Investment sales across all property segments in the last quarter of 2012 reached S$7.6 billion, bringing the entire year’s figure to S$29.4 billion or slightly below last year’s S$30.1 billion and S$32 billion in 2010, according to a report by Savills Research.
On a quarterly basis, investment sales in Q4 declined by about 19 percent compared to S$9.3 billion in the previous quarter. The decline came mainly from the private sector where transaction values fell by 43 percent from Q3. Excluding offices, other property segments saw drops ranging between 69 and 90 percent.
Residential investment sales in Q4 amounted to S$2.8 billion or 37.5 percent of the total transaction value. However, investment sales for the quarter fell by 28 percent compared to Q3’s S$3.9 billion.
Meanwhile, commercial investment sales hit S$2.8 billion or 37.2 percent of overall investment sales. On a quarterly basis, the transaction value soared 62 percent from S$1.7 billion in Q3.
In the hospitality segment, investment sales totalled S$943 million or 12.5 percent of the overall transaction value; while the industrial sector recorded S$351 million or 4.6 percent of total investment sales in Q4.
Tepid investment activity in the private sector was attributed to a still large bid-ask gap and weak global economy.
“The investment sales market moderated in Q4 2012. Nevertheless, 2012 is set to be another buoyant year as the total transaction value hits S$29.4 billion, slightly shy of the S$30.1 billion recorded last year and the S$32.0 billion in 2010,” said Alan Cheong, Research Head at Savills Singapore.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor of PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
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