Only 2 GCBs sold in Q1 2025—Singapore's lowest quarterly sales since 2019 despite 143 luxury homes sold
SINGAPORE: Only two good-class bungalows (GCBs) were sold in Singapore in the first quarter of 2025 (Q1 2025), the lowest quarterly sales since the OrangeTee Group began tracking them in 2019, News Straits Times reported.
The figure is also below the five GCB units sold in the same period last year and a sharp drop from the 31 units sold in Q2 2021.
The number of GCB sales is also in contrast to the rising sales of luxury homes. In Q1 2025, 143 luxury homes priced above S$5 million were sold in central Singapore, up from 100 in the previous quarter.
Christine Sun, chief researcher at OrangeTee, said GCB buyers might be waiting for interest rates to drop more this year or are waiting to see how US President Donald Trump's tariffs affect the market. She noted that strong sales in 2021 came from pandemic uncertainties, which pushed wealthy Singaporeans to buy these properties to park their wealth.
Currently, in land-scarce Singapore, there are only around 2,800 GCBs, which Ms Sun described as 'safe haven assets during macroeconomic uncertainties'. GCB properties must sit on at least 1,400 square metres (sq m) of land, and the bungalow cannot occupy more than 40% of the plot.
GCBs are mainly available to Singapore citizens and permanent residents (PRs). However, foreigners can purchase them with permission from the government, which is rarely granted.
Last year, a minister said that no foreigners had been granted permission to buy GCBs since 2021.
OrangeTee reported 44 GCBs were sold in 2022, 21 in 2023, and 30 in 2024. /TISG
Read also: 72 luxury condos sold for S$611.4 million in Q1 2025, more projects to launch in the coming months
Featured image by Depositphotos (for illustration purposes only)
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