Chart of the Day: Property investment sales hit 7-year low as big-ticket deals vanish

Private investment deals fizzled out.

Property investment sales in Singapore declined to its lowest level since 2009 in the first quarter of 2016, according to a report by CBRE.

Investment transactions amounted to a preliminary tally of $2.443 billion, a far cry from $6.155 billion in the previous quarter.

CBRE noted that the investment sales value in the first quarter was supported by public sales. In contrast, large-ticket investment sales vanished in Q1.

"The low volume of private investment sales was mainly attributed to two reasons. Firstly, there was a lack of purchasing activity by large investors like S-REITs and property funds. Secondly, majority of private investment deals concludd in Q1 2016 were priced below $100m," CBRE said.