Real estate investments up 1.1% q-o-q in 2Q2025 amid cautious activity: Knight Frank
Residential bargains fell in 2Q2025, dropping 52.3% q-o-q and 57% y-o-y to $1.8 billion. The majority of residential sales originated from the award of 2 Government Land Sale (GLS) locations at Lentor Gardens and Lakeside Drive for $1 billion collectively. The quarter even viewed the very first residential cumulative sale of the year: the 24-unit, estate River Valley Apartments, which cost $56 million in February.
Sales in 2Q2025 were reinforced by City Developments’ (CDL) sale of its 50.1% stake in office development South Beach at a $1.4 billion valuation. The stake was sold to IOI Properties Group, CDL’s joint venture partner for South Beach. The agreement bumped up private sales to $4.6 billion last quarter, making up the bulk of total investment sales at 79.2%.
The industrial market also recorded two successful collective sales last quarter. Ching Shine Industrial Building fetched $113.2 million in April, while MacPherson Industrial Complex brought $103.9 million in May.
Commercial transactions also yielded around $1.8 billion last quarter, soaring 17.8% q-o-q on the back of the South Beach transaction. However, the figure is 10.5% lower on a y-o-y basis.
On the other hand, industrial activity picked up in 2Q2025, with investment sales surging 560% q-o-q and 311% y-o-y to hit $1.6 billion. According to Knight Frank, several remarkable industrial transactions closed in May, including the sale of 9 Tai Seng Drive for $455.2 million, the sale of The Strategy business park in Jurong for $280 million, and the sale of 5 Science Park Drive for $245 million.
Hospitality asset sales climbed up 284% q-o-q to $585.8 million in 2Q2025. Quantity was supported by the sale of Citadines Raffles Place by CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, CapitaLand Development and Mitsubishi Estate Asia for $280 million. In addition, boutique hotel 21 Carpenter was sold by 8M Real Estate for $100 million, whilst Momentus Serviced Residences Novena was bought by Weave Living, BlackRock and Lian Beng Group for $100 million.
Knight Frank has maintained its financial investment sales projection for the complete year, reaching in between $27 billion and $30 billion.
Nonetheless, underlying interest in Singapore stays intact, states Galven Tan, CEO of Knight Frank Singapore. “Active capital stays eager on thematic sectors, which are going to see more success with the narrowing of the bid-ask gap.”
Real estate investments in Singapore saw assessed activity in 2Q2025, as markets encountered volatility brought on by the US’s news of sweeping excises and the unraveling Israel-Iran conflict. Research by Knight Franks shows that $5.8 billion in investment sales were recorded last quarter. This represents a q-o-q raise of only 1.1%, as well as a 13.9% y-o-y decrease.
Knight Frank views that sales event will “remain prudent and judicious” entering into the second fifty percent of the year. Nevertheless, the 2H2025 GLS programme is expected to sustain sales. “The ten brand-new GLS sites presented in the 2H2025 Confirmed List are generally in good places, with a lot of having a potential of less than 600 new homes, well within the favoured parameters for developers,” Tan says.
