GCB prices show signs of bottoming out: expert

The average transacted unit price is up 1% in Q1 and nearly 13% in Q2. 

The good class bungalow (GCB) market continued to improve halfway through the year with prices rising for two consecutive quarters and the total value of transactions has started to pick up.

In its 1H2024 GCB and Prestige Landed report, PropNex said nine GCBs changed hands in the first half of the year worth $219m as of 8 June, which is already 8% higher than the $202m worth of nine GCBs sold in the second half of 2023.

Prices also showed signs of bottoming according to the property agency. The average transacted unit price has been up for two straight quarters after inching up by 1% QoQ in the first quarter and nearly 13% QoQ in the second quarter until 8 June.

“The pent-up demand and interest for such bungalows, as well as the tight availability of such properties for sale will lend support to GCB prices in the near-term,” according to PropNex.

Citing caveats lodge history, the top GCB deal so far this year was a bungalow in Ford Avenue that sold for $39.5m or $2,020 psf in March. 

Activity in the GCB market picked up from last year’s slump when the market was clouded by macroeconomic uncertainties at home, high borrowing costs and geopolitical tensions abroad. A wide gap in price expectations between asset owners and potential buyers has also tempered investment activity in the segment.

“Amidst a moderation in the overall property market, more landed home sellers could have reviewed their asking prices, which has motivated prospective buyers to act,” PropNex said.

Overall, prices of private homes in Singapore went up by 1.1% in Q2 to ease from the 1.4% growth in Q1, according to flash estimates from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).