Residential dominates over commercial sector in auction deals concluded in 2012

Guess what real estate agency clocked in more than 50% of the deals.

The year 2012 to date has clocked a total value of $57.9 million with an average of $15 million auction deals secured each quarter. Among the sectors, the residential market dominates with $25.5 million (44%) in auction deals concluded. This is an improvement from the year before, in which commercial auction deals took pole position, securing 50% of total value while the residential sector came in second at 32%.

Following its strong presence in 2011, the commercial sector has maintained the lead, concluding $22.9 million, or 40% of auction sales in 2012 to date. The main contributor to the commercial market’s success is the sale of a petrol station at Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim for $12.7 million in the early part of 2012. It is the single largest auction deal for 2012, secured by Jones Lang LaSalle auction team.

Apart from taking the lion’s share of auction sales this year, the commercial sector is ranked among the top sectors with the highest success rate of auction sales. As seen in Figure 1, 7.2% of total commercial sales made available in the auctions market was successfully secured. 7 commercial
deals were concluded out of the 97 available. The industrial sector also fared relatively well achieving a success rate of 7.4%, concluding 4 out of a total of 54 industrial properties put out for sale. The success rate of these two sectors is more than the rate registered by the residential market (7.1%), which seems to portray greater resistance from buyers. This resistance could be the result of a generally cautious residential market, in light of the numerous cooling measures announced this year.

Ms Mok Sze Sze, head of auctions at Jones Lang LaSalle said “Sentiments in commercial properties have been improving, especially in the strata sales segment. We are likely to see continued interest in the near term”.

The strong success rate seen in the industrial sector is rather surprising as it coincides with a period where the industrial market is being closely monitored by the government. In the middle of 2012, the government released measures pertaining to tenure and size restrictions for industrial sites. Despite the measures, industrial auction sales managed to emerge the sector with the highest success rate.

As seen in Chart 1, the Jones Lang LaSalle auctions team has captured 52% of 2012’s tally of $57.9 million, retaining its position as market leader throughout the year.