The investment property market in Singapore appears to be shrugging off the global financial turmoil and is staging a robust comeback.
According to C B Richard Ellis, Singapore’s investment market showed a better-than-expected performance in 2009. It said that the total property investment sales achieved was $10.2 billion.
Although the figure is 43 percent less than the $17.9 billion set in 2008, it is still better than the $1.35 billion initial estimate at the start of 2009.
However, the total investment sales in Q4 2009 amounted to $3.86 billion, a 7.2 percent drop from the previous quarter.
CBRE said that the plunge was due to the residential market taking a breather from the intense activity seen in the earlier part of the year.
Property consultant DTZ said that Singapore comprised the bulk of investments flowing into Southeast Asia in Q4 2009. It said that 73 percent of Southeast Asia’s total transactional value amounting to US$2.4 billion was due to Singapore.
DTZ noted that Singapore performed well as it is the region’s gateway.
Most of the investments transacted over the period were channeled into the residential sector, followed by the retail sector.
In Singapore, 57 percent of the transactional value in Q4 2009 came from the residential market.
DTZ added that private investors and domestic firms were the main driving force in the real investment market within the region.