reporter2
28-07-12, 22:12
http://www.straitstimes.com/Money/Story/STIStory_824563.html
Property investment transactions up on low interest rate
Published on Jul 21, 2012
LOW interest rates helped send investment spending on property rocketing in the second quarter, with the residential and commercial segments thriving.
Investors stumped up $7.4 billion during the three months to June 30, 52.4 per cent over the $4.9 billion laid out in the first quarter, according to Savills Singapore yesterday.
The public sector accounted for $3.1 billion in the second quarter. This includes private developers buying land through the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme. There were 15 sites - 11 residential, three industrial and one hotel - sold through the GLS, reaping about $2.9 billion.
Private sales volume swelled nearly 60 per cent in the second quarter from the first, reaching $4.3 billion.
Investment sales in the private sector involve transactions between two firms - such as collective sales - but exclude individual buyers.
Divided by segments, residential took the lead with $4 billion, or 54 per cent, of overall investment sales.
Savills noted that the participation level in recent GLS tenders show developers 'have become more selective due to the ample supply of land released by the Government, and sensitive to competition from existing (or in the pipeline) projects in the vicinity'.
The collective sale market stayed 'lukewarm', with six deals amounting to $392.5 million in the quarter.
Softening prices lured investors back to high-end flats with 11 transactions above $10 million in the period.
Commercial investment sales amounted to $2.3 billion, a two-fold increase from the first quarter's $1 billion.
The segment, which includes strata-titled offices and shophouses, is luring investors from the residential sector, which has been hit with cooling measures.
The report noted that new projects like Eon Shenton and Oxley Tower recorded strong take-up, with interest also spilling over to older buildings like Tung Centre.
But industrial investment dropped 15.7 per cent to $951.8 million from the previous quarter.
Savills added that a hotel site on the corner of Rangoon and Farrer Park Station Roads had a record high top bid of $1,079 per sq ft per plot ratio, reflecting confidence in the tourism sector.
Investment volume, especially by foreign firms, may hit a plateau in the near term, in light of worsening economic conditions.
'The market in (this half of the year) may still be dominated by the public sector, and we expect investment sales to reach a full-year total of $21 billion to $25 billion,' Savills said.
AMANDA TAN
Property investment transactions up on low interest rate
Published on Jul 21, 2012
LOW interest rates helped send investment spending on property rocketing in the second quarter, with the residential and commercial segments thriving.
Investors stumped up $7.4 billion during the three months to June 30, 52.4 per cent over the $4.9 billion laid out in the first quarter, according to Savills Singapore yesterday.
The public sector accounted for $3.1 billion in the second quarter. This includes private developers buying land through the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme. There were 15 sites - 11 residential, three industrial and one hotel - sold through the GLS, reaping about $2.9 billion.
Private sales volume swelled nearly 60 per cent in the second quarter from the first, reaching $4.3 billion.
Investment sales in the private sector involve transactions between two firms - such as collective sales - but exclude individual buyers.
Divided by segments, residential took the lead with $4 billion, or 54 per cent, of overall investment sales.
Savills noted that the participation level in recent GLS tenders show developers 'have become more selective due to the ample supply of land released by the Government, and sensitive to competition from existing (or in the pipeline) projects in the vicinity'.
The collective sale market stayed 'lukewarm', with six deals amounting to $392.5 million in the quarter.
Softening prices lured investors back to high-end flats with 11 transactions above $10 million in the period.
Commercial investment sales amounted to $2.3 billion, a two-fold increase from the first quarter's $1 billion.
The segment, which includes strata-titled offices and shophouses, is luring investors from the residential sector, which has been hit with cooling measures.
The report noted that new projects like Eon Shenton and Oxley Tower recorded strong take-up, with interest also spilling over to older buildings like Tung Centre.
But industrial investment dropped 15.7 per cent to $951.8 million from the previous quarter.
Savills added that a hotel site on the corner of Rangoon and Farrer Park Station Roads had a record high top bid of $1,079 per sq ft per plot ratio, reflecting confidence in the tourism sector.
Investment volume, especially by foreign firms, may hit a plateau in the near term, in light of worsening economic conditions.
'The market in (this half of the year) may still be dominated by the public sector, and we expect investment sales to reach a full-year total of $21 billion to $25 billion,' Savills said.
AMANDA TAN