Singapore is top overseas real estate investment destination in first half of 2021: Report, Property News & Top Stories
SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) – Investment activity in Singapore’s real estate market nearly doubled in the first half of 2021 to acquisitions valued at $ 4.7 billion ($ 6.4 billion), a 97 percent increase over the previous year Previous year.
That is clear from the latest Asia-Pacific Capital Trends report for the second quarter, which was released on Wednesday (11 high water mark “.
More than half of the total capital inflows came from cross-border investors.
The number put Singapore at the top of the list of overseas investment destinations for the first time, RCA said.
With most of the capital flowing into the office and industrial sectors, RCA described Swire Properties ‘recent sale of Swire Properties’ Eden condominium for $ 220.2 million as a “rare home deal” that added to the first-half inflow.
Singapore’s strong performance in the property investment market in the first half of the year is in line with an ongoing recovery in the Asia-Pacific region, which saw steady sales growth in almost all major markets in the second quarter.
Investment activity across the region rose to $ 77.6 billion in the first half of 2021, up 8 percent from the year-ago period after hitting $ 40.3 billion in the second quarter.
During the first half of the year, RCA found a widening gap between office prices in the top and bottom quartiles of the central business district in the region, which it believes reflects a divergence in investor preferences.
The data provider said this trend is evident in the region’s gateway cities, including Seoul, Sydney and Tokyo, where upper quartile prices far outperformed lower quartile prices by mid-year.
Singapore was the only exception with its top quartile office prices, the traditional proxy for moves in Class A office prices, which grew 3 percent in the second quarter from late 2019. Lower quartile prices, viewed by RCA as “a more accurate indicator of the health of the broader office market,” rose 9 percent over the quarter to hit a new high.
This is because Singapore set new records for office prices this year, including a floor in the Samsung Hub that surpassed the $ 4,000 per square foot (psf) mark, the previous record before the Covid-19 pandemic surpassed.
The sale of the Robinson Point Grade B office building for $ 3,800 psf also sets a new standard for an entire office building, said David Green-Morgan, RCA managing director for Asia Pacific.
He highlighted the Singapore office market as one of the most volatile in the region and watched the city-state’s office volume grow across the board this year with price increases.
“But Singapore’s office price growth stands out from the rest of the region for another reason – it’s not just prime offices that benefit from this boom. Strong cross-border interest has also expanded into the secondary office market, with record levels “in the second quarter,” added Mr. Green-Morgan.