A STRONG revival in property sentiment has propelled real estate investment sales in Singapore to surge in the second quarter to hit a total of $1.35 billion, according to latest statistics in a report by Colliers International.
This was the highest level achieved since the third quarter of last year, said the property consultancy firm yesterday.
The residential sector made up the bulk of the activity, chalking up some $887.13 million, or 65.8 per cent of the pie.
Besides the flurry of individual transactions in properties such as bungalows and luxury apartments, Colliers attributed the strong showing to the resurgence of en bloc commercial deals.
In particular, the sale of Anson House, Parakou Building and VTB Building has chalked up total sales of $237.38 million during the quarter.
The buildings are bought respectively by a group of high net worth individuals, a Cathay Organisation unit and a joint venture between Yi Kai Group and Fission Group, said Colliers.
“The standoff between buyers and sellers has dissipated because prices have corrected. With improved sentiments, buyers are also more willing to commit,” said Colliers’ research and consultancy director Tay Huey Ying.
She said the moribund office rental market would not deter such buyers as they are mostly looking for “mid-term capital appreciation”.
There was also evident interest in both public and private development sites. in the latter, a number of smallish development sites worth some $130.12 million were transacted, compared to only $14.32 million in the first quarter.
“Going forward, developers are expected to remain vigilant in their land banking activities and are likely to minimise risk exposure by committing to smallish sites that require lower capital outlay.” Ms Tay said.
Investment activity in Asia also saw a “distinct improvement” due to improved liquidity flow and various pro-active government initiatives, said Colliers.
In particular, Tokyo topped the list in terms of investment transactions, achieving US$9.2 billion in transactions in the segment over the past year.
Source : Today – 19 Aug 2009