Real estate investment sales plummet by 52% to $2.37b in 1Q16

Large private transactions were scarce.

Total real estate investment sales in Singapore sank in the first quarter of the year, with the public sector uncharacteristically accounted for the bulk of transaction volume at $1.23b.

On the other hand, Cushman & Wakefield said private transactions made up the rest with $1.14b.

“In another departure from the previous quarters where the commercial sector dominated, volume in the residential sector was the highest at S$1.63 billion since 4Q2014,” Cushman & Wakefield said.

Meanwhile, this was followed by the commercial sector, which recorded $576.7m in deals, while the industrial sector came in third with $134.7m.

Moving forward, Cushman & Wakefield said investor confidence isn’t looking up as the global economic outlook remains uncertain.

“It appears that investors’ preference is shifting towards properties with more affordable quantum, as almost all private transactions during the first quarter had price tags of less than S$100 million. Despite several major office properties on the market at the moment, few deals have emerged thus far,” the report said.