Owners of Good Class Bungalows (GCB) are cashing in on their properties at skyrocketing prices.
According to an analysis by CBRE on URA realis caveats, GCB owners who have seen an average psf price increase by almost 30 percent are reaping bumper profits over the past year, with several of them having taken to buying and selling their GCBs in less than two years.
About seven bungalows acquired since May 2009 had been sold within 18 months, with four bungalows sold within a year, gaining a profit of as much as 85 percent over the acquisition price.
For instance, a 40,677 sq ft bungalow on Ridout Road near the Holland area had reaped a whopping $17 million gains within four months upon purchase.
Another good class bungalow on Nassim Road was sold at five times its price within the past six years, increasing from $9.8 million in 2005 to $43.5 million in 2010.
Many experts said that GCBs have become one of this year’s star investment propositions.
The URA data showed that prices of non-landed homes jumped 1.6 percent in Q3, while prices of bungalows climbed 8.4 percent over the same period.
CBRE said that while the sales of 109 GCBs in 2009 had been sold at an average psf price of $831 psf, the 86 transactions so far this year, which have totalled $1.6 billion, fetched an average price of $1,055 psf, up 27 percent over the previous year.