We speak to the team behind Brand New Land about family, Singapore’s affluent homebuyer and the discipline of building a business for the long term
Conventional wisdom suggests that voluntarily going into business with a family member is fraught with peril. Well, what about entering a notoriously complex industry with four of your other eight siblings?
It’s hardly necessary to say, then, that Brand New Land Group, a boutique property developer helmed by co-founder and managing director Alvina Teh alongside four of her siblings, is anything but conventional.
Perhaps more surprising is that it was never quite planned this way. Teh started the business on her own in 2018, with her siblings joining progressively as the company grew and their respective strengths found a place within it. Today, their roles span development strategy, design and hospitality, branding and marketing, project management and business operations. Among them are Tatiana Teh, who leads design and hospitality, and Al-Emporio Teh, who oversees brand and marketing.
The family dynamic makes Brand New Land an intriguing business in itself. But so does the particular market in which it operates. Freehold landed property is already an inherently scarce—and expensive—proposition in our city-state, which raises a more fundamental question for a boutique developer: when the underlying land already carries so much value, how do you add to it?
How has working with siblings shaped the way you think about leadership and decision-making?
Emporio: It all boils down to respecting each other. Even when there are disagreements, we remind ourselves of our shared vision and everything works itself out.
Alvina: I think what keeps us together is the alignment and the vision that we wanted to bring to life. Our shared values and alignment in the sense that no matter what, whatever you’re faced with, you’re just doing together. It’s also easier because we grew up with each other, we trust each other, and we have each other’s backs.
The underlying product—freehold landed property in Singapore—is already scarce. What does a developer have to add beyond the value of the land itself?
Alvina: We are seeing a definitive shift away from the transactional mindset and the idea that a good location and a good product are enough. People are increasingly looking for identity, belonging, and personal meaning in the decisions they make: homes that reflect who they are and the kind of life they want to live.
What have you learnt about the affluent Singapore homebuyer that you didn’t understand when you developed your first few houses?
Alvina: We have learnt that there is no typical buyer. Every homeowner has a different story, different priorities and different aspirations.
They’re less interested in buying what everyone else wants and more interested in finding a home that feels right for them. That means we can’t be everything to everyone. We focus on doing our best to create homes with special identities that will be loved by the right people.
Solstice and Pangolins both explore wellbeing, although in different ways. Why has this become such an important consideration in your recent projects?
Tatiana: On average, people spend upwards of 70 to 80 per cent of their total lives including at home, which translates to roughly 50 to 60 years of an 80-year lifespan. We wanted our developments to support health span and aging.
Alvina: In our developments, we aim to make the home a natural environment for longevity. We incorporate natural streams with elements and ideas into the architecture itself, from the lighting to the temperature, to the materials. Your home becomes a machine for living that supports wellbeing every single day.
When assessing a piece of land, how do you balance what makes commercial sense with the potential to create something exceptional?
Alvina: We look for sites with enduring qualities rather than simply attractive prices. We’re prepared to pay more for locations and plots of land with distinctive attributes.
For us, that is where commercial sense and the potential to create something exceptional come together. A beautiful site gives us something meaningful to build upon, while its enduring qualities give us confidence in its long-term appeal.
You describe the properties you build as “heirloom” homes. How do you think about creating value for a buyer not just at the point of purchase, but over 10, 20 or even 30 years of ownership?
Alvina: A home isn’t just for life’s highlight reel: the celebrations, the gatherings and the laughter. It’s also for the difficult seasons. That’s why, when we design homes, we begin by asking: Where will people naturally gather? Will every member of the family feel included? How will the home adapt as the family grows and changes?
What have the past few years taught you about being disciplined about growth?
Alvina: Time has taught us that growth is as much about knowing what not to do as it is about pursuing the next opportunity. There will always be another site, another project and another opportunity. The discipline lies in not feeling that we must pursue every one of them.
