http://www.straitstimes.com/Money/St...ry_785383.html
Real estate investments down in first quarter
Published on Apr 5, 2012
By Lo Yee
INVESTMENT in private property plunged in the first quarter as buyers retreated from the market in the wake of the economic slowdown and tougher cooling measures.
Real estate sales totalled $4 billion in the three months to March 31, 49 per cent down on the previous quarter and 53 per cent lower than the same period a year ago, according to property firm CBRE.
It defines residential deals as transactions priced from $10 million, which includes bungalows, government sites, en bloc and other deals.
There were six collective sales in the quarter totalling $454.6 million, down from $656 million in the final quarter of last year and the $669 million recorded in the same period a year ago,
Residential sales totalled about $2.5 billion or 64 per cent of total transactions in the quarter, offices accounted for 15 per cent and industrial spaces 11 per cent.
Retail sites took up 8 per cent while the remaining 2 per cent went to other sectors.
Sales of office space hit $581.4 million in the quarter, down 76 per cent from the final three months of last year.
CBRE said Asian investors in particular were keen on prime en bloc buildings.
CapitaCommercial Trust signed the biggest deal, paying LaSalle Investment Management $430 million (or $2,124 per sq ft) for Twenty Anson.
Investor demand for strata commercial space held up well - especially those priced between $1 million and $5 million.
For example, CBRE brokered $43.4 million worth of transactions from the units at The Adelphi, a strata office block. Most of its units were priced below $5 million.
They are highly sought-after by private companies and other investors switching from the residential sector after the introduction of cooling measures, said Ms Petra Blazkova, head of CBRE Research, Singapore and South-east Asia.
'Although the climate remained muted this past quarter, investors, particularly private Asian buyers, continued to be on the lookout for quality assets.'
Ms Blazkova expects private Asian investors from Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan and Singapore to continue accounting for the bulk of demand in the market, as many have sufficient funds to complete sizeable deals.
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