The price of the semi-detached home at 8 Bournemouth Road is $11.6 million

A semi-detached home located at 8 Bournemouth Road in the Katong neighborhood located on the East Coast has surfaced on the market after more than one year.

A caveat was submitted to URA Realis in August 2022 for $11.6 million. The purchaser is Sevens Group (Aquarius), which is a subsidiary of property developer Sevens Group, which is owned by its chief executive and founder Eric Cheng. The small-scale property developer has earned an image in recent times by purchasing properties, renovating and selling homes in residential areas that are established.

Lumina Grand by CDL winning bid was not only indicative of their financial capability but also revealed their vision for this landmark project.

Sevens Group signed the option to purchase the property located at 8 Bournemouth Road on July 25 2022. They also paid an option charge of $116,000, or 1% on the cost of purchasing. The remainder of the amount of deposit, $464,000 (4% of the purchase price) was paid after it was decided to exercise the option. This sale was set to closing on December 31, 2022.

But, a compromise was reached between the seller and buyer to end the purchase and sale agreement. The developer took the caveat off Singapore’s Land Authority’s Integrated Land Information Service on the 27th of June.

8. Bournemouth Road is, therefore it’s back to purchase. Seller has agreed to hold his $11.6 million price mark. In terms of the land size it is worth $2,154 per square foot.

Developer interest
“The absolute cost is appealing, and is a great deal for any land-based property developer,” says Julian Yip, managing director of Real-

Star Premier Group, which concentrates on marketing and selling the land property. RealStar is among the marketing agencies of the 8 Bournemouth Road.

The site is a two-story house constructed in the year 1990. It is equipped with six en-suite bedrooms, and an area of 3,800 sq feet. The freehold site covers 5,386 square feet and boasts an 17.7m frontage.

Due to its size, Yip is not surprised that the site attracts developers. “The site is within the semi-detached area that is located on Bournemouth Road,” he declares. “It is located on an elevated site with an 18m frontage and could be divided into two semi-detached homes.”

A developer purchasing the site will need outline approval from URA for subdividing and redeveloping the property into a new set of semi-detached buildings. According to URA’s current planning regulations for homes that are landed the minimum land size required for a semi-detached dwelling is 200 square meters (2,152.8 sq feet) with an 8-metre minimum width.

On Bournemouth Road, the highest psf value for a semi-detached property was reached through 47 Bournemouth Road. According to a caveat filed in conjunction with URA Realis, it fetched $6 million or $2,351 per square foot during a transaction that took place on February 20, 2022.

The semi-detached property located at 47 Bournemouth was constructed in 2004 and is located on the smaller freehold site that covers 2,552 square feet. It’s a renovation of a detached home which was once located on a freehold tract with 8,923 sq ft that was that was purchased at $3.55 million ($398 per square foot) at the beginning of January. A written consent was later granted to allow this site to be divided into four semi-detached buildings as per EdgeProp Inspector.

In the front of Bournemouth Road is Mountbatten Road which is where Sevens Group is developing The Carrara. The development is a boutique with six semi-detached residences that span between 801 and 811 Mountbatten Road (odd numbers). Two of the semi-detached properties in The Carrara have been sold. The two houses are situated on land that is 3,014 square feet. The property located at 801 Mountbatten Road fetched $9.048 million ($3,002 per square foot) in November 2021 in contrast, the neighboring property at 803 Mountbatten Road was sold for $9.05 million ($3,003 per square foot) at the end of May in 2022. according to caveats that were lodged.

Three of the remaining homes eighty five eight07, 807 and the 809 Mountbatten Road — have six bedrooms, each with constructed areas ranging from 5,530 to 6,400 sq ft. They have land sizes ranging between 2,675 and 3,016 square feet. The semi-detached homes are listed for sale at prices ranging from $8.644 million ($3,233 per square foot) and up $9.366 million ($3,119 per square) per square foot.

Zoning change to a detached home
Another possible buyer on eight Bournemouth Road is owner-occupiers, says RealStar’s Yip. They prefer to keep the land in its original condition and obtaining it rezoned as an unattached home, he adds.

The URA’s planning regulations state that the minimum land size for a detached home is 400 square meters (4,306 sq feet) while the maximum width for land is 10 meters.

Yip estimates that should the property was redeveloped into a new detached residence and construction costs were at minimum $3 million.

Bournemouth Road is in the most desirable Mountbatten district of District 15 which also encompasses Goodman Road. “The East Coast will always attract attention, particularly in those in the Goodman Road area, where most of the wealthy old people reside,” says Yip. “Many are looking to buy another or third property in the area to be able to pass on their wealth to the next generation.”

The nearest MRT station that is located in the Mountbatten region is the soon-to-open Tanjong Katong MRT Station on the Thomson East Coast Line, which is only three minutes away. It is expected to open in 2024. MRT station is expected to open in 2024.

The volume of transactions across the land property segment has decreased. In the 3Q2023, prices fell 4.9% q-o-q, according to the most recent URA figures. This is a reverse of 2Q2023, which saw a 1.1% increase in 2Q2023. The decline ended an eight-quarter run of landed home prices rising, says Wong Xian Yang, head of research for Singapore and Southeast Asia at Cushman & Wakefield.

RealStar’s Yip says the drop in the volume of transactions and prices to property cooling measures that were implemented in April, as well as macroeconomic factors which include the current extremely high interest rates. But, he anticipates that buyers’ sentiment to improve in the coming year.