Strong pick-up in sales of GCBs and Sentosa Cove homes
View of waterfront bungalows in Sentosa Cove.
Sales of good class bungalows (GCBs) and Sentosa Cove homes picked up in the first half of 2017 from a year ago, according to a report by List Sotheby’s International Realty, Singapore.
Based on caveats lodged with URA Realis, 20 GCBs and seven bungalows at Sentosa Cove were sold between January and June, compared to 14 GCBs and none at Sentosa Cove during the same period last year.
At this pace, the GCB market in 2017 could outperform last year’s total sales volume of 37 GCBs.
Meanwhile, the 20 GCBs sold amounted to an investment value of $432.21 million, up significantly from $298.36 million for the 14 GCBs.
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Leong Boon Hoe, Chief Operating Officer at List Sotheby’s International Realty, Singapore, noted that the GCB market seems resilient to downturns as seen by increased activities during the 1999 Asian Financial Crisis and the sub-prime mortgage-led global financial crisis of 2009-2010.
In fact, he believes that foreign investors still find Singapore properties attractive, “substantiated by the 545 caveats lodged by permanent resident and foreign buyers in the Core Central Region in the first half of 2017, representing a 22 percent y-o-y increase by the same group”.
“Excluding Singaporeans, the top five nationalities who bought residential properties in H1 2017 were PRC nationals, Malaysians, Indonesians, North Americans and Hongkongers,” he said.
Since opening in Singapore just four months ago, the luxury realtor has secured $142 million in new business appointments.
These include the $108 million Wallich Residence super penthouse, a $21 million Sentosa Cove bungalow, and a $13 million condo at Marina Bay Residences.
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Despite signs of an upward trend, the firm cautioned that it is still too early to expect a full market recovery because economic fundamentals are still consolidating.
It pointed to GDP growth which remained unchanged at 2.5 percent for the first two quarters of 2017, as well as the slightly higher unemployment rate among mid-career professionals.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
