Singapore property investment sales fall for third straight quarter in Q2

Investment sales declined by 6.8% to S$5.47b during the quarter.

Singapore’s real estate investment sales declined for a third consecutive quarter according to data from Savills, falling 6.8% QoQ from S$5.87 billion in Q1/2025 to S$5.47 billion in Q2/2025.

“The downturn was primarily driven by a sharp contraction in public sector dealings, where transaction values more than halved - from S$2.79 billion in Q1 to S$1.21 billion in Q2. This steep decline was largely due to a significant reduction in the number of private residential land parcels successfully awarded under the GLS Programme. This number fell from five in Q1 to just two in Q2,” the analyst said.

Here’s more from Savills:

Conversely, the private sector recorded a robust 38.2% QoQ increase in transaction value, rising from S$3.08 billion in Q1/2025 to S$4.26 billion in Q2/2025. This growth was underpinned by several high-value deals, including City Developments Limited’s (CDL) divestment of its 50.1% interest in the South Beach development, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT’s (CLAR) acquisition of two industrial properties, and Mapletree Industrial Trust’s (MIT) divestment of three industrial properties.

Aside from these large-valued transactions, investment activities in individual residential properties, strata retail units and shophouses are still tepid. Meanwhile, ongoing trade and geopolitical tensions continue to weigh on Singapore’s economic outlook for 2025. Notwithstanding the continued decline in interest rates against stable property yields, these uncertainties have contributed to heightened investor caution, potentially dampening capital flows into the local real estate market.

By property type, the residential sector maintained its position as the top-performing sector, contributing 34.4% to total investment sales in Q2/2025. The industrial sector came in second with a 26.3% share. A single large-scale transaction involving a 50.1% stake in South Beach significantly elevated the mixed-use sector’s market share to 25.2%, the third largest among all property sectors. The remaining investment sales came from the commercial and hospitality sectors, accounting for 7.2% and 6.9%, respectively.