The largest office transaction of the year went to Allianz Real Estate and Gaw Capital Partners, which acquired Duo Tower and Galleria for S$1.58 billion. M+S/THE STRAITS TIMES
Real estate investment sales in Singapore more than doubled in the third quarter to S$16.74 billion (US$12.2 billion), from S$6.7 billion in the previous quarter, on the back of big-ticket office transactions.
This was also 49 per cent up on the volume in the first and second quarters combined, said a Cushman & Wakefield report on Monday.
The commercial sector led the way with sales of S$6.27 billion. The largest office transaction of the year so far went to Allianz Real Estate and Gaw Capital Partners, which acquired Duo Tower and Galleria in the Bugis area from M+S for S$1.58 billion or S$27,660 per square metre. Another Bugis deal was Angelo Gordon and TCRE Partners’ purchase of Bugis Junction Towers from Keppel Reit for S$547.5 million or S$23,680 per square metre.
The retail sector also saw activity, with Lendlease injecting 313@Somerset into its Reit (real estate investment trust) for S$1 billion.
Lendlease Global Commercial Reit’s initial public offering was also well received with a share price rise of 4.5 per cent on the first day, the Cushman report added.
Industrial sector transactions hit S$4.07 billion in the third quarter, driven largely by Reits.
Mapletree Investments injected Mapletree Business City II into Mapletree Commercial Trust for S$1.55 billion or S$14,080 per square metre.
Keppel DC Reit continued to grow its data centre portfolio by buying 1-Net North Data Centre for S$201.8 million, as well as a 99 per cent stake in Keppel DC Singapore 4 for S$384.9 million.
Residential deals accounted for S$3.03 billion, while the hospitality sector recorded S$2.92 billion with higher investment volumes.
Royal Group sold Darby Park Executive Suites for S$160 million to Indonesian tycoon Bachtiar Karim, after its initial purchase from Sime Darby Group last year. This resulted in a 72 per cent profit after the site was rezoned from residential to hotel use.
PAM Holdings and Datapulse Technology bought Bay Hotel Singapore for S$235 million, while a joint venture by Hong Kong financial services firm AMTD Group and Far East Consortium International acquired Oakwood Premier OUE Singapore for S$287.1 million.
The total amount of sales this year is around S$27.98 billion and is “increasingly likely” to surpass last year’s level of S$33.96 billion, said Christine Li, Cushman & Wakefield’s head of research for Singapore and Southeast Asia.
Shaun Poh, Cushman & Wakefield’s executive director of capital markets, noted that in a tight commercial supply market such as Singapore’s, it is tempting for assets to chase price gains – which is where the market is headed now, creating a gap between sellers’ and buyers’ expectations.
“Still, Singapore’s gateway city status and its stable fundamentals make it an attractive destination for foreign funds,” he added.
THE STRAITS TIMES (SINGAPORE)/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
