Good Class Bungalow sales hit fresh peak at $1.2b in H12021

The GCB market could enter a renaissance period in the next 12 months.

The Good Class Bungalow (GCB) market segment of landed homes registered 37 transactions amounting to $1.2b in the first half of 2021, a new record since the $1.1b in the first half of 2010.

Landed residential sales as a whole was at $4.3b for the first half, with 403 units selling above $5m.

“The demand was primarily driven by home upgraders looking to move into larger accommodations, especially in close proximity to reputed schools, as well as residents selling their private homes at higher prices due to an active and robust private home market, driven in part by the nouveau riche from the technology, pharmaceutical, and finance sectors,” Knight Frank said in a report.

Retired elderly citizens were also incentivised to downgrade their homes as the cost to upkeep landed homes have become more burdensome.

Knight Frank expects the landed market segment to continued interest for the rest of 2021, with higher prices, driven by GCB sales.

“The GCB market, which came alive after the circuit breaker of 2020, is expected to enter into a period of renaissance in the next 12 months, as pandemic-driven entrepreneurship and transformative COVID-19 industries create new wealth and a new class of luxury home buyer,” it said.