong Sheng Jian, founder of Singapore-listed Chinese property developer Yanlord Land Group.
ERA’s Sim quotes a price of $38.8 million ($1,826 per sq ft) for the GCB at 41 Binjai Park, which is for sale under private treaty. The price per sq ft is equivalent to a GCB on a 15,515 sq ft plot that changed hands in March 2023 for $28.3 million ($1,824 per sq ft).
Therefore, Sim considers the asking price of $1,826 per square foot to be “very reasonable.” “If GCB prices rise like this, the land price in Binjai Park will reach $2,000 per square foot next year,” he predicts.
Read also: Chancery Lane GCB for sale from $43 million
Downloaded on July 23, 2024
With EdgeProp Buddy, you can learn about transactions in different areas, search for real estate listings, and find out various project details such as floor plans, trends, and much more!
See also:
