Auction sales surge by over 100% in Q2 as big-ticket prime homes go under the hammer

Residential units dominated sales.

Auction deals recovered in the second quarter after a dismal performance in the first three months of the year, with more large luxury homes being sold on the block.

According to data from JLL, the total sales value to date stands at $13.76 million, surpassing Q1's sales figure of $5.88 million by 134.3%.

This sharp increase in residential units sold could be due to the government’s insistence that it would still be too soon for Singapore’s cooling measures to be lifted, JLL said, which re-ignited buyers’ appetite for residential properties.

This quarter’s sales was also plumped up by three fairly big ticket transactions at Silversea, One Amber and Turquoise, which sold for $3.9 million, $3.7 million and $2.92 million respectively. 1Q16 lacked transactions above the $2 million mark, resulting in the weak total sales value, though number of units sold was the same as that of 2Q16.

All three of the above-mentioned units were being offered for sale for the first time and were sold within weeks of entering the market. Another unit which appeared for the first time was The Medallion, a strata-titled bungalow off Braddell Road, which was sold via private treaty a day after being put up at JLL’s May auction.

“We observe that buyers are still on the lookout for a good deal in the residential sector and are ready to take action when the opportunity presents itself, although the price is above the ’usual’ sweet spot of SGD 1 to 1.5 million. These buyers also managed to snag a price way below what the previous owners had paid,” JLL said.

Mortgagee sales made up 66.7% of the units sold in 2Q16, but just about 43% of listings being put up for auction this quarter.

“Contrary to the stigma that is often associated with auction (i.e. putting up a property for auction means one is in financial difficulties), owners are now more open to putting their properties under the hammer. There has been a regeneration of interest in this method of sales – in the last two years, mortgagee sales amounted to over 65 per cent of total transaction numbers,” JLL said.