Investment sales fall to $5.4b in Q4

The public sector accounted for 54.4% of the total sales in the quarter.

Investment sales in the fourth quarter declined to $5.4b from $7.3b in the previous quarter on the back of various factors including the year-end holiday season and weaker investor sentiment amidst economic uncertainty.

In a statement, Savills added that the high-interest rate, price expectation mismatch, and rigorous diligence checks to combat money laundering also contributed to the decline in investment sales.

The public sector contributed 54.5% of the total investment value during the quarter with six land parcels awarded under the Government Land Sites (GLS) Programme worth $2.9b.

The private sector, meanwhile, accounted for the remaining 45.5% worth $2.4b.

Investment sales in the residential sector are on par with the previous quarter at $3.5b, 82% of which were from the four GLS sites awarded worth $2.8b. 

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The total investment in the sector reached $10.3b the whole year on the back of 10 GLS residential sites awarded which are worth nearly $6.3b.

On the other hand, the investment sales in the commercial sector reached $1.6b in the fourth quarter, all from the private sector. 

The total investment sales for 2023 in the commercial sector declined to $6.2b from $12.8b in 2022.

“The absence of mega deals played a critical part, coupled with weakening confidence in commercial properties due to economic uncertainty and compressed yields caused by rapidly rising interest rates, which led to the drop,” Savills said.