Real estate activity in Singapore was down by 45 percent year-on-year during the first six of this year, according to real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield (C&W).
In the first half of 2019, real estate activity in Singapore stood at $11.24 billion, whereas in 2020, it felt to $6.13 billion.
In the second quarter, preliminary investment volume stood at S$3.06 million, compared to $3.07 billion in the first three months of 2020.
Cushman & Wakefield said in a statement, “As there is uncertainty over the duration of the crisis and when tourism will return to the pre-pandemic levels, a significant proportion of hospitality asset owners could be seeking to exit the sector in favour of more stable asset classes, which could lead to some deals in future quarters.”
According to Cushman & Wakefield’s executive director for capital markets Shaun Poh, owners are expected to sell their assets to free up liquidity, and funds with a fixed fund life will be planning their exits.
He said, As past recessions have shown, there are gains to be reaped when investors enter during the period when the market is going through a repricing to find its balance. We are starting to see some market activity around investors sniffing out these opportunities and these might potentially be inked in the later part of the year.”
However, activities in the commercial real estate sector surged by 66 percent to $2.02 billion in the second quarter, when compared to the first three months of 2020.
This is attributed to the merger between Frasers Logistics Trust and Frasers Commercial Trust, which accounted for $1.25 billion, or around 41 percent of the total commercial volume.