Which property segment won big in investments in Q421?

Q421 investment sales were at $7.19b.

The property market ended 2021 on a high note, with investment sales reaching $12.68b for the entire year, up by 8.7% YoY.

This is despite a 2.9% QoQ decline in investment sales during the last quarter.

Across segments, the biggest winner of the last quarter was the residential market with  $3.25 billion. Despite residential investment being almost halved in Q421, the market was still the biggest contributor to the total investment sales.

There are two residential Government Land Sales (GLS) sites sold during the quarter for about  $482.5 million, whilst private residential sites tripled to $1.56b due to the sales of four residential sites, including two collective sales. 

Looking ahead, Savills Singapore said residential collective sales activity might be hindered due to the government cooling measures which took effect on 16 December.

"Nevertheless, with dwindling unsold residential stock, developers will still need to replenish their landbanks and are expected to do so selectively through the GLS programme or collective sales if the sites are priced competitively," the analyst added.

Coming close to the residential market is the office market, with investment sales surging to $2.21b.

Savills Singapore said the return of investor confidence in the office market was due to the recovery in office rents.

During the quarter, the biggest deal in the market was the divestment of One George Street by CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust and FWD Group to a joint venture of JP Morgan Asset Management and Nuveen Real Estate for $1.28b.

Meanwhile, the shophouses segment came in third with investment sales reaching $273.8m, an 81.8% QoQ jump.

"The limited supply of shophouses and the absence of ABSD levies resulted in a strong interest in the shophouse sector and this is expected to extend to 2022," Savills Singapore said.