Singapore’s investment sales market in the second quarter has strengthened further, recording a 24.3 percent jump to S$7.11 billion, compared with S$5.72 billion in the first quarter this year, according to property consultancy group Colliers International.
The group said the increase in the investment sales market was largely attributed to the aggressive land acquisition activity by several property developers, acquiring nearly $3.25 billion worth of land both from the public and private sectors
It added that the total investment sales value for the first half of 2010 hit S$12.83 billion, exceeding the S$10.54 billion of sales for the whole of 2009.
Colliers is expecting more developers to continue purchasing development land, particularly for residential sites situated in outlying suburban areas. However, these developers will likely be more choosy given the huge supply and wide selection of land sites, which are available in the government’s H2 2010 GLS programme.
Collier’s report also indicated that the office property market in the country recorded a moderately strong rebound in Q2, on the back of growing concerns about large new supply.
The average gross rents per month for Grade A office space increased between five percent and seven percent. The increase came as occupancy rates tightened over micro-markets, despite the addition of over 1.5 million sq ft of Grade A office space since the second half of 2009.