(SINGAPORE) Sunsets over the idyllic Serapong Course at Sentosa Golf Club (SGC) have an added glow to them, especially now that memberships there have touched $240,000 - a new high.
This makes Sentosa the most expensive club in Singapore - and that is without even counting the handsome premium that some are willing to pay above this price.
A check with club membership brokers revealed that top clubs like the Singapore Island Country Club (SICC) and Tanah Merah Country Club (TMCC) have also seen membership prices rise to dizzying heights in a matter of months.
An SICC membership, which could be snapped up for just $163,000 in January, is now going for $225,000. This is not far from the giddy nineties when members shelled out up to $250,000. Meanwhile, TMCC memberships are available for between $170,000 and $180,000.
Most club memberships are transferable and bought on the open market. And as with other premium assets in demand (think luxury homes), prices are expected to keep rising.
Fion Phua, director of sales for Tee Up Marketing Enterprises and a club membership broker for 17 years, said that judging by current demand, SGC memberships could even hit $350,000.
Ms Phua tracks transaction prices (also available on her company website) and these have increased by an average of 30-40 per cent since the start of the year. On a year-on-year basis, the data shows that prices have increased 40-65 per cent.
While the typical buyer is still likely to be a local businessman in his 40s or 50s, Ms Phua says that more younger professionals and foreigners have started knocking on these clubs' doors.
SGC was among the first to open its membership to foreigners and deputy executive director KP Wun says that some of them are now prepared to pay a premium of $50,000-$80,000 over current prices as there is a cap on their numbers. It's a far cry from 2003, when prices had dipped to $85,000 after the Sars epidemic, recalls Mr Wun.
Country clubs are by nature exclusive so the volume of transactions is not high. SGC, which has only 1,500 members, nevertheless saw 20 membership transfers in June - double its previous monthly average.
'The buzz from Sentosa Cove and the integrated resort is partly the reason,' conceded Mr Wun. But he added that the club has a 'higher profile' now from hosting major international tournaments, like the Barclays Singapore Open.
TMCC has also seen membership transfers double to about seven a month and general manager Roy Higgs said: 'We have seen an increase due to the upswing in the economy as well as interest in our newly redeveloped Garden Course.'
Although both SGC and TMCC did sell new memberships at the start of the year, don't hold your breath for more direct offerings. 'The recent release of 38 memberships was one of very few occasions we did this,' said Mr Higgs.
When TMCC sold the new memberships, it fixed the price at $150,000. Now prices have edged up by 20per cent - a good return by any call.
'We have seen an increase due to the upswing in the economy as well as interest in our newly redeveloped Garden Course.' - TMCC general manager Roy Higgs
It may be too early in the game to see a churning of memberships, but broker Active Golf Services manager Madeline Choo doesn't rule it out. Ms Choo reckons that buyers, flush with gains from the property and stock markets, are now looking for new investment vehicles. 'More buyers these days are buying with an investment mindset,' she said.
That club memberships are bankable assets has not gone unnoticed by RHB Bank.
A spokesman for RHB Bank said it believes it is the only bank to offer loans to buy club memberships and added: 'We've indeed seen an increase in the number of applications and inquiries lately, underpinned by the strengthening of the economy.'
RHB Bank offers loans of up to twice one's monthly income for a tenure of between one and five years. The interest rate is a fixed flat rate of 5 per cent per annum. The bank declined to say how many such loans it had given.
The outlook for all clubs appears to be good.
Ms Choo said: 'Prices for less expensive clubs are also increasing very rapidly.' And she expects this to be more rapid than for the more expensive clubs in the coming year.
One investor, who wanted to be known only as Mr Ngo, said he bought a Singapore Recreational Club membership for $9,000 earlier this year and the price has already doubled. He also bought into Keppel Club and sold Pinetree Club. In all, he has 12 club memberships, but added that he expects to keep SGC, for which he paid $80,000 years ago.
