Market sentiment for shophouses on the rise: Report

Many non-caveated deals indicate higher actual number of sales, say property agents

- Joyce Lim

The commercial shophouse market appears to be on the upswing despite just 16 caveats being lodged between April and June, as nearly 12 transactions were not caveated, PropNex noted in a shophouse research report released on July 25.

The caveats filed in the second quarter of 2024 were 30 per cent lower than the 23 lodged in the first three months of the year.

But property agents say market sentiment has in fact improved, noting that the actual number of sales is higher, owing to more noncaveated transactions.

"My team closed over 20 shophouse deals; some of them had caveats lodged. We have received more interest now and prices are still firm," said Mr Richard Tan, founder of PropNex Shophouse Elites.

PropNex noted that nearly a dozen deals did not have caveats lodged, including shophouses in Amoy Street, Geylang Road and Chinatown.

"I sold six shophouses in the past three months, and all the buyers did not want to lodge a caveat as they wanted to keep a low profile," added Mr Tan.