Mortgagee listings hit record high in Q1 as debt servicing woes escalate

More commercial properties went under the hammer.

Property owners across Singapore are facing greater difficulty when it comes to paying off their debt. Data released by Colliers show that a total of 70 properties were put up for mortgagee auctions across the city-state in the first three months of the year, marking a 25% year-on-year jump in listings.

"The YOY jump in the number of mortgagee listings reflects the increasing difficulties that property owners are facing in servicing their monthly mortgages. The situation is further aggravated for those who own multiple properties," said Grace Ng, Deputy Managing Director of Colliers International.

In Q1, the number of industrial mortgagee listings climbed to 13, accounting for almost 20 per cent of the total mortgagee listings during the quarter. Many of the industrial mortgagee listings in the period were strata-titled factories, due in part to the tough industrial leasing market.

"Many small-scale investors who entered the industrial property market before the government’s imposition of the Sellers’ Stamp Duty and Total Debt Servicing Ratio requirements in 2013, are now finding it challenging to secure tenants to help service their bank loans. And the situation is worsened for investors who hold multiple units,” Ng added.

Meanwhile, lenders put up two office properties and seven retail assets for auction in Q1, in stark contrast to the previous quarter during which there were no office listings and only three retail mortgagee listings.

“We expect to continue seeing more commercial and industrial mortgagee listings through the year, which will likely arise from small investors with stretched finances struggling with bank loans, as well as from companies which go under amid the challenging business operating climate, and slowdown in the oil and gas sector. Owners or investors with retail properties at unfavourable locations will be at higher risk of loan default due to the difficulties in securing tenants,” Ng said.