OK Lim’s Second Avenue GCB sold for $33.39 mil

SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - The Good Class Bungalow (GCB) at Second Avenue jointly owned by founder of collapsed oil trading firm, Hin Leong Trading, Lim Oon Kuin or “OK Lim”, and his wife Tan Sook Eng, has found a buyer.

The GCB was sold for $33,388,888, according to a caveat lodged on Oct 8. The buyer is Ng Poh Choo, wife of former executive chairman of Cogent Holdings, Tan Yeow Khoon, according to a property title search. Cogent Holdings was delisted in 2018, and is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cosco Shipping International. Based on the freehold land area of 19,984 sq ft of the GCB at Second Avenue, the price works out to $1,671 psf.

The price is just 1.8% below the guide price of $1,700 psf, notes Mary Sai, executive director of investment & capital markets at Knight Frank Singapore. “There was a good level of interest with more than 20 viewings conducted,” she says.

The buyer is purchasing the GCB for the family’s own use. However, she has yet to decide whether the house should be torn down and rebuilt or to be just renovated.

The property had been put up for sale by tender which closed on Sept 30. “A lot of the interested parties were relatively young and arrived in their supercars - Rolls Royce, Lamborghinis and Porsche,” notes Sai. “Some came a few times, with their geomancer in tow. These were interested in buying the GCB for their own use."

When it comes to high-value properties, such a tender exercise is preferable to an auction, notes Sai. “Sometimes, at auctions, emotions come into play, especially if there are competing bids,” says Sai. “With such tenders, the interested parties just need to do their sums and submit a bid. They have no idea who the other bidders are. So it’s less emotional.”