SINGAPORE: Real estate investments surged 18 per cent to $3.6 billion in the first quarter of the year from the previous three months, according to a DTZ Research report released on Wednesday.
More notably, the strong interest in office and mixed-use properties was what drove the market in the recent quarter. One transaction – the sale of the AXA tower by Blackrock to the consortium led by Perennial Real Estate Holdings for about $1.17 billion – accounted for 32 per cent, or about one-third, of total investment sales in the first quarter.
Total investment in mixed use properties grew from $241 million in the fourth quarter of last year to $324 million in the first quarter of the year. Shophouses continued to attract interest among investors, reigning in some $358 million worth of investments over the last two quarters.
In contrast, residential investment sales continued to regress, falling by 14.5 per cent quarter-on-quarter to $856 million as investors remained cautious due to cooling measures. While residential investments from Government Land Sales (GLS) Programme rose 15 per cent quarter-on-quarter to $781 million in the first quarter, the amount transacted was less than half of what had been sold over the same period last year.
