Investment sales slow down this year

INVESTMENT sales of Singapore property - which cover big-ticket deals of at least $10 million - so far this quarter have continued to languish at around $3.5-3.6 billion. The year-to-date tally of around $8 billion is down from around $12-plus billion in the first-half of last year.

CBRE predicts that this year will end with around $12-15 billion of transactions, while Savills' forecast is $16-18 billion. Both figures will mark significant declines from last year's $30 billion. Investment sales of real estate are often seen as a gauge of developers and property investors' confidence in the medium to long-term prospects of the property market.

Industry players attribute the lacklustre showing in the first half to the overall cautious sentiment in the Singapore property market following the introduction of the total debt servicing ratio (TDSR) framework. As well, both foreign and local investors are being drawn to overseas markets. The cut-back in Government Land Sales (GLS) also co…