A bungalow with a view of a waterway in the southern cove at Sentosa Cove is for sale for $21.5m ($2,710 per square foot). The two-and-a-half-storey detached home at 77 Cove Drive is 6,500 square feet in size and is located on a 7,933 square foot site with a 99-year-lease.

The first floor of the house features a large living room with glass doors that open to a deck with a pool and views of the waterway.

On the first floor, you will find a living room as well as a dining area, a guest bedroom, a kitchen, and a room for the helper. The car porch can accommodate up to three cars.

The second floor has a family area and four bedrooms with en suite bathrooms, including the master bedroom. The house therefore has five bedrooms with en suite bathrooms.

The top floor has a powder room and a study. A property title search shows that the owners bought the Cove Drive site from Sentosa Development Corporation back in 2007.

The full-height windows and doors allow for a view of the waterway while bringing light into the house. The large oval-shaped windows at the staircase are a feature of this house.

Steve Tay who is in charge of the sale says that although this property was built 13 years ago it is still in excellent condition.

Tay explains that the owners of 77 Cove Drive are selling their property because their children have moved to the UK to study. Only the bungalows that face Sentosa Cove’s waterways offer private berths to accommodate a yacht. He notes that they are fewer than half of the houses in Sentosa Cove, including 77 Cove Drive.

He has received more inquiries about renting the property since listing it for sale last week. Monthly rental offers have reached $50,000. He attributes the rise in demand for rental property to foreigners who are applying for Singapore citizenship or permanent residence.

He surmises that they rent in the meantime, as the process usually takes between one and two years. After the April 27th implementation of the latest property cooling measures, foreigners decided to rent rather than purchase a residential property. The additional buyer’s stamp tax (ABSD), which is charged to foreigners who purchase residential property, has been doubled from 30%.

In the first half 2023, Sentosa Cove property saw a healthy demand from buyers in Indonesia, India and China as well as Singapore PRs.

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Tay noticed that Singaporeans and PRs were still making inquiries even after cooling measures had been announced. Foreigners have driven up prices in Sentosa Cove for the past few years and feel that this is a great opportunity to purchase a home with a fair value.

Seven bungalows in Sentosa Cove have been sold this year based on caveats. There were also at least three deals where no caveats had been lodged.

In absolute terms and in psf, the most expensive bungalow sale in Sentosa Cove in this year was at Coral Island. The bungalow, which occupied 13,435 square feet, was sold for $36.5m ($2,717 per sq ft). Four bungalows were sold this year for more than $2,500 per square foot, which increased the average price to $2329 per square foot.

Nine bungalows were sold at prices higher than $2,000 per square foot. Overall, the average price per square foot was $1 918. Sentosa Cove had 26 bungalow deals with an average of $1,778 per square foot in 2021.

After the December 2021 property cooling measures, ABSD for foreigners increased to 30%.