Bukit Panjang bungalow up for auction with $9m asking price

The good class bungalow in Chestnut Crescent to be auctioned on Sept 30 is a freehold property. The single-storey house can be redeveloped to 21/2 storeys. It is near the Cashew and Bukit Panjang MRT stations, and a short drive from Dairy Farm Quarry
The good class bungalow in Chestnut Crescent to be auctioned on Sept 30 is a freehold property. The single-storey house can be redeveloped to 21/2 storeys. It is near the Cashew and Bukit Panjang MRT stations, and a short drive from Dairy Farm Quarry and Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. PHOTO: COLLIERS INTERNATIONAL

A good class bungalow (GCB) in Chestnut Crescent will be up for auction next month with an asking price of $9 million.

The freehold property is in the GCB area in Bukit Panjang, one of 39 clusters gazetted for such homes.

The asking price works out to about $975 per square foot (psf), based on the total land area of 9,232 sq ft or 857.7 sq m.

As a guide, a landed home at 29 Chestnut Crescent went for $8.8 million or $1,103 psf in the third quarter last year, real estate firm Colliers International said yesterday.

"GCBs are seen as the creme de la creme of the Singapore property market and this presents a rare chance to own one of them at a relatively affordable price," said Mr Steven Tan, its director of capital markets and investment services.

The single-storey home can be redeveloped to 2½ storeys, he added.

A buyer could possibly acquire an adjacent state site of 2,836 sq ft that would help lower the overall effective land rate below $975 psf, Mr Tan said.

The property is a short drive from the Dairy Farm Quarry and Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. Other amenities in the vicinity include Hillion mall, Petir Park, and Bukit Panjang Primary, Assumption English, CHIJ Our Lady Queen of Peace and Fajar Secondary schools.

It is also near the Cashew and Bukit Panjang MRT stations.

The auction will be held at 2.30pm on Sept 30 at Amara Singapore, Level 3.

Colliers will also put a conserved shophouse under the hammer on the same day. The owner of the two-storey shophouse at 65 Neil Road is asking for at least $8 million, or around $2,800 psf, based on the gross floor area of 2,834 sq ft.

It has an attic and a land area of 1,413 sq ft, Colliers said. Its 99-year lease started from July 4, 1989.

Additional buyer's stamp duty and seller's stamp duty are not applicable due to commercial zoning of the shophouse.

The ground floor is leased to an entertainment establishment that has been there for 15 years. The lease for the second floor expires at the year end.

If approval is granted, the floor could be used for a range of activities, including a restaurant, clinic or night club.

Mr Tan said there has been heightened interest in shophouses since cooling measures were introduced in July last year.

"Those in prime areas are considered a good investment option owing to their superior location, healthy pedestrian traffic and the vibrant activities in the vicinity," he said. "Generally, shophouses also see good leasing demand and enjoy relatively good return."

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on August 27, 2019, with the headline Bukit Panjang bungalow up for auction with $9m asking price. Subscribe