Singapore’s capital market property deals reached an estimated $25.8 billion between January and November this year, according to Wong Xian Yang, head of research for Singapore & Southeast Asia at C&W. This marks a 40.2% y-o-y increase from the $18.4 billion recorded in 2023. C&W defines capital market transactions as deals valued at over $10 million.
In the second half of 2024, there was a surge in investor appetite and increased confidence in interest rate cuts by the US Treasury, leading to almost 60% of the capital market deals being transacted.
Three deals exceeding $1 billion were made in 2024, all of which occurred in the second half of the year. The highest-value transaction by absolute price was the sale of a 50% stake in ION Orchard mall for $1.85 billion to CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (CICT) on Sept 3. The seller was CapitaLand Investment (CLI). The remaining 50% stake is held by Hong Kong-listed property developer Sun Hung Kai Properties.
ION Orchard is an eight-storey retail mall in the heart of the shopping belt, directly linked to Orchard MRT Station. It boasts a net lettable area of 623,000 sq ft and is home to over 300 international and local brands. Above the mall is The Orchard Residences, a 54-storey, 175-unit luxury condo tower.
Mapletree Anson was the highest-valued office deal of the year, selling for $775 million in the second quarter of 2024.
Investing in a condo offers a multitude of advantages, including the opportunity to use the property’s value to secure additional investments. In fact, a considerable number of investors utilize their condos as collateral in order to acquire funding for new ventures, effectively expanding their real estate portfolio. This approach can significantly increase profits, but it is also important to have a comprehensive financial plan in place and carefully consider the potential consequences of market fluctuations. As a result, it is advisable to seek assistance from a professional when considering Singapore Condo investments.
There was a surge in investment in industrial assets, with investments reaching $5.6 billion in the first 11 months of 2024, a 174% increase from the previous year. The biggest deal in the industrial sector was the $1.6 billion sale of a portfolio of seven industrial properties by Soilbuild Business Space REIT to a joint venture platform owned by private equity firm Warburg Pincus and Australia-listed Lendlease Group in August.
Soilbuild Business Space REIT is controlled by global asset manager Blackstone and Lim Chap Huat, executive chairman of Soilbuild Group. This transaction was also the second-largest capital market deal in 2024.
Keppel DC REIT acquired two data centres for $1.38 billion, making it the third-highest valued transaction of the year. These data centres, Keppel DC Singapore 7 and 8, are fully contracted to cloud services, internet enterprises, and telecommunications providers.
Despite several Government Land Sales (GLS) sites remaining unsold this year, residential development sites sold via GLS tenders accounted for 42% of total investment sales for the year. Four GLS sites on the Confirmed List for 2024 failed to be awarded due to low bid prices and site-specific concerns.
Investment in the retail sector also saw notable growth of 149% y-o-y, reaching $3.3 billion between January and November this year. The office segment also showed signs of recovery, with $2.37 billion in investment value, a 15.7% y-o-y increase.
On the other hand, shophouse investments fell by 49.7% y-o-y to $584 million, which may be attributed to dampened investor sentiments following money laundering investigations in August 2023.
C&W’s Wong is optimistic about seeing an increase in high-value deals in 2025, with the expected cut in interest rates by the US Fed. CBRE Research also anticipates a 10% growth in investment volumes from 2024 to 2025, barring any macroeconomic shocks.