Shophouses in prime districts snapped up; owners put more assets on market

SOFTER asking prices in Singapore's shophouse market have continued to pique buyer interest for tightly-held assets in prime locations, and the flurry is showing no signs of abating.

"During the last few years when there was a run-up in prices for shophouses, many interested buyers were priced out of the market," Clemence Lee, senior director of capital markets at CBRE, told The Business Times (BT).

Such properties, especially conservation shophouses, also tended to have sticky prices because of their rich heritage value and limited supply, said Colliers International's senior director of investment services, Steven Tan.