Singapore investors spend US$4.6b on cross-border real estate: report

SINGAPOREAN investors have spent in total US$4.6 billion on cross-border real estate transactions in the 12 months through to the second quarter of 2018, according to a report released by Real Capital Analytics (RCA).

RCA, a real estate and market intelligence provider, ranked Singaporean investors as the second most active in Asia-Pacific during the reported period.

It noted that Singaporean investors have chiefly concentrated on Chinese and Australian real estate. Real estate investment flow from Singapore to Australia alone had risen 32 per cent year-on-year to hit US$3.3 billion, the fourth highest cross-border flow in Asia-Pacific.

RCA data shows, however, that investment activity in Singapore has fallen 12 per cent to US$7.6 billion on fewer big-ticket office transactions from a year ago. But the number of transactions done here doubled in the first six months from a year ago. In all, 50 transactions - mainly involving smaller deals - were completed during the first half, the highest in five years.

The large number of deals came on the back of a slew of collective sales in the Singapore real estate sector. These en bloc sales accounted for a record US$10 billion, or 58 per cent of all land sold during the first six months. RCA data showed Singapore still has another US$1.7 billion of en bloc deals in the pipeline.