Singapore commercial investment sales slump 61.9% to S$852.2m in Q3

Blame it on the underwhelming performances of the office and retail segments.

According to Savills, investment sales in Singapore’s commercial sector fell by 61.9% QoQ to S$852.2 million as both the office and retail sectors saw a fall in sales volume. 

“Owing to the high base in Q2/2021 when mega deals such as the acquisition of stake in Jem boosted office investment sales, the office sector saw a QoQ decline of 68.7% to S$545.4 million in Q3/2021,” Savills says.

Here’s more from Savills:

The largest office deal done in the quarter was for 61 Robinson Road for S$422.0 million. This is a 20-storey building in the CBD with a site area of 15,125 sq ft and an existing net lettable area of 141,958 sq ft. Going into the final quarter of the year, institutional interests in office buildings and strata units are still strong. 

For the retail sector, S$306.4 million of investment sales were recorded for the quarter in review. This sum was down 37.7% QoQ. The notable transaction was the sale of a niche suburban mall called Le Quest to Firmus Capital for S$139.9 million. While this transaction lifted sales volume for shops, investment sales for the shophouse segment fell 87.7% QoQ to S$38.0 million.

The fall was largely attributed to the upward revision in asking prices that potential buyers needed time to digest. Nevertheless, the interest in this segment of the real estate market remains high as the absence of Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty for commercial shophouses makes this asset class attractive to foreign and corporate investors.