Debated in Parliament on 2 Aug 2022.
Mr Leong Mun Wai asked the Minister for Law in view of reports on $200,000 per month rental for a Queen Astrid Park Good Class Bungalow (GCB) (a) whether there is now a greater rental demand for colonial black and white bungalows; (b) how many colonial black and white bungalows exceed 20,000 square feet in land area; and (c) what is the land size, current lease duration and monthly rental for each of these bungalows.
Residential state Black and White (B&W) bungalows managed by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) are made available for tender through SLA's website, State Property Information Online (SPIO). The bungalows are open to all bidders who are able to meet the reserve rent which is based on the prevailing market rate as assessed by valuers.
SLA currently manages 262 residential state B&W bungalows which exceed 20,000 square feet in land area. As of 21 July 2022, 236 of these residential state B&W bungalows are tenanted, with a median land size of about 38,000 square feet and a median rental of about $13,000 per month. These residential state B&W bungalows are typically tenanted on two- or three-year terms. SLA does not disclose rentals of individual bungalows but does publish the results of recent open tenders on their website for a period of time.
The rentals fetched depends on the state of the market. It would be unwise to compare rental fetched by a private GCB in the last few month with, for example, a B&W bungalow rented out last year or the year before. There are also many factors, other than the timing and state of the market, which affect rental values. One such factor is the state of the property. The B&W bungalows were built in the early 1900s and tenants would often need to invest in the installation of additional fittings, such as air-conditioning, carpentry works and upgrading to facilities such as kitchens and toilets. They will not have the look, facilities and fittings which modern GCBs will have. Nonetheless, the B&W bungalows will appeal to those who do not need such modern gadgetry and fittings.
Ultimately, the market decides on the rental. The demand for B&W bungalows has generally been better this year, compared with previous years. Larger B&W bungalows tend to have lower per square feet rental rates than smaller B&W bungalows. As of June 2022, occupancy rates for larger B&W bungalows are lower than those for smaller B&W bungalows.
PAPERCUTS