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Is this S’pore’s priciest home?

This house is selling for more than S$100 million. (PropertyGuru)
This house is selling for more than S$100 million. (PropertyGuru)

A single-storey conversion bungalow at 37 Marine Parade Road has been put up for sale for a whopping S$100 million to S$110 million, making it one of Singapore's most expensive landed homes, if successfully sold.

Built in 1898, the property is arguably the country's first waterfront private home, over 100 years before Sentosa Cove was developed. However, with all the redevelopment Marine Parade has undergone, the bungalow has lost its access to the sea and, instead of a sea view, now faces Parkway Parade.

The 47,400-sq-ft bungalow (once occupied by Japanese officials during WWII) and the adjacent property are owned by the family of Choa Kim Keat, an influential businessman in the 1880s.

Mr Choa's great-grandson, Victor Choa, said in an AsiaOne report that the property was once only five metres away from the sea.

"We used to swim by the sea and go fishing there. It was all great fun. We would row our boats to Bedok and we even did an all-island trip once. There weren't so many big ships then," he said.

He reminisced about the homes which were once along the coast, a far cry from the busy Marine Parade area of today.

Mr Choa also noted that the area used to be a popular dating spot for couples, similar to East Coast Park today.

"It was a popular place for dating, strolling couples and also families during the weekend," he said, adding that the area was quiet, "not like today. It wasn't densely populated."

According to a Straits Times report, several attempts had been made to redevelop the property but were rejected, due to the wish of Mr Eric Choa, Choa Kim Keat's grandson, to live in the house until the time of his death.

Mr Choa passed on in 2009 at the age of 93 and his wife, Hoo Yan Meng, followed in 2010, also at the age of 93.

Mr Victor Choa revealed that his great-grandfather had built six apartments in a three-storey block at the back of the bungalow to house senior British officers for about 10 years.

Mr Choa said the family has finally decided to sell the land plot due to the healthy property market. "It's also too big and it's time for someone to redevelop it."

"The good thing is that the house will be conserved. I'd like to see it next time, when it has been conserved."

Mr Karamjit Singh, Managing Director of Credo Real Estate, which is marketing the property, said the "113-year-old single-storey bungalow was identified for conservation by (the) URA in 2009, much to the delight of the descendants of Mr Choa."

The site can potentially accommodate around 100 residential units with an average size of 1,000 sq ft, depending its configuration and layout.

Mr Colin Tan, research and consultancy director at Chesterton Suntec International, said the Marine Parade bungalow, if sold for S$110 million, could be one of Singapore's most expensive properties sold by a single owner.

"But the value of this property rests on its high-rise component. People are paying for the redevelopment potential, where you can redevelop the other parts of the land into a condo."

"That's why there's this high value. Otherwise, it would never be that expensive."

He believes that a buyer for the Marine Parade property is unlikely to be an individual

"It'll definitely be developers who will buy it for redevelopment. It ($110 million) is not a small sum of money."

"I suppose there may be an eccentric person who may buy it but this property is not located in a particularly prestigious address, like in town. So, it'll likely attract developers."

Singapore has only 2,400 good class bungalows (GCB), mostly located in Districts 9, 10 and 11. The most expensive GCBs are located in Ladyhill and the Nassim area, followed by the Tanglin-Holland and Tanglin vicinity, including Swettenham and Peirce roads.

A 32,077 sq ft bungalow on Victoria Park Road was sold for S$38.67 million in 2009, making it the most expensive GCB sold in the market so far.