Auction listings up by 7.1% q-o-q in 1Q2025, mortgagee sale listings likely to continue growing: Knight Frank
Proprietor sale listings clocked in at 43, dropping 23.2% q-o-q from 56 listings recorded in 4Q2024. The remaining ten auction postings were for other kinds of sales– five residential units itemized as sheriff sales, three liquidator sales of factories, a financial institution sale of an industrial unit, and an estate sale of a non-landed residence.
“While there was no significant rise in listings in 1Q2025, this could be the calm before the storm of cleaning global tariffs and a looming trade battle strikes,” claims Sharon Lee, head of public auction and sales at Knight Frank Singapore.
In terms of property kind, residential properties comprised 45.6% (62) of total listings, up from the 46 non commercial listings in the past quarter. Industrial properties comprised 38 (28%) listings, consisting of 36 retail units and 2 office units, compared to 36 retail units and 6 offices listed in 4Q2024. Industrial properties made up 23.5% (32) of the general listings, up by one listing contrasted to the previous quarter. There were likewise 2 shophouse listings in 1Q2025, contrasted to five in the past quarter.
Mortgagee sales accounted for 83 listings in 1Q2025, up 23.9% q-oq from 67 listings in the previous quarter. Knight Frank associates the quarterly rise to the postponed effect of high rate of interest all throughout 2023 and 2024, that triggered a rise in troubled assets to go into the public auction market.
While initial purchaser interest was observed in 1Q2025, Knight Frank anticipates buyers to re-adopt “a cautious wait-and-see stance” in the middle of the growing uncertainty. That said, with more rate of interest cuts anticipated, the agency notes that there could be a restored interest from real estate capitalists looking for to capitalise on the boost in mortgagee sale home listings.
According to the firm, the boost was “unforeseen”, as it matched with Chinese New Year festivities that generally lead to a time-out in auction event.
Looking forward, Knight Frank anticipates the uptick in mortgagee sale listings to continue throughout the year, as more distressed properties materialise as a result of the extended high interest rates in 2023 and 2024. Additionally, the extensive tariffs announced by the Trump management could result in a dampening influence on the real estate industry.
Overall, Knight Frank is forecasting a success rate of about 5% for the entire of 2025, in accordance with the typical annual auction growth rate of 5.1% spanning the last 10 years.
The auction sector also noticed a greater success rate in 1Q2025. Seven listings were hit down last quarter, reflecting a growth price of 5.1%. This is substantially greater than the 1.6% success rate reported in 4Q2024. The 7 postings consist of five mortgagee sales and two owner sales.
One more property, a two-bedder apartment in D’Ecosia, was knocked down at $1.7 million– a 14.7% premium to its starting price of $1.5 million. Meanwhile, a factory unit at In-Space and a one-bedder at Le Wood were sold for $1.9 million and $ 1 million respectively, converting to discounts of 3.8% and 2.9% from their starting prices.
Four of the properties were sold at their respective opening prices: A three-bedroom residence at Scotts Square brought $4.1 million; a HDB shophouse in Serangoon was cost $1.9 million; a retail shop at The Commerze @ Irving obtained $637,000; and a factory unit at T99 altered hands for $635,000.
The Singapore property auction industry found a total of 136 auction lists (including repeat lists and excluding real properties sold beyond public auction) in 1Q2025, up 7.1% q-o-q contrasted to the previous quarter, based upon data assembled by Knight Frank Singapore.
Knight Frank attributes the higher success rate to more customer interest, as US interest rate cuts ever since September 2024 have encouraged buyers to look out for possibilities. The properties efficiently auctioned in 1Q2025 had an overall gross sale value of $11.9 million.
