In the first half of 2023, 11 property units were sold in Singapore's real estate auction market, with sales totalling S$15.2 million, according to the latest figures released by Dai Yusheng Industrial Consultants on 3 August. This is the lowest sales total since the outbreak of the epidemic in the first half of 2020, when only one property unit was sold for S$940,000.

Tan Zi Ping, Director of Auctions and Sales at Tai Yee Cheong Properties, explained that the reason for the lower sales total in the first half of the year was that most of the transactions were low-priced transactions at less than or just over S$1 million. There was only one high-priced transaction above S$5 million.

The lone high-priced deal was a three-storey semi-detached house on Vaughan Road, which sold for S$6.3 million.

Singapore property auctions in H1 2023 totalled $15.2 million, a three-year low since H1 2020

Data source: Dai Yuxiang Industrial Consulting

In addition, buyers are generally on the sidelines due to high interest rates, cooling measures announced in April and uncertainty in the overall macro environment.

She added that of the 11 property units sold at auction in the first half of 2023, seven were all industrial units, with the remainder being three residential units and one office unit.

The seven industrial units sold include:

2 units at North View Bizhub, Yishun sold for S$440,000 and S$460,000 respectively.

One unit at Tuas Lot, Tuas was sold for S$350,000.

2 units at Enterprise Hub, Cheuk Yuen Road East were sold for S$1.02 million.

1 unit at Midview City, Seng Min Lane sold for S$850k.

A unit in Tong Lee Building, Kallang Pudding Road, sold for S$1.89 million.

Singapore Property 2023 first-half auction totalled $15.2 million, a three-year low since the first half of 2020.

Tan Zi Ping said that investors are increasingly accepting properties with shorter remaining leases (usually 30 to 60 years) due to continued volatility in the financial markets, higher risk tolerance and a preference for alternative investment opportunities.

At the same time, the decrease in the number of residential sales may be attributed to the expected increase in the supply of public and private homes later this year, while potential buyers will become more cautious due to external factors such as global uncertainty, the impending recession and the Federal Reserve's high interest rate policy.

In the first half of 2023, a total of 160 properties were put up for auction. Of these, 111 units (69 per cent of the total number of properties auctioned) were for sale by owner and 49 units (31 per cent) were mortgaged for sale. In the first half of 2022, a total of 211 properties will be put up for auction; of these, 98 units (46% of the total number of properties put up for auction) will be for sale by owner, and 113 units (53%) will be mortgaged for sale.

The first half of this year has seen an increase in the number of properties for sale by owner compared to the same period in 2022,said Chan.

This suggests that owners are becoming more receptive to auctions as a method of sale, as they offer the security of a reserve price and are a quicker and more transparent way for both sellers and buyers to bid.

The number of mortgage-for-sale listings is expected to increase in 2024 due to the time lag between banks repossessing a property and putting it up for auction, Ziping Chen added. The number of residential auction units is likely to increase in the second half of the year after the market has fully digested the cooling measures taken since April. On the commercial property front, with its exemption from the Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD), family offices in Singapore are gradually increasing and some reasonably priced offices will be favoured by foreign investors.

Dai Yuxiang Industrial Auction & Sales Team is one of the top real estate auction teams in Singapore. Apart from being very familiar with the local situation in Singapore, we are able to help buyers and sellers to find the right sales channels for their properties, whether it is a shophouse, an industrial building, and so on. If you would like to know more about Dai Yuxiang Properties, you may contact Tan Zi Ping directly.