Singapore shophouse deals drop 43% to $169m in Q1

The largest deal was worth $47.5m.

In a report, Cushman and Wakefield said Singapore shophouses continued to appeal to investors, such as high net-worth individuals, for wealth preservation and diversification due to their palatable quantum and potential for capital appreciation. 

Island wide shophouse total transaction volume rose 54.9% qoq to $169.1m in Q1 2024, based on caveats lodged as of 1 April 2024, though it declined 43.0% on a yoy basis. 

Here’s more from Cushman and Wakefield:

The largest shophouse deal was reportedly the sale of three adjoining shophouses on Duxton Road for $47.5m (caveats not lodged for this transaction). Based on caveat data, a significant shophouse transaction was 223,225,227 Geylang Road for $18.7m. Notably, given its value-add potential, this Geylang Road shophouse divestment reaped a capital gain of about 82.0% or $8.0m since its acquisition less than 4 years ago. 

In contrast, strata office volumes remained soft due to a lack of new launches, though prices have been largely stable. 

Industrial assets remained in favour among investors due to their relatively higher yields and favourable long-term prospects. The largest industrial deal was the end-user acquisition of OneTen Paya Lebar, a rare freehold hi-tech industrial building with approval for data centre use, for $140m. The sale highlights the robust interest for data centre assets in Singapore amidst limited supply.