From $137m to $105m: Cluny Park GCB on sale again with lower asking price

A Good Class Bungalow, previously listed for $137.2 million last year but failed to garner "competitive offers", has been put for sale again for $105 million. 

A sale by expression of interest was launched for 4A Lermit Road, real estate and investment management company JLL Singapore said in a press release on Tuesday (Jan 16). 

Checks by AsiaOne on the Singapore Land Authority's property title search showed that the GCB, located at a cul-de-sac in the Nassim Road enclave, is owned by Lee Howe Yong, who passed away last November. 

He is the son of the late Dennis Lee Kim Yew, the founding partner of the law firm Lee & Lee and younger brother of former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, reported EdgeProp. 

Sitting on a land area of around 30,000 sqft, this GCB is surrounded by residences of high commissioners and ambassadors. 

"This makes it the coveted GCB address for Ultra-High Net Worth families," Tan Hong Boon, JLL Singapore's executive director of capital markets, said in the press release. 

The two-storey bungalow was completed in 1995. It has a swimming pool, full-height glass to enjoy an unblocked view of the Singapore Botanic Gardens, and a basement garage and driveway that can accommodate multiple cars. 

Tan said in the press release that 4A Lermit Road was previously on the market for private sale last year. 

"Despite notable interest, market uncertainties somewhat tempered buyers' willingness to submit competitive offers," he said, adding that the property is back for sale on the back of a "more stabilised economy". 

The GCB was listed last August via private treaty sale with an indicative price of $137.2 million. 

In a press release then, PropNex Realty said that the price worked out to a unit price of $4,600 psf on the land area. 

GCB deals expected to rise this year

There were previously three GCB transactions on Lermit Road since records began in January 1995, EdgeProp reported. 

The last GCB transaction was for 4 Lermit Road, which was sold for around $34.75 million in December 2020. Prior to that, the property, which occupies a land area of around 14,000 sqt, was sold for $28.3 million in December 2017.

In 2010, the GCB at 1 Lermit Road, which sat on an 8,496 sqft freehold site, changed hands for $12.3 million. 

Separately, The Business Times reported that the number of transactions for GCBs is likely to pick up this year.

This is due to pent-up demand and more realistic price expectations from owners who are motivated to sell.

The GCB market had quietened down in the aftermath of the $1 billion anti-money laundering raid last August.

ALSO READ: What the fuss: Are black-and-white colonial houses as good as good class bungalows?

chingshijie@asiaone.com