Former National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan's GCB sold for $50m

Former Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan has reportedly sold his Good Class Bungalow (GCB) off Holland Road for $50 million.

Mah was the Minister for National Development between 1999 and 2011.

Prior to that, he was the Environment Minister from 1993 to 1995 and the Minister of State for Trade and Industry from 1990 to 1991.

He stepped down from Cabinet in 2011 - during which there was public unhappiness over the sharp increase in property prices - and retired from politics in 2015, reported The Straits Times in 2016.

His 28,376 sq ft big GCB in Holland Rise was sold for $50 million last August following a contract signed with Wang Qianqian, a Chinese-turned-Singapore citizen, Edgeprop reported.

Mah had reportedly purchased the property in 1992.

Wang also owns another GCB at Leedon Park, purchased by her brother Tianlong for $37.3 million in 2021.

Prior to the sale of Mah's GCB, an empty GCB plot in Holland Rise nearly twice the size of Mah's was put on sale for $68 million in 2021, The Business Times reported in January that year.

According to Edgeprop, the same property was put on sale again for $106 million in November 2022.

The most recent transaction after Mah's GCB was sold took place in November last year, where a bungalow built on a 6,768 sq ft freehold site was sold for $10 million.

GCB deals expected to rise

The volume of transactions for GCBs is expected to increase in 2024, The Business Times reported in December 2023.

This is likely to be fuelled by pent-up demand and more realistic prices from owners who are willing to sell, as well as expectations of lower borrowing costs.

Steve Tay of Steve Tay Real Estate told The Business Times that more local ultra-high-net-worth families were observed to be entering the GCB market, as well as young local entrepreneurs cashing out on their successful businesses.

"I've also noticed Malaysians and Indonesians with family members who have become Singapore citizens looking to own a GCB for their own use," Tay said.

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khooyihang@asiaone.com