Property investment sales eased 31.4% to $3.59b in Q1

The residential sector accounted for 30.4% of sales volume.

Preliminary property investment sales volume eased 31.4% QoQ to $3.59b in Q1 2019 despite the absence of major office en -bloc deals, according to CBRE’s highlights of property investment sector performance in Southeast Asia.

The residential sector still accounted for the majority of investment sales volume (30.4%), largely due to the award of two government land sale sites, the firm said.

“Not surprisingly, the hotel sector accounted for 25.7% of total investment sales, at $915.5m,” they added.

Meanwhile, retail investment volume surged 129.4% QoQ to $640.73m, on the back of two retail mall transactions, comprising of Liang Court which was sold for $400m and Rivervale Mall that was sold for $230m.

Whilst there were no major office building sales recorded in Q1, there were a number of office strata sales including six floors in Suntec City for $160m.

“The office market continues to perform well and investors remain keen to acquire office assets in anticipation of further rental growth and capital appreciation,” Jeremy Lake, managing director of Capital Markets for CBRE, said in a statement. “If interest rates are on pause for the rest of the year, investors could be energised further to enter the office investment market. It is likely that we will see a few notable office deals in Q2 which will shore up overall investment volume for 2019.”