Semi-detached house at 8 Bournemouth Road on the market for $11.6 mil

Following over a year on the market, East Coast’s Katong neighborhood has seen 8 Bournemouth Road, a semi-detached house, resurface on the market. URA Realis lodged a caveat for a $11.6 million purchase by Sevens Group (Aquarius), a company associated with property developer Sevens Group controlled by Eric Cheng, its founder and CEO.

With its close proximity to Havelock MRT Condo, residents can enjoy the convenience of a city life while still having access to greenery and pleasant views. Zion Road Condo stands out as an oasis of nature, perfect for both relaxation and exploration.

Sevens Group recently made a name for itself in the industry for buying, redeveloping, and Selling houses in already established residential neighbourhoods. The purchase option was signed on July 25th, with an option fee of $116,000, or 1% of the total price, and a deposit of $464,000 (4% of $11.6 million). The aim was for the sale to be complete by December 31st of 2022, however, it was ended because of a dispute between the buyer and seller.

At 8 Bournemouth Road, a double story house built in 1990can be found, with a land area measuring 5,386 sq ft and a frontage of 17.7 m. It offers six en suite bedrooms and a total built-up area of 3,800 sq ft. The current pricing strategy involves keeping the $11.6 million rate, which works out to be $2,154 psf.

Given the size of the property and land, those in the business have not been surprised that this site is attracting developers. It’s in the semi-detached zone of Bournemouth Road and located on elevated ground, already having a near 18 m frontage, the possibility of a detached house or two smaller semi-detached houses on the site is feasible.

The highest-priced psf for a semi-detached house along Bournemouth Road was acquired by 47 Bournemouth Road in February 2022, when a caveat was lodged for $6 million, or $2,351 psf. The edge of the property was redeveloping an old detached house from a freehold plot of 8,923 sq ft in January 2002 for $3.55 million ($398 psf).

The Sevens Group project, The Carrara, can be found in front of Bournemouth Road on Mountbatten Road, boasting six semi-detached houses spanning 801 to 811 (odd numbers). With two houses sold and three more listed for sale, the highest-priced psf stands at $3,119 from house 809 Mountbatten Road.

Owner-occupiers have also shown interest in 8 Bournemouth Road with the goal of keeping the land intact and re-zoning it as a detached house. According to URA planning controls, the minimum land area requirement is 400 sq m (4,306 sq ft) and has a width of 10m.

Construction costs can be estimated at $3 million, however, RealStar managing director, Julian Yip, finds the absolute price very palatable and believes this presents a good deal for any landed property developer.

He goes on to say that the East Coast will always hold appeal because of the established community there. Many are buying houses within the neighbourhood for their next generation.

The area already offers a lot of amenities with the nearest MRT station, Tanjong Katong, offering easy access into the prime Mountbatten area of District 15 in three-minutes. However, transaction volume in the landed property segment has seen a slow down since the property cooling measures in April and macroeconomic factors. Yip predicts buying sentiment to improve in the coming year.