Singaporean property investor Cheok Chin Yam has always liked Hua Guan Avenue, a quiet housing estate located off Dunearn Road, where most of the detached and semi-detached houses are of 999-year lease. He lives in the neighbouring Mayfair Park estate, where the landed homes there are a mix of freehold and 99-year leasehold properties, with shortening leases.
When he was looking for an investment property, he therefore focused his search on Hua Guan Avenue. The opportunity came in 2007, when the bungalow at 71 Hua Guan Avenue came on the market. “It was a small, single-storey bungalow that was very old,” relates Cheok. “But I like the location; the site is elevated, and it’s at the highest point of Hua Guan estate.”
The development at 71 Hua Guan Avenue with four strata detached houses by Cheok Chin Yam (Credit: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
The bungalow, which sits on a 999-year leasehold site of 8,181 sq ft, was purchased for $6.5 million ($795 psf based on land area) in 2007. Cheok then retained the original house and rented it out for four years before he redeveloped it. He worked closely with the architect, Brenda Ang, director of Lab Architects, and was actively involved in the development. Cheok reckons he spent about $5 million on construction.
Where the former single-storey bungalow once stood, rose four strata detached houses two years later. Each of the strata detached houses has four levels, including the basement and attic, with a built-up area of 3,000 sq ft.
Each strata detached house has its own private jacuzzi pool on the first level, accessible from the full-height glass sliding doors at the dining area. The attic level contains the master suite, with an en suite master bathroom, and an outdoor bath at the private roof terrace to enjoy the views. There is a separate balcony area at the roof terrace that is ideal for breakfast or a glass of wine in the evenings, says Cheok.
Living room with 4.3m ceiling height and marble flooring (Credit: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
Each of the strata detached houses also comes with basement parking facilities, private lift, a living and dining area with ceiling height of 4.3m, four en suite bedrooms, store room and helper’s room. There is a fully-fitted kitchen with appliances including dishwasher and refrigerator. The bathrooms are also fitted with top-end sanitary wares.
Flooring for the bedrooms, stairs, doors and panelling are of Burmese teak wood. Meanwhile, the bathrooms are of full marble. The flooring in the living and dining area is also of marble. The houses are also fitted with ceiling lights.
“Residents can enjoy common facilities including the 16m, infinity-edged lap pool and landscaped garden,” says Cheok. “As there are only four strata houses within the development, it is quite exclusive and quiet unlike other large cluster housing projects.”
All the houses come with fully-fitted kitchen with appliances including dishwasher (Credit: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
One of the tenants, who moved in recently, says: “We like the high ceiling because in Holland, our home had a high ceiling too. For the dining area, we chose this coral pendant lighting made of wood designed by Australian designer David Trubridge. In the evenings, it’s very nice because of the colours from the outside playing on the light.”
All four strata detached houses are tenanted, with monthly rents in the range of $8,000 to $9,000. All the tenants are European expatriate families. “We have three Dutch families and one German family living here,” says Cheok. The area is popular among expatriate families with children of school-going age as international schools are nearby: Hollandse School at Bukit Tinggi Road; the Swiss School in Singapore at Swiss Club Road; and the German School Singapore at Dairy Farm Road.
There are many popular eateries in the neighbourhood, for instance, Hup Choon Seafood Restaurant is located one street away at Binjai Park – an old, established coffeeshop, famous for its “zi char” stall and curry fish head, with long queues stretching over an hour on weekends, says Cheok. Ivin’s Peranakan Restaurant, Lino Italian Restaurant and Karu’s Indian Banana Leaf Rice are also at Binjai Park.
View of the surroundings from the attic level of one of the strata detached houses at 71 Hua Guan Avenue, located at the highest point of the estate (Credit: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
Having owned the property for 12 years, Cheok has decided it is time for him to put it on the market. The indicative price of the property is $16 million.
Jeffrey Sim, associate executive director of OrangeTee & Tie, is the exclusive marketing agent. Sim sold the property to Cheok 12 years ago.
“The attraction is that the property is still held under one property title even though there are four strata detached houses sitting on the site,” says Sim. “The buyer therefore needs to pay additional buyer’s stamp duty on only one property. The new owner also has the flexibility of sub-dividing the property in the future, and selling each of the strata detached houses individually.”
The outdoor bath on the attic level, where the master suite is situated (Credit: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
The property could appeal to an extended family whose members want to live within the same compound, but still have the privacy of their own homes, adds Sim.
The property is also ideal for investors looking at alternatives such as co-living or student housing. Part of the basement parking area can be carved out for shared, recreational space, reckons Sim.
The last transaction in Hua Guan Avenue was for a conventional detached house located at the other end of the road. It sits on a land area of 7,998 sq ft, and was sold for $9.88 million ($1,236 psf), according to a caveat lodged last July 5, the eve of the property cooling measures.