Singapore's auction market sale value pegged to hit $70m in 2014

On back of property curbs impact.

According to Colliers International, the total sale value for the Singapore auction market in 2014 is likely to come in at approximately S$70 million – on the back of a tumultuous global stock market amid possible QE tapering, the after-effects of the local government property measures, the continued stalemate between buyers and sellers, and the expected low number of high-value sales.

Ms Grace Ng, Deputy Managing Director of Colliers International, said “however, we might still continue to see the trend of strata-titled industrial units being put up for mortgagee sale in 2014. This is because the operating environment for SMEs remains plagued with the twin challenges of escalating business costs and a tight labour market.

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Meanwhile, the residential sector is expected to still witness the repercussion of the government regulations – with a higher proportion of high-end residential apartments, such as condominium apartments in Sentosa, being put up for mortgagee sales.”

Property auction as a mode of sale will continue to remain popular with owners. “In the midst of weak buying sentiments in the secondary market, we expect to see muted response to private treaty advertisements.

There will be more owners, particularly those of high-end properties, leveraging auction as the mode of sale to reach out to a larger but targeted pool of buyers – given the ready access to a group of potential investors and home buyers garnered by each auction house.”

Nonetheless, a stalemate between the buyers and sellers may also persist, as buyers continue to remain opportunistic, adopting a wait-and-see attitude and choosing to hold out for value buys.