If you recall Singapore’s original Monopoly game, Queen Astrid Park was one of 2 most expensive areas alongside Nassim Road, highlighting its ultra luxury status in the local property scene. It is one of the largest GCBAs and includes properties on Coronation Road West. It is located off Sixth Avenue and Holland Road and shares the boundary with Oei Tiong Ham Park GCBA.
Queen Astrid Park was named after Astrid of Sweden, who later became Queen of the Belgians as King Leopold III’s first wife before she died at 29 in a car accident. This GCBA was likely developed by the same Belgian bank who developed King Albert Park GCBA.
Even among the GCBAs, Queen Astrid Park is regarded as one of the more exclusive ones. I believe this is because of most GCBAs here are larger than the 15,069 sqft requirement, implying a much higher quantum for buyers. Despite being a larger GCBA, units also do not come up for sale often. More recently, 19A Queen Astrid Road, a newly completed 25,439 sqft house designed was rented out to a Chinese national for $200k a month in June 2022. That’s a whopping $2.4mil a year!
Some of the known past and present residents in this estate include TikTok CEO Chew Shou Zi, who paid the record $2,704 psf for his GCB here in 2021 and “Ferrari Lady” Shi Ka Yee, originally an architect with well known eponymous practice Bedmar & Shi before she got into the press for the wrong reasons in the 2010s.
Others include:
K. Shanmugam, Singapore’s Minister for Home Affairs and Law
Koh Boon Hwee, Chairman of SGX, Rippledot Capital Adviser, Sunningdale Tech and Agilent Technologies
Kuok Khoon Hong, billionaire CEO of Wilmar International
Susilo Wonowidjojo – Indonesian billionaire founder of cigarette maker Gudang Garam
Stephen Miller, President & CEO of ST Telemedia
Tan Soo Nan, former CEO of Singapore Pools
Frederick Tsao, Vhairman of IMC Pan Asia Alliance
Nicky Tan, founder of corporate restructuring firm nTan Corporate Advisory
Kho Hui Meng – former President & CEO of Vitol Asia
Nasrat Muzayyin, oil & real estate tycoon, multi-asset family office Sebrina Holdings
Dr Ho Choon Hou, Managing Director at private equity firm Southern Capital and Co-Founder of Cordlife
Ng Keng Sing of oil company Midas NSSG International
Stephen Diggle – Founder & CEO of Vulpes Investment Management
Nassim Road is Singapore’s most exclusive and prestigious address. Singapore’s most expensive GCB is found here, when Wing Tai’s Cheung Wai Keung sold 33 Nassim Rd, with 84,544 sqft of land, at $230m ($2,720 psf) in 2019 to SG Casa, a trust reportedly owned by Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin.
The previous price record was also along Nassim Road in 2018, when Tony Tung, Chairman of oil trading company Winson Group, purchased his Nassim Rd GCB for $108m.
The sales that followed were no slouch either – in 2021, Jin Xiao Qun, wife of Nanofilm Techologies’ founder Dr Shi Xu, purchased a 32,159 sqft GCB for $128.8m, setting a (then) psf record of $4,005. If you played Monopoly in the 2000s, you will recall that Nassim Road (and Queen Astrid Park) occupied the costliest blue slots and the transactions have shown that this is no exaggeration.
Nassim Road is a 2km stretch bounded by Cluny Road and Tanglin Road, striking the perfect balance between nature (Botanic Gardens) and lifestyle (Orchard Road). Nassim is of Arabian origin, meaning ‘breezy’, with many Muslim families in the Middle East supposedly adopting this name. It is speculated that Nassim Rd may have been named after connections with the Alsagoff family, a successful spice enterprise family of Yemeni roots, who owned land on Nassim Rd. This family were also involved in the Bukit Tunggal GCBA.
Nassim Road is also officially a conservation area designated by URA, alongside Chatsworth Park, Holland Park / Ridout Park, hence it is no surprise that you will find beautifully conserved houses such as the one at 2 Nassim Road, which is being tenanted to pan-Asia real estate manager SC Capital today.
Nassim Rd’s exclusive nature has meant that many foreign embassies call this home. This includes the embassies of Russia, Japan, Pakistan, Philippines and the iconic Eden Hall at 28 Nassim Rd, designed by R.A.J Bidwell and now home to the British High Commissioner.
The British government had sold 109,000 sqft of Eden Hall back in 2001 to billionaires Peter Kwee of Pontiac Land and Popiah King Sam Goi for just $50.4m ($462 psf) and since sold them on to Oei Siu Hoa, sister of Oei Hong Leong of the Widjaja family fame and Sincere Watch Chairman Tay Liam Wee. A further 33,300 sqft of Eden Hall was sold in 2016 following a public tender to OUE at $56.6m ($1,699 psf).
Nassim JadeLes Maisons Nassim
Besides the magnificent GCBs found in this estate, there are also a number of condos with the Nassim address, including the ultra luxurious Les Maisons Nassim, which has reached a record of $6,073 psf. This is still under construction and was the enbloc site of 14/14A Nassim Road, which was owned by the descendants of Tan Siang Kuang, a prominent Teochew businessman and the 1st Chairman of Overseas Union Bank. He and his family, Puay Hee (son) and Siak Kew (brother) have roads named after them in Macpherson, where my mum first lived after graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in London. This low profile family was in the news in 2018, having sold their palatial 66,452sqft home at 14/14A Nassim Rd for a whopping $218m ($2,744psf) to Stanley Ho’s Shun Tak.
Nassim Jade, another condo within the prestigious enclave, was the subject of great national contention after Ong Beng Seng’s Hotel Properties Limited launch in 1996. The issue surrounded discounts which were purportedly offered to Lee Kuan Yew and his family, prompting an official statement by the then-Senior Minister here. His son, former Singtel CEO Lee Hsien Yang, also reportedly stays in a condo in the Nassim precinct today.
Among the rich and famous owners in this GCBA are the Prince of Brunei, Jefri Bolkiah, who owns the palatial 110,000 sqft house at 48 Nassim Rd. If it goes on sale, Arwaa Mansion, as it is known, will definitely smash the costliest house in Singapore. I fondly recall spotting this majestic mansion from the balcony of an apartment I was viewing along Stevens Road – absolutely amazing! Interestingly, I understand from friends that the empty field beside is now a popular spot for wedding photos!
Arwaa Mansion at 48 Nassim RoadArwaa Mansion at 48 Nassim Road
There is also Hong Fok CEO Cheong Pin Chuan, who has listed his 40 Nassim Rd (58,784 sqft) house for sale in March 2022 with a guide price of $220m ($3,755 psf) and OUE Chairman Stephen Riady, who purchased his 33,300 sqft plot for $56.6m ($1,700 psf) in 2016. Both have significant real estate interests, owning and developing iconic buildings such as The Concourse, OUE Bayfront and Hilton Singapore Orchard amongst them.
If you are in the market with a similar budget of $225m, you can also opt for Peter Kwee’s Nassim Quattro, a 4-apartment site at 49 Nassim Road, occupying 45,000 sqft of land. Designed by Mercurio Design Lab, it has a long 85m private driveway to ensure maximum exclusivity with a private swimming pool for every unit. The firm has described much of its design on their website. The total cost of land acquisition? Likely less than $100m as the Kwees had landbanked it progressively since the 1980s, with the last piece of the puzzle completed in 2007 with a $70m acquisition of 49A-D Nassim Road.
Other prominent past & present owners / occupants in this estate (including its condos) include ST Telemedia CEO Stephen Miller, The Hour Glass Founder Dr Henry Tay, Indonesian billionaire Peter Sondakh of the Rajawali Group, Asia Reinsurance Broker CEO Richard Austen, serial property investor Kishore Buxani and REIT veteran Michael Dwyer.
Kilburn Estate was likely named after an area in London within the Borough of Camden although the one here does not actually contain any road bearing such a name. Instead, Yarwood Ave forms the bulk of this GCBA with Wilmonar Ave and Denham Close being the minor roads. It is bounded by Dunearn Road and the landed estates of Hua Guan Ave and Jln Wajek, the latter of which is adjacent to the Rail Corridor.
The closest MRT is King Albert Park, with Link896 (formerly the Sime Darby Centre) and Esso being recognisable spots at the start of Yarwood Ave. The GCBs are about 200m away from Dunearn Rd, providing a more peaceful environment for residents. It’s a rather leafy estate, especially when you get to the cul-de-sacs and has a number of sizeable black and white bungalows.
For example, 27 and 29 Yarwood Ave make up almost 82,000 sqft of land. For those interested in purchasing a unit here, 23 Yarwood with an even more massive 69,000 sqft of land is on the market for about $90m. The seller is reportedly serial property investor Raymond Ng, who is also the CEO of listed company Envirohub so I am curious as to why he might not have considered redeveloping this plot of land himself.
There have been quite a number of transactions this year for a relatively small GCBA. In recent news, 34 year old crypto billionaire Zhu Su purchased a 31,862 sqft home in their 3 year old child’s name at $48.8m ($1,532psf) in Dec 2021. What a crazy world we live in today… (July 2022 Update: Zhu Su is selling his Yarwood GCB following the bankruptcy of his firm Three Arrows Capital)
Garlick Avenue is located off Bukit Timah Road and can be accessed primarily from Old Holland Road or Sixth Avenue. Accordingly, it is very close to the 34ha site at Holland Plain (or commonly known as Old Holland Rd Field) which will yield some 2,500 new homes as part of the URA Masterplan.
Prominent residents in this GCBA past and present are rumoured to also include Sustained Land’s Douglas Ong, a boutique developer who has been relatively active in the new launch market with 3 Cuscaden, Sky Everton, One Meyer and Coastline Residences among their launches. Others include Nelly Rolles, shareholder of Poh Tiong Choon Logistics and Swiss wine industrialist Emil Strickler.
Victoria Park GCBA includes Kingsmead Rd and Victoria Park Cl but this GCBA is dominated by the sprawling 403,012sqft Victoria Park Villas by Capitaland. The 106 semi-Ds + 3 bungalows were designed by Mok Wei Wei alongside his equally acclaimed peers Hyla, Ar43 and Studio Willis Architects. These homes stand out not only because it’s one of the largest developments in a GCBA but also bc of its 99 year tenure. Thankfully for Capitaland, all were fully sold by the time they were built at $4-8m for the semi-ds (2,153sqft-6,943sqft) and $8-9m for the bungalows (10,904-11,539sqft), with about 50% of buyers <40 years old.
Bounded by Farrer Road and Tan Kah Kee MRTs, some homes in this GCBA are within walking distance to the 2 MRT stations. The biggest appeal in this GCBA however, is its 1km radius to Nanyang Pri.
This GCBA’s name was taken from a 49ha nutmeg plantation on Mt Victoria, which was recorded on Singapore’s 1846 map. In turn, Mt Victoria was named after Queen Victoria’s accession, the 2nd longest reigning British monarch (1837-1901).
Former/current owners in this GCBA are said to include Alibaba’s Jack Ma, Chairman of SGX & ST Engin Kwa Chong Seng, CK Tang’s Tang Wee Sung, Scotts Holdings (defunct) scion & property tycoon Iqbal Jumabhoy, Kuok Group scion Kay Kuok, corporate lawyer and former Minister of State Tang See Chim, late Ho Wah Onn, name partner of law firm Haridass Ho & Partners, lawyer Wong Meng Yeng of Alliance LLC, gynecologist Dr Loke Yue Nam, CEO of Fine Wines Singapore Lo Bok Nan, CEO of Straits Construction Wong Chee Herng, former CK Tang CEO Foo Tiang Sooi, ambassador Quek Poh Huat, serial entrepreneur William Liu, CEO of PGIM’s private capital arm Josephine Au Yeong and 1969 President’s Scholar BG(Ret) Wesley D’aranjo.
Holland Park is bounded by Holland Road and the GCB areas of Ridout Road and Pierce Road. It takes its name from Hugh Holland, an architect, amateur actor and early resident of the area.
This GCBA is closely tied with the billionaire Lien family, who derived their wealth from Overseas Union Bank, and continues to hold a 5% stake in UOB following their $10Bn merger in 2001. The sale included their hospitality assets held through OUE, including the landmark Mandarin Orchard Hotel built in 1971, the tallest hotel in SEA then. OUE was sold to Lippo’s Riady family in 2006. Today, the Lien family operate their private investments through their family office, Wah Hin & Co and are actively involved in philanthropy through the Lien Foundation, which was started in 1980 with half of Lien Ying Chow’s net worth. Talk about being ahead of his time!
At the mouth of Holland Park is the Lien Towers, a 12-storey building with just 24 identical units at 5,048 sqft each. The last transaction was in Jun 2021, at $8.4m ($1,657 psf) and still off its historical high of $1,882 psf in 2012.
Following Lien Ying Chow’s passing, their sprawling 100,000 sqft GCB was redeveloped into 6 GCBs (Lien Villas Collective) with 1 retaining the original grandeur of the home, with each being designed by different architects – K2LD’s Screen House, Ministry of Design’s Zig Zag House, Edmund Ng’s Raw House, Terre, PODesign’s 8 Box House & Zarch Collaboratives.
Eminent residents here are said to include the billionaire Song family of China’s Nanshan Group, former Rajah & Tann Senior Partner Chen Choong Joong and former Venture Ccorp Chief Technology Officer Thian Nie Khian.
This GCBA’s name has origins tracing back to John Frazer’s nutmeg plantation in the 1830s, where the land was used for exercising horses. Woollerton Park, having previously been named Gallop Hill, was only named in 1949 after the last pre-war General Manager of Asiatic Petroleum Co (Shell today). Interestingly, this GCBA also shares the name (albeit with spelling differences) with a tourist landmark in the city where I went to university.
This is one of the larger GCBAs, bordered by Farrer Road, Tyersall Road, Cluny Hill GCBA and Singapore Botanic Gardens. In fact, a gate along Woollerton Drive leads you directly to the Gallop Extension of Botanic Gardens. Don’t think you can get any closer to nature!
The Gallop Extension leads you to where the restored Atbara and Inverturret houses are. This pair of houses have often been (mistakenly) identified as Singapore’s first Black & White bungalows. Built by the famed R.A.J Bidwell for lawyer John Burkinshaw (his firm Donaldson & Burkinshaw still exists), they were left in disrepair after the French embassy vacated it in 1999. Thankfully, they have now been beautifully restored to house the Forest Discovery Centre and Botanical Art Gallery for the enjoyment of Singaporeans and tourists alike. You can check out more details on the history by The Long & Winding Road here.
A couple of interesting points about its surroundings. Tyersall Road is where the abandoned Istana Woodneuk is located, and the total land area of more than 2mil sqft is said to be worth $4.5Bn by the Sultan of Johore. It was also the inspiration behind Young’s family home in Crazy Rich Asians.
As for Woollerton Park, its location just off Farrer Road also makes it very convenient, with some GCBAs less than 5 mins walk from the MRT and close to amenities offered by the nearby HDB estate. There also a couple of condominium projects in this area, including the Woollerton Park Condo, Gallop Green and Gallop Gables, with the latter 2 being built by Straits Trading Limited. In particular, Gallop Gables has oft been cited as a potential en-bloc site, as it has just 140 units on 250,000 sqft of land, making it ripe for redevelopment. The only downside is that it sits on a long, slightly irregular plot of land that lacks the wide frontage expected of a luxurious development in District 10.
Other prominent occupants are said to include billionaire Bachtiar Karim (Chairman, Musim Mas), Chua Phuay Hee (former CFO, Keppel TatLee Bank), David Low (CEO, Futuristic Store Fixtures), David Toh (former Head of Corporate Tax, PwC), Koh Kok Kwang (Director, CTLC Law), Teo Soo Chew (former Chairman, SHC Capital).
Other transactions: Jul 2021 – $18m ($1,902psf) – 9,463 sqft Nov 2020 – $24.2m ($1,610psf) – 15,004 sqft Aug 2020 – $35m ($1,273 psf) – 27,491 sqft
Thiam Siew Avenue comprises of some 25 houses with a mix of semi-ds and bungalows, making up almost 265,000 sqft of land. It is a dual lane road connecting Tanjong Katong Road to Haig Road in prime District 15. The lane is surrounded by high rise condos such as Butterworth 8, Versilia on Haig and Questa @ Dunman among others. In late Nov 2021, this site was sold for $815m ($1,488 psf) to a Hoi Hup & Sunway JV, making this the largest enbloc land sale since the 2018 enbloc fever.
The redeveloped site can contain up to 800 units and is expected to cost around $2,500 psf, setting a new benchmark for the Haig Road / Tanjong Katong vicinity.
Named after property magnate and hotelier Wee Thiam Siew in 1940, this sale marks the end of an era for the low profile family, having held the houses for almost 80 years. They also used to own the surrounding plots including what is now Dunman View and Questa @ Dunman condos, having sold them a couple of decades ago.
Of note, Wee made his fortune as the former Chairman of Ban Leong & Co (which was in the business of cigars, cigarettes and tobacco) and the owner of the 7th Storey Hotel at Rochor and Lion City Hotel / Hollywood Theatre close by at Tanjong Katong. He was educated St Joseph’s Institution and Raffles Institution before working as telegraphist for the then Eastern Extension Telegraph Co at age 16.
Together with his brothers Wee Thiam Kee and Wee Thiam Leong, he helped to grow Ban Leong & Co’s tobacco empire before diversifying into real estate. He built the iconic 7th Storey Hotel at Rochor that was eventually acquired by the government for the Downtown Line construction.
Of the 25 houses, most were built during the early 1940s, as you can identify from their unique colonial inspired architecture that is becoming increasingly rare these days. Alas, these too will be gone in no time. These photos here are meant to encapsulate a soon to be bygone era when the new swanky towers come up.
[April 2022 Update] Enriched by the sale, Wee Thiam Siew’s descendants have gone on to purchase their own individual properties. This includes Wee Hian Nam’s purchase of a 27,909 sq ft Olive Road GCB at $50.2mil, smashing the GCBA’s record price.
In my previous post, I shared that the First / Third Ave GCBA also includes Second Ave and while that GCBA contains only the “odd” avenues, this one here contains only the “even” ones. Unsurprisingly again, it also includes houses on Fifth Ave, which is actually has a very steep incline as well.
As with First / Third Ave GCBA, it is in the heart of Bukit Timah with Hwa Chong and NJC close by. Its closest MRT is Sixth Ave, which is relatively near for many homes around the area. In fact, Fourth Avenue Residences will just be at the MRT’s doorstep, albeit being of a 99-year tenure. The 476 unit condo has an average psf of $2,414 and is about 73% sold. The other new launch around the vicinity is Royalgreen at Anamalai Avenue, which is a 285 unit condo with an average psf of $2,691 and is about 50% sold.
Compared to First / Third Ave, which consists of only landed properties, this GCBA has quite a few condos. Among them are Fifth Ave Condo, which set the record psf of $1,300 psf in the area when it launched in 1996, just before the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. The latest transaction was for $2.5m for a 2 Bedroom 1,346 sqft unit ($1858 psf) so you could say that the original buyers did not make much of a killing.
On the other hand, the current The Sixth Ave Residences, was the largest enbloc site back in 1996 at 172,000 sqft. Because the property market went into doldrums in the years after, the developers Keppel Land actually had to write down its value significantly before launching the project in 2009 at just $1,000 psf. The latest transaction was for a 1,356 sqft 3 Bedroom unit for $2.61m ($1924 psf), which means that the original buyers made 90+% in just 12 years. Therefore, while we do not expect prices to crash, I think that timing we purchase the property still matters, even if you are not able to catch it at the absolute lowest point.
Although Sixth Avenue has the fewest number of GCBs compared to the other avenues, it is perhaps the most famous of the lot. It connects Bukit Timah Rd to Holland Rd and provides access to neighbouring GCBAs of Queen Astrid Park, Garlick Ave and Maryland Drive. With its location just across from Turf Club, Sixth Ave also used to be heavily congested on the weekends as punters thronged the area until Turf Club relocated in 1999.
There are a couple of more interesting looking houses on Fifth Avenue, which you should check out if you get the chance 🙂 Pretty great views up here as well.
Sixth Avenue is also known for its wide array of dining options – from coffee shops to slightly more upscale restaurants such as Pasta Fresca Da Salvatore. You can also buy your groceries at Cold Storage, have a cuppa at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and some kuehs at Bengawan Solo at Guthrie House. Sixth Avenue also has a number of famous religious sites close by including Masjid Al-Huda at Jalan Haji Alias and Fong Yun Thai Association at Holland Link.
Some of the past transactions include: Fifth Ave – (2021) $22m (13,508 sqft, $1,629psf) Sixth Ave – (2021) $5.4m (4,596 sqft, $1,171psf) Sixth Ave – (2021) $11.2m (4,478sqft, $2,501psf) 24 Fourth Ave – (2017) $25.9m (20,204 sqft, $1,280psf)
Although its official name only has First and Third Ave, this GCBA also unsurprisingly includes Second Ave and parts of Namly Hill and Namly Ave. Many people know this GCBA to be home to our former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong. Fourth / Sixth Avenue belong to another GCBA which I will cover next.
Located in the heart of Bukit Timah, this GCBA is just beside Hwa Chong Institution and opposite National Junior College. Its closest MRT is Sixth Ave, which is relatively near for most homes as the individual avenues are not that long.
Latest transactions are a 14,667 sqft Second Ave home sold for $30m ($2,045psf), 30,954 sqft Third Ave GCB sold for $52.8m ($1,708 psf) to Razer CEO Tan Min Liang, both in July 2021 and a 10,695 sqft First Ave home sold for $13.5m ($1,262 psf).
Famous owners past and present are rumoured to include Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, beleaguered former billionaire Lim Oon Kuin of Hin Leong, Tan Chong Deputy Chairman Joseph Ong, NTU founding President Dr Cham Tao Soon,the late former NOL CEO Lua Cheng Eng, former NOL Deputy CEO Lim How Teck, former ST Engineering COO Tay Siew Choon EVP of fashion apparel manufacturer Luenthai Sunny Tan and Panweld Trading’s Loh family.
Singapore Property Walkabouts 
