En bloc sales in Singapore cool after July property curbs

Singapore

SINGAPORE residential-property investment sales have fallen after the latest round of housing curbs put the brakes on en bloc redevelopment deals.

Just two redevelopment sales worth S$353 million were completed in the third quarter, down from S$3.8 billion of transactions the previous quarter, according to data compiled by Cushman & Wakefield.

That pushed total real estate investment sales down 42 per cent to S$6.5 billion last quarter.

"The collective sales market was decimated after the recent cooling measures," said Christine Li, head of research for Singapore at Cushman & Wakefield.

Private home prices rose at the slowest pace in five quarters after the additional curbs were imposed.

The government took steps in July to cool the property market after a steep rise in prices in the first six months of this year.

The rebound in prices after a four-year slide had stoked aggressive land bids from developers, leading to an explosion of en bloc sales - where a group of owners band together to sell entire apartment buildings.

Under the new rules, the government raised its additional buyer's stamp duty to 30 per cent for developers, making it more expensive for them to redevelop older properties.

Commercial and industrial property helped prop up investment sales. Office sales rose 54 per cent to S$2.1 billion last quarter, and industrial property deals jumped 73 per cent to S$1.2 billion. "Clearly, these two sectors emerged as winners from the recent fallout in the residential sector," Ms Li said.

Both commercial and industrial property will continue to draw interest in the near-term as liquidity remains high and developers seek diversification, she added. BLOOMBERG