Fewer Properties Going Under the Hammer in 2023

• A total of 348 listings in 2023, reflecting a 24.2% decrease YoY
• More owner listings than that of mortgagee, indicating owners’ increasing acceptance of auction as a mode of sale
• Total sale value in 2023 at S$33.21 million

 Singapore, 29 January 2024 – A total of 348 properties were put up for auction in 2023, reflecting a 24.2% decrease YoY from 2022. Of the 348 properties, 225 (65%) were owner listings, 105 (30%) were mortgagee listings, while the remaining 18 (5%) were of other listing types . Notably, the proportion of owner listings has exceeded that of mortgagee in the past three years.

Number of Properties Put Up at Auctions (By Type)

Source: EDMUND TIE

Ms Joy Tan (陈紫萍), Head of Auction & Sales at EDMUND TIE, says, “There are fewer properties put up for auction in 2023, mainly due to both the healthy rental and resale markets. Correspondingly, owners could still service their loan timely despite the interest rates and sellers were also able to relinquish their properties quickly.

One observation is that in addition to the auction route, banks nowadays are also more open to exploring private treaty sales, expression-of-interest or tender exercise to move the properties, especially those of higher quantum value.”

Meanwhile, the higher proportion of owner listings than that of mortgagee in the last three years has been encouraging. This demonstrated that owners in Singapore are getting more sophisticated in leveraging different disposal vehicles, one of which is auction, to sell their properties.

Ms Tan comments, “The beauty of using auction is minimising the probability of owner-buyer negotiation which could be a tiresome process, as a reserve price would have already been set prior to the auction. Plus, genuine buyers will have their funds ready at the auction to bid and the Sales and Purchase agreement is executed immediately after auction, resulting in a transparent and efficient sales process.”

Property Auction Sales Performance

The Singapore property auction market concluded 2023 with 21 properties sold, achieving a total sale value of S$33.21 million. This marked a 62.7% YoY decrease from 2022; the last comparable in property auction sales was in 2020 that recorded S$27.34 million.

Year 2019-2023: Property Auction Transaction Performance

Source: EDMUND TIE

Of the 21 properties sold by auction, 12 were industrial properties, 8 were residential and 1 was office.

Notably, the highest transacted property in 2023 was an industrial unit (4,795 sq ft) in Eunos Techpark, hammered down at S$5 million. This was followed by a residential apartment (1,948 sq ft) in Sommerville Park at Farrer Drive that was sold for S$4.45 million.

Other high-value transactions via auction in 2023 included:

• An apartment in Watertown at Punggol (1,259 sq ft) sold for S$2.11 million
• An industrial unit in Tong Lee Building at Kallang Pudding (2,820 sq ft) sold for S$1.89 million
• An apartment in Tree House (1,227 sq ft) at Chestnut Avenue sold for S$1.85 million
• An apartment in Esparina Residences at Compassvale Bow (829 sq ft) sold for S$1.16 million
• 2 industrial units in Enterprise Hub at Toh Guan (4,639 sq ft and 4,628 sq ft) each sold for S$1.09 million

Outlook

Looking ahead, Ms Tan says, “On the back of the expected public and private residential supply coming onstream this year, coupled with competition from other sellers with comparable properties in the market, owners may find it more challenging than previous years to secure tenants or dispose of their properties. Consequently, the number of properties listed for auction would probably trend upwards.”

END

¹ Other listing types include: Executor sale, estate sale, receiver sale, trustee sale and sheriff sale, among others.