SINGAPORE – Real estate investment activity in Singapore picked up in the third quarter of 2024 in anticipation of the first US interest rate cut in four years, according to a Knight Frank Singapore report released on Oct 8.
Figures compiled by the property consultancy showed total property investment sales amounted to $8.3 billion in the third quarter of 2024, up 24.8 per cent from $6.7 billion in the preceding quarter and 30.5 per cent higher than $6.4 billion a year ago.
Out of the total sales in the third quarter, public sector sales totalled $2.3 billion, while private sector sales totalled $6 billion.
The biggest surge in sales activity was in the industrial sector.
In the residential sector, however, sales fell 24.7 per cent quarter on quarter to $3.2 billion. Of these, 74.2 per cent of the deals were for government land sales (GLS) sites, said Knight Frank. In August, two state plots in Zion Road (Parcel B) and Jalan Loyang Besar were awarded at $730.1 million and $557 million, respectively.
In addition, the sale of several good class bungalows (GCBs) during the quarter also contributed to residential investment sales value. In July, a GCB at Tanglin Hill was sold for $93.9 million and two other GCBs in Belmont Road went for $73.7 million and $57.7 million, said Knight Frank.
While the collective sales market saw five launches in the third quarter, no successful collective sale deals were closed. Knight Frank noted that “collective sales for larger sites continued to be challenging, especially for residential developments”.
The real estate consultancy said GLS sites present better opportunities for developers given “easing land prices” of such sites.
Ms Chia Mein Mein, Knight Frank’s head of capital markets (land and collective sale), said: “With developers reticent towards the larger collective
