Lian Beng Ong Family Picks Up Two Freehold Bungalows in Belmont Road for S$60 Million
Singapore Property | The Business Times | 6 Jun 2026
Two members of the Ong family behind construction and property group Lian Beng are buying a pair of freehold bungalows in Belmont Road with a total land area of 41,741 square feet in separate deals totalling S$60 million. The price works out to about S$1,437 per square foot on land area. Located at the periphery of the Belmont Park Good Class Bungalow (GCB) Area, the old bungalows are next to each other and ripe for redevelopment.
Total price for two bungalows
Combined land area
Price on land area
Tenure of both plots
Aunt-and-Niece Sellers, Two Ong Family Buyers
The two bungalows are being sold separately by a low-profile aunt-and-niece pair, The Business Times understands. The aunt is selling the larger plot of 24,178 square feet, on which stands a single-storey house, at S$34.75 million to Matthew Ong, the elder son of Lian Beng chairman Ong Pang Aik.
The niece’s two-level bungalow next door, with a site area of 17,563 square feet, is being sold to Ong Pang Aik’s younger brother Ong Phang Hoo for S$25.25 million. BT understands that the Ong family members plan to tear down the existing houses and build two new bungalows for their own occupation.
Sakal Real Estate, which brokered the sale of the two houses via private treaty, confirmed the transaction but declined to comment. The property agency was appointed the exclusive marketing agent by the owners and conducted an expression of interest (EOI) exercise that closed in March last year. The indicative price then was S$88.8 million, or about S$2,128 per square foot.
Prior to that, JLL had conducted an EOI exercise for the property in 2023, with a price expectation of S$2,100 per square foot.
Past Deals and Site Characteristics
In 2024, Hillhouse Investment founder and chairman Zhang Lei’s family picked up two bungalows on Belmont Road for a total of S$131.4 million or S$3,000 per square foot. At the time, industry observers said the land rate was above market expectation and attributed this to the potential for redeveloping the combined 43,789 square foot site into a large house at the highest point of Belmont Road, with a panoramic, unblocked view.
On the other hand, the two bungalows being bought by the Ong family members are below road level and are on land that slopes downwards, overlooking Cornwall Gardens. Moreover, the larger of the two plots is affected by a drainage reserve. Upon the site’s redevelopment, the drainage reserve is expected to be diverted to the side of the plot and this part of the land will have to be vested to the state.
The total site area of 41,741 square feet for the two bungalows being bought by the Ong family is one of the biggest for a transaction in a GCB Area this year. Bungalows in the 39 gazetted GCB Areas are the most prestigious form of landed housing in Singapore, with strict planning conditions to preserve their exclusivity and low-rise character. A minimum plot size of 1,400 square metres, or 15,070 square feet, is specified as the planning norm for newly created bungalows in GCB Areas. One generally has to be a Singapore citizen to be allowed to acquire a landed property in a GCB Area.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are the buyers and sellers of the Belmont Road bungalows?
The buyers are two members of the Ong family behind Lian Beng Group: Matthew Ong (elder son of chairman Ong Pang Aik) is buying the larger 24,178 sq ft plot for S$34.75 million, while Ong Phang Hoo (Ong Pang Aik’s younger brother) is buying the 17,563 sq ft plot for S$25.25 million. The sellers are a low-profile aunt-and-niece pair.
Why is the price significantly lower than the nearby Zhang Lei deal?
The Zhang Lei family paid S$3,000 psf in 2024 for two bungalows at the highest point of Belmont Road with panoramic, unblocked views. The Ong family’s plots are below road level, on land that slopes downwards overlooking Cornwall Gardens, and the larger plot is affected by a drainage reserve that must be diverted upon redevelopment, with part of the land vested to the state.
What are the minimum requirements for bungalows in GCB Areas?
Bungalows in Singapore’s 39 gazetted Good Class Bungalow Areas must have a minimum plot size of 1,400 square metres (15,070 sq ft). Strict planning conditions preserve their exclusivity and low-rise character, and generally only Singapore citizens are allowed to acquire landed property in a GCB Area.
What are the Ong family’s plans for the two bungalows?
The Ong family members plan to tear down the existing houses and build two new bungalows for their own occupation. The old bungalows are currently leased out and are described as ripe for redevelopment.
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