Singapore Property Walkabouts

The origins of this GCBA should be obvious. Its history is tied to the Swiss population in Singapore – first the Swiss Rifle Shooting Club (an impressive 300m range) founded in 1871 before that gave rise to the Swiss Club, whose clubhouse was designed by H R Arbenz in 1927.

This GCBA was formerly a tapioca and coffee estate and is one of the larger GCBAs in Singapore as it includes Jln Kampong Chantek, Ascot Rise and Jln Senandong, with the latter 2 being small roads. Swiss Club Road is a pretty long stretch by itself. Location wise, it is off Dunearn Rd and sits between Binjai Park GCBA and Turf Club.

At the peak of the Swiss Club estate sits this row of condos (La Suisse 1 and 2) and terrace houses at the hilly Swiss View. It is 1.9km before you can even see a main road (Dunearn Rd) in sight. Well, I guess that’s what you call ‘exclusivity’ (or uluness, whichever you prefer). What they also get is also a panoramic view of the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve (and PIE).

There are no ‘good schools’ within a 1km radius from a Singaporean perspective. However, there is an international education cluster right here. There is (of course) the Swiss School, Hollandse School, Repton Schoolhouse, Korean Int’l School and Chatsworth Int’l School right here. The British Club is here as well.

Owners past and present in this GCBA are rumoured to include President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Kwee Liong Seen of Pontiac Land, philanthropist Mary-Ann Tsao of Tsao Foundation, whose wealth came from IMC, a shipping company. Others include Sat Pal Khattar, founding partner of law firm KhattarWong, whose wealth also came from astute investments such as an early stake in HDFC bank. Frank Wong, former Vice Chairman of DBS and former NatSteel CEO Oo Soon Hee are also said to live here.

Credits to EdgeProp and Robert Powell.

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Bin Tong Park is probably my favourite GCBA of the lot. There is just something charming about its winding and hilly surroundings. It helps that its (relatively inaccessible) location amidst other GCBAs (Belmont Park, Rebecca Park and Leedon Park) affords the homes here more peace and tranquility. The origins of its name comes from the translation of “east citizen”.

Nevertheless, if you drive (which 100% of owners here probably do), Holland Village is close by with NYPS, RGPS and Henry Park within a 2km radius.

Famous owners past and present include OSIM’s billionaire founder Ron Sim, descendants of former Ngee Ann Kongsi President the late Lim Kee Ming whose son is low profile businessman Kaling Lim, who was an early investor and mentor to Razer with his stake said to be worth $1bn now. He is also Chairman of his family’s century old business Lim Teck Lee and founding investor of NASDAQ listed Premisys Communications.

Latest transactions include a 28,111sqft home sold for $37.6m ($1,338psf) in Sept ’20. 5 Bin Tong, a colonial styled single storey 28,109sqft house had an asking price of $42m ($1,494psf) in 2019. 65 Bin Tong , a 23,269sqft GCB was sold for $48m ($2,063psf). It was recently rebuilt by Ong&Ong for $10m and originally bought for $15m in 2007.

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White House Park was originally a 54-acre nutmeg and betel nut plantation owned by bookkeeper turned auctioneer Gilbert Angus in the early 1800s before it was later sold to F&N founder John Fraser.

There were originally 4 houses in this estate, all built in the 19th century – Whitehouse (1862), Glencaird (1897), Cree Hall and Sentosa (1875-1880). Unfortunately, of the 4 original houses, only Glencaird remains at 15 White House Park and was originally designed by the famed R.A.J Bidwell.

Glencaird became the official residence of the Australia High Commissioner in 1947 and was given conservation status in 1991. The 194,000sqft plot was later sold to Wheelock Properties fr $98m ($505psf) in 1996 and another 11 GCBs were built on the plot of land whilst conserving Glencaird. The 11 GCBs were designed by Ernesto Bedmar, completed in 1999 and sold at ~$14m each ($838psf) while Glencaird was only sold in 2007 for $28.8m ($1308psf), making it the most expensive GCB back then. How times have changed – the most expensive GCB sold now is 33 Nassim Rd at $230m ($2720psf).

WHP is located off Stevens Road and is parallel / contiguous with the Dalvey Estate GCBA. I always thought this GCB’s name had something to do with US President’s official residence but it’s probably named after the 1st house built in this estate instead.

Recent transactions include a 35,290sqft unit sold for $60m ($1600psf) in Jun ’20 while another 15,125sqft sold for $25.5m ($1686psf) in 2016. Past and present owners in this GCBA are said to include Wee Cho Yaw’s (UOB Chairman Emeritus) nephew Wee Boo Tee.

Credits to eresources.nlb.gov.sg

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Located just adjacent to the Bukit Sedap GCBA, Maryland Estate GCBA is similarly located just off Holland Rd. This GCBA is on a sloping ground comprising of a no-through road and one that is contiguous with Greenleaf Road.

This estate is likely to be named after Henrietta Marie (1605-1667), wife of Britain’s King Charles I although there is also an eponymous American state.

This GCBA made news in Jul 2018 when Mothership ran an article on a 19,000 sqft GCB listed for $33m marketed by @propertylimbrothers It was possibly the 1st time video marketing was done for a GCB. An old 21,912 sqft home was also sold for $30m ($1,369psf) in Nov 2019. In May 2020, a 21,863sqft GCB in original condition was also being marketed for $27m ($1,235psf) with no indication as to whether it was eventually sold.

Past and present owners in this GCBA are rumoured to include Falcon Energy’s CEO Tan Pong Tyea, Aarti Lohia, scion of the billionaire Indorama Holdings, who now runs the Lohia Foundation, which has funded education and healthcare initiatives in India and beyond. Financial restructuring expert Chan Heng Fai who has helped to turnaround firms as SingHaiYi, Global Medical REIT, China Gas and American Pacific Bank and WongPartnership Director Chee Yuet Mei also reportedly own / have owned homes in this GCBA.

Credits to Robert Powell (Singapore Good Class Bungalow 1819-2015)

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Bukit Sedap GCBA is the smallest GCBA in Singapore, occupying just 3.15ha (339,000 sqft) of land in total. For reference, D’Leedon (840,000 sqft) is more than 2x larger.

Located just off Holland Rd and beside the Maryland Estate GCBA, Bukit Sedap is also at the fringe of the massive Clementi Forest / Green Corridor, which is 85ha large (10,000x 4-room HDB flats) and is Singapore’s 2nd largest wildlife habitat after Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. Henry Park Pri is also within 1km for some of these homes. As for the origins of its name, Sedap of course, translates from Malay as ‘delicious/tasty’ and potentially refers to fruit grown in the area in the past.

While I have tried to showcase different GCBs found at Bukit Sedap, majority of them (~15) are actually owned by the same developer, with facades and features (swimming pools) a carbon copy of each other. They were developed by Singapore’s largest developer, Far East Organisation. If I am not mistaken, these GCBAs continue to be owned by them as part of their Villas Holland series and are rented at ~$25k/month. No wonder Ng Teng Fong was Singapore’s richest man for so many years.

An old GCB at Bukit Sedap was listed for sale in Aug at $18m for 15,565sqft ($1,156psf) of land, down from its original $23m presumably due to the ongoing pandemic.

Credits to Robert Powell (Singapore Good Class Bungalow 1819-2015) for the history of Bukit Sedap.

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Ewart Park is one of those GCBAs which will appeal to buyers who really enjoy exclusiveness and being close to nature. The drive in to this GCBA takes you past leafy surroundings, making you question whether you’re still in Singapore.

Located off Holland Rd and Old Holland Rd, Ewart Park is in a bit of a ‘kampong’ on its own with several no-through roads. What’s more is that it borders the massive Clementi Forest, which at 85 hectares large (10,000x 4-room HDB flats) is Singapore’s 2nd largest wildlife habitat after Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. While it sounds lovely, the major downside to this is the abundance of 🐒 in this GCBA, who cause a ruckus by toppling bins and leaving a trail of trash on the roads.

Ewart Park is believed to be named after J W Ewart, the curator of Botanic Gardens and Singapore’s Agricultural Officer from 1948-54.

Because of its more secluded status, GCBs here tend to sit on larger plots of land with more affordable psf prices. The latest available txn was in Feb 2019, where a 27,000sqft home was sold for $30m ($1,111psf). In Apr 2017, a 15,468sqft unit sold for $15.9m ($1,030psf) while a 33,551sqft home was sold for $38.6m ($1,150psf) in 2011.

Current and previous residents in this GCBA are said to include Tolaram Group founder Mohan Vaswani, whose diverse billion-dollar conglomerate is building a port in Nigeria, producing paper in Estonia, running an Indonesian bank among other business interests. EY Senior Partner Choo Eng Chuan and former Jardine Cycle & Carriage Director Neville Venter are also said to stay / have stayed here.

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As the old adage goes, I have saved the best of Chatsworth Park for the last. For those in the know, Rochalie Dr is home to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and is part of Chatsworth Park, the largest GCBA in Singapore, which also includes Cable Rd, Jervois Hill and Chatsworth Rd among others.

As with Chatsworth Rd, Rochalie Dr connects Tanglin Rd to Grange Rd and is located directly across the upcoming Orchard Bvld MRT station, making Rochalie Dr one of the most convenient GCB estates.

Because Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong lives here, the level of security here is understandably high and you will spot CCTVs at various corners of the road and the customary Gurkha guard post outside his residence of course.

Among its other former and current residents here are former PwC Deputy Chairman Dr Chew Kia Ngee, Co-Founder of boutique investment banking firm TC Capital’s Ravi Chidambaram, CEO of self-storage hub Lock+Store’s Helen Ng and renowned yacht broker Julian Chang.

28 Rochalie Dr was put up for sale in Aug at a price of $31m ($1,849psf) for 16,770 sqft of land. It was rebuilt in 2018 with 5 large ensuite bedrooms. Transactions have otherwise been few along this road, with the previous sale happening in 2010 when a 13,466 sqft house was sold for $20m ($1,485psf).

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Chatsworth Park is the largest GCBA in Singapore as it encompasses everywhere from Rochalie Dr and Cable Rd to Jervois Hill and Chatsworth Rd.

In focus here will be Mount Echo Park, which forms a lovely D-shaped loop of about 30 homes. It connects to Jervois Rd and is in close proximity to The Crest and Principal Garden along Prince Charles Cres.

Its cul-de-sac location also means that Mount Echo Park is away from the hustle and bustle of Tanglin Rd, which Jervois Rd leads to. For residents, the no-through road means additional exclusiveness, which is especially important in the Chatsworth GCBA, which at times can be quite bustling because of the Indonesian Embassy and High Commissions of Brunei and Malaysia close by.

There aren’t many transactions at Mount Echo Park. In Aug ’20, a 15,156 sqft home was sold for $27m ($1,781psf). It was originally bought for $9m ($594psf) in 1997, representing a 300% gain over 23 years. In Jan ’16, a 16,824sqft home was sold for $25m ($1,494 psf).

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Chatsworth Park is the largest GCBA in Singapore as it encompasses everywhere from Rochalie Dr and Cable Rd to Jervois Hill and Mount Echo Park.

In focus here will be Chatsworth Rd, which connects Grange Rd and Tanglin Rd. Chatsworth Rd is also home to the Indonesian Embassy, which occupies a sprawling plot here.

Chatsworth Park is actually also a conservation area with 27 conserved GCBs built after WWI for employees of firms such as Straits Trading and Cable & Wireless. Many of these homes are the works of esteemed architect Frank Brewer and designed in Art Deco and Black & White fashion.

3 Chatsworth was awarded the URA Architectural Heritage Award in 1997 for the careful restoration of many key features of the conserved main building. In 2002, alterations were made for the inclusion of an annex outhouse and swimming pool. Frankly, in 2020, this house seems to be less well maintained compared to its neighbours.

24 Chatsworth was occupied by the German European School in 1973. The school was founded to meet the needs of the children of Rollei’s West German executives.

Owners in this GCBA are said to include the CEO of Samudra Energy Ridwan Rusli, CEO of Inventa Technologies Ralf Lange, former Maybank Kim Eng Chairman Cheah Teik Seng and Drs Teh Lip Bin and Ho May Sian.

There isn’t much information about transactions along Chatsworth Rd. The latest was a 14,995 sqft sale at $28m ($1,867psf) in Aug 20.

Credits: roots.gov.sg

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