Gilstead Court makes fourth collective sale attempt at $198 mil

Gilstead Court, a 48-unit freehold condominium in the Newton-Novena area, has been launched for collective sale at $198 million after more than 80% of its owners consented to the sale. It marks the owners’ fourth collective sale attempt since 2008, with JLL appointed as the marketing agent.

The property sits on a 75,479 sq ft site with a broad, regular frontage that tapers to a point at the rear. It is located in a quiet residential enclave of landed homes and low-rise condominiums along Gilstead Road, near Gentle Road and Newton Road, in prime District 11.

At the reserve price of $198 million, the site reflects a land rate of $1,874 psf per plot ratio (ppr). The effective land rate is $1,751 psf ppr after factoring in the 7% bonus gross floor area (GFA) for balconies.

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“With a high development baseline, no land betterment charge is payable even with the additional bonus balcony gross floor area,” says Nicholas Ng, head of land and collective sales at JLL.

The high development baseline also insulates the site from half-yearly land betterment charge (LBC) rate revisions, with the next adjustment due on Sept 1, 2026, he adds.

Redevelopment potential

The site could be redeveloped into a five-storey boutique residential project with up to 98 apartments, based on an average GFA of 100 sq m (1,076 sq ft) per unit, subject to Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) approval.

Gilstead Court comprises 48 units across three four-storey blocks with distinctive red-brick façades. The development has only three-bedroom units, with sizes of 1,389 sq ft and 1,464 sq ft.

Completed in 1978, Gilstead Court would also fall within the lower consent threshold proposed under changes to Singapore’s collective sale rules. Under the Land Titles (Strata) (Amendment) Bill introduced in August, the consent threshold for developments aged 40 to under 60 years would be lowered from 80% to 70%.

However, Gilstead Court’s owners had already secured more than 80% consent for the current collective sale attempt before the proposed changes were announced, according to JLL.

Read also: Freehold development Hong Heng Garden up for collective sale at $130 mil

Past collective sale attempts

The owners made their first collective sale attempt in 2008, but it did not proceed because they failed to secure the requisite 80% consent. A second attempt in 2013 found a buyer in Tuan Sing Holdings, which agreed to acquire the development en bloc for $150.2 million.

However, dissenting minority owners challenged the collective sale. In October 2015, the Court of Appeal ruled that provisions requiring non-consenting owners to bear substantial legal and administrative costs were inconsistent with the requirement that a collective sale be conducted in good faith. The deal subsequently fell through.

The third collective sale attempt was launched in June 2018 at a higher reserve price of $168 million, or $1,590 psf ppr, with JLL as marketing agent.

A month later, the government introduced a fresh round of property cooling measures that doubled the aggregate additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) for housing developers from 15% to 30%. This comprised a 25% component that was remittable if the development was completed and all units sold within five years, plus a 5% non-remittable component.

In October 2018, URA also revised guidelines governing the maximum number of dwelling units in new non-landed residential developments outside the Central Area. Gilstead Court falls within the Stevens-Chancery area, one of nine locations where the maximum number of dwelling units is based on an average GFA of 100 sq m (1,076 sq ft) per unit.

Given the series of cooling measures, the collective sale committee at Gilstead Court subsequently secured the consent of at least 80% of the owners to lower the reserve price by 8.9%. The condominium was relaunched in January 2019 at $153 million, or $1,448 psf ppr after factoring in the 7% bonus GFA for balconies. The tender closed without any bids, as the cooling measures had dampened developers’ appetite for collective sale sites at the time, says Ng.

Read also: City Plaza launches collective sale tender at $970 mil after two failed attempts

Nearby GLS sites fetch higher land rates

Amid strong sales at new residential launches over the past two years, developers have continued to bid actively for government land sale (GLS) sites. Two GLS sites in the neighbouring Newton area in prime District 9 have been sold over the past year.

In November 2025, HH Investment, the Singapore subsidiary of Taiwan’s Huang Hsiang Construction Corp, submitted the top bid among eight contenders for a site on Bukit Timah Road near Newton MRT Station. It paid $566.2 million, or $1,820 psf ppr, for the 99-year leasehold, 63,498 sq ft site, which can yield about 340 residential units.

In June, a joint venture between City Developments Ltd (CDL) and Hong Realty, a subsidiary of Hong Leong Group, submitted the top bid among four contenders for a GLS site on Peck Hay Road, off Scotts Road, near Newton MRT Station.

The joint venture paid $542.4 million, or $1,865 psf ppr, for the site, where it plans to develop a 39-storey residential tower with about 380 units.

The $1,865 psf ppr land rate is the highest paid for a GLS residential site since 2018, when the consortium of SC Global, Far East Consortium International and New World Development paid $2,377 psf ppr for the Cuscaden Road site. It has since been developed into the 192-unit Cuscaden Reserve, which was completed in 2023.

32 Gilstead next door fully sold above $3,400 psf

Closer to Gilstead Court, Kheng Leong Co purchased the 43,458 sq ft freehold site at 32 and 34 Gilstead Road for $70 million, or $1,611 psf on the land area, in December 2021.

The site has since been redeveloped into 32 Gilstead, a five-storey freehold condominium with just 14 units. All are four-bedroom apartments ranging from 3,821 sq ft to 4,219 sq ft.

Launched in April 2024, 32 Gilstead sold out after its final 4,219 sq ft unit fetched $14.49 million ($3,434 psf), based on a caveat lodged in May 2026. Units in the development have changed hands at prices ranging from $13 million ($3,402 psf) to $15.1 million ($3,579 psf).

Gilstead Court’s rear boundary adjoins 32 Gilstead, while its frontage is next to The Armadale, a 75-unit freehold apartment development completed in 2001.

The latest transaction at The Armadale was for a 1,119 sq ft, three-bedroom unit that changed hands for $2.17 million ($1,938 psf) in July. An 872 sq ft, two-bedroom unit was sold for $1.8 million ($2,064 psf) in May, based on caveats lodged.

Another neighbouring freehold project is the 64-unit Buckley Classique, which was launched in 2011 and completed in 2014. Its latest transaction was for a 1,399 sq ft, three-bedroom unit on the fifth floor that changed hands for $3.4 million ($2,430 psf) in June.

Across the road is the 24-unit Gilstead Mansion, completed in 1991. Its latest transaction was in June, when a 1,636 sq ft, three-bedroom unit changed hands for $3.15 million ($1,925 psf).

At Gilstead Court, the latest resale was for a 1,464 sq ft unit that fetched $2.998 million ($2,048 psf) in June 2025.

​The last transaction at Gilstead Mansion across the road is the sale of a 1,636 sq ft, three-bedroom unit that changed hands for $3.15 million ($1,925 psf) in June (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

Location draws expat tenants, families

Gilstead Court is within a 10-minute walk of Novena MRT Station, one stop from the Newton MRT Interchange Station on the North-South and Downtown Lines.

Nearby amenities include United Square, Velocity @ Novena Square and Square 2, as well as HealthCity Novena, Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital, Tan Tock Seng Hospital and Novena Medical Centre.

Ng says the location’s proximity to public transport and amenities makes it popular with expatriate tenants. Its location within 1km of schools including St Joseph’s Institution Junior, Anglo-Chinese School (Junior) and Anglo-Chinese School (Primary) is also a draw for families, he adds.

The tender for Gilstead Court closes on Oct 13.

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