by Romesh Navaratnarajah Property investment deals covering big-ticket developments rose to around S$6.4 billion in Q2 2012, according to preliminary figures released by Savills Singapore.
In the first quarter of this year, such transactions fell to S$4.8 billion, compared to S$7.9 billion in Q4 2011.
The rebound in Q2 was boosted by the residential and office sectors, which included sales of KeyPoint on Beach Road, Tower 15 on Hoe Chiang Road, and strata office units at Tung Centre, The Adelphi and Burlington Square.
According to Savills, investment sales refer to deals of at least S$10 million and include sales of Government Land Sales (GLS) sites, residential collective sales below that threshold and acquisitions by real estate investment trusts (Reits).
The final Q2 investment sales figure is expected to reach S$7 billion, taking into account outstanding state tenders and other caveats in the property market which will lift the tally for H12012 to almost S$12 billion.
Steven Ming, Executive Director (Investment Sales) at Savills, expects investment sales in the second half to continue growing, possibly resulting in a full-year total of S$21 billion to S$25 billion.
"This assumes macro-economic conditions improve and that financing continues to be available. Availability of debt is one of the main lifelines to the real estate investment market. Absence of debt will lead to falling investment volumes," added Ming.
With the government expected to roll out the same quantum of private housing sites in the second half, the public sector is expected to dominate investment sales in H2.
"Should concerns about the macro economy begin to fade and the bid-ask gap narrow, the second half of 2012 could see a resurgence of transactions in the private sector," Ming said.
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