Real estate investment sales to hit $25b in 2018

But prices may dip due to the need to conduct traffic studies.

For 2018, it is anticipated that investment levels may revert back to levels slightly higher than those seen in 2016 with $22.66b of transactions, Savills Singapore said.

According to a report, the number is expected to be in a range of between $25-$27b.

Firstly, the en bloc sales are expected to experience the same or an even greater level of activity in terms of the number of transactions.

However, the average value of each transaction may fall from 2017’s average of $284.28m to around that in the $150-200m range.

"The reason for the fall in the average transaction quantum is because of the need for a traffic study by the buyer in order to determine whether the road infrastructure can," said Savills Singapore senior director Alan Cheong.

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Secondly, for the commercial sector, unless there is a large portfolio made available for sale for which the transaction closes in 2018, the availability of large good quality investible grade assets is becoming a rarity.

The prime office and retail assets that have been sold in the past two years are not likely to return to the market anytime soon because they have been acquired by long-term holders.

Finally, in terms of the number of sites under the GLS programme that are expected to be awarded in 2018, the total value is likely to be lower because there does not appear to be as many high quantum sites on the list that can better those awarded in 2017. For 2018, the two highest value sites are in Holland Road and Sengkang Central and their expected prices are unlikely to better 2017’s Beach Road and Jiak Kim Street sites.