When you think of extravagant and extremely pricey homes, you might think of huge sprawling mansions spread out along the hills of upscale neighbourhoods like Beverly Hills à la Selling Sunset.
Well, we may not exactly have rolling hills here in Singapore, but we nonetheless certainly have our own version of atas neighbourhoods, where the rich and affluent call home. Enter Nassim Road – a mile-long stretch of road located in the vicinity of central locations like the Botanic Gardens, Tanglin and Orchard, where a good number of multi-million-dollar Good Class Bungalows (GCB) can be found.
It’s exactly here at Nassim Road, that we track down the most expensive home ever to be sold here in Singapore.
Nassim Road: Home of millionaires
Image adapted from: Google Maps
While Sentosa Cove was once thought of as the place where the rich and powerful would be at with some truly breathtaking developments, in recent years the allure of the seaside enclave has somewhat tapered off, largely due to the lowering demand and general decline in prices of properties in the area.
On the other hand, property prices in central regions like Bukit Timah have seen very competitive – and often increasing – prices over the years, resulting in many multi-million-dollar homes being transacted in the market. One such neighbourhood is Nassim Road, which is considered to be right smack in the heart of Singapore, and also where quite a lot of awesome-looking GCBs are found.
Image credit: K2LD Architects
Naturally, its location would speak for itself. For all you property geeks out there, Nassim Road is located within District 10, which is synonymous with luxurious homes.
Nassim Road is conveniently located at the doorstep of the Orchard Road shopping belt, and so travelling there for a night of retail therapy or some food and drink would be fairly easy. It’s also right next to the Botanic Gardens, which is a great spot for recreational activities like walks and picnics.
The area is also where some of the top schools in Singapore are located, such as National Junior College, Hwa Chong Institution and Singapore Chinese Girls’ School.
Tracking down the most expensive home in Singapore
Right off the bat, we have to say that it’s not easy to get great views of these luxury homes from the outside. After all, part of the draws of living in a GCB is the privacy that’s afforded to you, and so a lot of these houses are surrounded by trees, fences, or separated from the main road with either a smaller road or a large frontage.
The very unassuming entrance to the GCB along Nassim Road.
Image adapted from: Google Maps
According to our research, the most expensive home to have ever been transacted here in Singapore is 33 Nassim Road, a GCB which was sold for a whopping $230M in 2019. Given that the site is a massive 84,544sqft, this means an average price of around $2,720psf, which is pretty high!
The property – a two-story bungalow – comes with several other features, like a swimming pool, full-sized tennis court and also a long driveway leading out to the main road, with a guard post situated at the entrance.
Its former owner was Wing Tai Holdings chairman Cheng Wai Keung and his wife Helen. While reports cite the buyer as a trust firm called SG Casa Pte Ltd, there are rumours that the actual owner is Facebook co-founder, Eduardo Saverin.
A satellite image of the GCB, which shows the full-sized tennis court and swimming pool.
Image adapted from: Google Maps
Future of GCBs in Singapore
So where are we headed in terms of GCB sales here in Singapore?
Image credit: Mercurio Design Lab
For one, we’re fairly confident in saying that ‘all-time high’ transactions in the GCB market will be few and far between. That’s because there are only a limited number of them here in Singapore, and their high price tags would mean lower volume of transactions in the market, and thus less volatility. This is unlike, say, the HDB resale market, where we’ve been seeing a steady growing number of million-dollar HDBs being sold in the last month, with the most expensive HDB flat being transacted at Queenstown for $1.41M.
While the harsh reality is that the majority of us won’t ever be able to afford a GCB anytime soon, or ever, we can still marvel at these exquisite homes here in Singapore, and imagine what life can be like if we were staying in one of them.
Check out some amazing GCBs here in Singapore:
- HAO Mart CEO Has An Exquisite GCB That Resembles A Spacecraft, Shaped Like An ‘8’ For Prosperity
- Sheng Siong Boss Has A ‘Hidden’ $50M GCB With Ultra-Lavish Pools, Dining Rooms & Theatre
- Crypto Fund Billionaire Zhu Su May Have Up To $83.55M Worth Of GCBs Up For Sale After Market Crash
- 8 GCBs Owned By Famous CEOs & Bosses In Singapore
Cover image adapted from: K2LD Architects, Google Maps
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