Property auction sales up 134% in Q2

The total sales value of auctioned units is on the rise. Total auction sales increase by a whopping 134.3 percent to $13.76 million in Q2 2016 from $5.87 million in Q1 2016, even as auctions still take place in the final week of June, revealed a JLL report.
On a yearly basis, total sales jumped 102.4 percent from $6.8 million in Q2 2015.
Residential units dominated the auction floor, with only one of six listings sold being non-residential property, reversing the trend witnessed in Q1 2016, when only one of six deals was residential.
JLL attributed the sharp increase in residential sales to the budget announcement in March of it being too soon to lift the cooling measures, thus re-igniting buyers’ appetite.
“We observe that buyers are still on the lookout for a good deal in the residential sector, and are ready to take action when the opportunity presents itself, although the price is above the “usual” sweet spot of $1 million to $1.5 million,” the report said.
“These buyers also managed to snag a price way below what the previous owners had paid.”
A unit at the Silversea condo, for instance, was sold at $3.9 million, down $882,000 from the $4.78 million paid by the previous owner. Another unit at Turquoise in Sentosa Cove was sold at $2.92 million, down from the $5.46 million paid previously, while a unit at One Amber was auctioned off at $3.7 million, a drop from the $4.43 million paid by the previous owner.
Meanwhile, mortgagee sales accounted for 66.7 percent of the total units sold by auction in Q2 2016.
Contrary to the stigma often associated with auctions being associated with financial difficulties, owners are now more open to placing their properties under the hammer, said JLL.
In fact, there has been a revival of interest in this method of sales. Mortgagee sales accounted for over 65 percent of total transaction numbers in the last two years.
“(The) sale of residential properties once again led the auction scene in Q2 2016, following a surprisingly muted response last quarter,” said Mok Sze Sze, Head of Auctions at JLL.
“In the second half of the year, we expect to see more mortgagee sales coming on stream, including non-residential properties, as businesses feel the pressure of an uncertain global economic outlook,” she added.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg

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