The lack of big-ticket items being auctioned this year led to the drop in sales value.
Singapore’s auction market registered a total sales value of $19.64 million during the second quarter of 2018, down 33 percent from $29.48 million over the same period last year, revealed Edmund Tie & Company.
On a quarterly basis, the Q2 sales figure was slightly lower than the $19.97 million registered in Q1 2018.
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The figures do not include private treaty sales as well as units transacted before or after the auction.
The property consultancy attributed the drop in sales value to the lack of high quantum properties sold this year.
Meanwhile, Q2 2017’s sales value was higher as several big-ticket items were auctioned last year. These included a bungalow at Chestnut Drive which was sold for $11.38 million, a shophouse at Jalan Besar that was transacted for $5.23 million, and three other residential units sold above the $3 million mark.
“We have transacted several high-end properties this quarter before the auctions via private treaty,” said Joy Tan, head of auction & sales at Edmund Tie & Co.
“Even so, the only auctioned unit with a higher sales value was a semi-detached unit at 25 Pasir Ris Way, within the Pasir Ris Beach Estate.”
During the quarter under review, mortgagee sales and owner/estate sales have been equally popular among bidders – a shift from previous trends.
This quarter saw five owner/estate sales totalling $11.19 million and five mortgagee sales worth $8.45 million.
In 2017, there were 33 forced-sale units under mortgagee’s, receiver’s, sheriff’s sale and 12 volunteered sale units (under owner’s, estate’s, trustee’s sale).
“In past years, we noticed that mortgagee sales have dominated the auction floor. However, owners’ listings have caught up and exceeded the number of mortgagee sales this quarter,” said Tan.
“This is a reflection of how the market has accepted auction as an alternative way to sell their properties.”
What are property auctions? For more information, read our buying guide.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
