The Good Class Bungalow (GCB) in Third Avenue belonging to Hin Leong founder Lim Oon Kuin, better known as OK Lim, has been sold for just below S$26.5 million.

The Business Times understands a Singapore family is the purchaser. 

The deal was done below the indicative guide price of S$30 million at which the property was put up for sale in September 2023.

Marketing agent Knight Frank on Wednesday (Nov 22) said the freehold two-storey property, which sits in a prime GCB area in Bukit Timah, drew keen interest after it was put up for sale via public tender. 

Mary Sai, executive director of capital markets at Knight Frank Singapore said: “In a fair and transparent tender process, a good selling price was secured. We were able to tap into our proprietary database of ultra-high-net-worth clients to secure the buyer.” 

Spanning a total gross floor area of about 10,000 square feet, the property sits on a 14,576 sq ft plot and is located at 20 Third Avenue.

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Steve Tay, executive director of Steve Tay Real Estate, noted that 20 Third Avenue was transacted at a “low quantum” for a GCB of more than 14,000 sq ft of land. 

The triangular shape of the plot may mean that there are some limits to the architectural construction there.

It does however represent a good value purchase, as the site is situated on almost the highest point of Third Avenue in Bukit Timah, Tay said.

At just under S$26.5 million, the price works out to about S$1,700 to S$1,800 per square foot based on the land area. 

Another agent said this was in a “fair price range” for an odd-shaped plot of land below road level.

This is Lim’s second GCB to be sold in the area. The first was at 5 Second Avenue, which was sold in October 2021 for S$33.39 million.

Both properties are among the Lim family’s assets under a court-ordered asset freeze.

A criminal trial involving cheating and forgery charges filed against Lim is ongoing.

His family is also facing a civil suit by the liquidator of oil trader Hin Leong Trading and creditor HSBC.