Global investors eye S'pore's commercial property market

Deals in the sector amounted to $8.94b in Q3, up nearly 40% from Q2, says Colliers

- Angela Tan

Overseas investors charged back into Singapore's commercial property market in the third quarter of 2024 after spending most of 2023 on the sidelines.

High-profile global firms and publicly listed buyers have accounted for about 75 percent of activity in the commercial real estate space so far this year, said investment research firm MSCI.

Most of this buying in 2024 has been in the industrial and residential sectors, including hotels, while interest in offices has fallen.

Real estate deals in the commercial investment space amounted to $8.94 billion in the three months to Sept 30, up nearly 40 percent from the second quarter of 2024 and 27.5 percent from the third quarter in 2023, noted property consultant Colliers.

Colliers estimates that investment sales will total between $22 billion and $24 billion in 2024, a 5 percent to 15 percent growth compared with 2023.

Singapore and other regional markets have been hit by higher interest rates over the past couple of years, but the prospect of lower borrowing costs has whetted institutional appetite for commercial real estate.