SINGAPORE: The recent interest rate cut in September has positively affected Singapore’s property market, resulting in a significant rise in investment activity. The total investment increased by 24.8% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ), reaching S$8.3 billion in the third quarter of 2024, as reported by Singapore Business Review.
According to Knight Frank Singapore, of this total, public sales accounted for S$2.3 billion, while private sales made up a significant S$6.0 billion.
The industrial sector saw the biggest jump in investment. Sales in this area soared by 567.6% QoQ and 426.6% year-on-year (YoY), amounting to S$2.5 billion. Knight Frank said the rise was due to Lendlease and Warburg Pincus’s S$1.6 billion purchase of seven industrial properties from a REIT owned by Blackstone and Soilbuild in August.
Other significant transactions in the sector included the S$444.6 million sale of a 51% stake in 20 Tuas South Avenue 14 by ESR LOGOS Reit, and the S$272 million sale of a 49% stake in Elementum to Brunei’s sovereign wealth fund, both in August.
The commercial sector also saw a quarterly increase of 37.2% in sales value, reaching S$2.7 billion. This growth was primarily driven by the S$1.8 billion acquisition of a 50% stake in ION Orchard by CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust from CapitaLand Investment in September.
Meanwhile, the residential sector saw a 24.7% QoQ drop in sales value, bringing the total down to S$3.2 billion. /TISG
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