1,400 sqm is the gazetted minimum plot — roughly 15,069 sqft. A detached home in a GCBA on a 1,300 sqm plot is not a GCB; it's an ultra-luxury non-GCB landed property that trades at adjacent-but-different prices.
Why 1,400 sqm specifically?
The 1,400 sqm figure dates from the URA Residential Conservation/Planning amendments of the 1980s. The rule's goal was to preserve a low-density, garden-rich character for these zones: at 1,400 sqm with a 35% site coverage cap, you cannot pack more than one substantial house onto a plot. Combined with the two-storey limit, this enforces a specific suburban-villa aesthetic.
What about plots that fall short?
A plot under 1,400 sqm in a gazetted GCBA is still desirable — proximity to GCB neighbours, embassy belt addresses, mature trees — but it cannot be classified as a GCB. Sales of such "sub-spec" plots show up in URA caveats as Detached but trade at notably lower psf than true GCBs. Our analytics page (/luxury) treats these as Tier 3 ultra-luxury non-GCB landed.
Subdivision and amalgamation
- Subdivision: You cannot subdivide a 1,800 sqm GCB into two 900 sqm plots — both daughter plots would fall below the minimum.
- Amalgamation: Combining two adjacent GCBs is permitted; this is how the rare $100M+ trophy plots get assembled.
See also: GCB & Ultra-Luxury Master Guide