Auction listings up by 7.1% q-o-q in 1Q2025, mortgagee sale listings likely to continue growing: Knight Frank

In terms of real property type, non commercial properties made up 45.6% (62) of complete listings, up from the 46 home listings in the last quarter. Commercial properties comprised 38 (28%) listings, making up 36 retail units and 2 office units, contrasted to 36 retail units and 6 offices listed in 4Q2024. Industrial properties composed 23.5% (32) of the overall listings, up by one listing contrasted to the previous quarter. There were additionally two shophouse listings in 1Q2025, compared to five in the past quarter.

In General, Knight Frank is forecasting a results price of about 5% for the entire of 2025, in line with the average annual auction success rate of 5.1% extending the last 10 years.

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The Singapore property auction industry found a total amount of 136 auction listings (including repeat listings and leaving out real properties offered beyond auction) in 1Q2025, up 7.1% q-o-q contrasted to the previous quarter, based on information put together by Knight Frank Singapore.

While initial purchaser interest was observed in 1Q2025, Knight Frank expects buyers to re-adopt “a cautious wait-and-see stance” in the middle of the expanding uncertainty. That said, with further rates of interest cuts prepared for, the company notes that there could be a renewed interest from property investors looking for to capitalise on the rise in mortgagee sale postings.

The sell-off sector additionally saw a higher success rate in 1Q2025. Seven lists were knocked down last quarter, mirroring a growth rate of 5.1%. This is significantly greater than the 1.6% success rate recorded in 4Q2024. The 7 listings comprise 5 mortgagee sales and two owner sales.

Mortgagee sales accounted for 83 home listings in 1Q2025, up 23.9% q-oq from 67 listings in the previous quarter. Knight Frank connects the quarterly rise to the delayed influence of high rates of interest all throughout 2023 and 2024, which triggered a rise in troubled assets to get in the public auction market.

Proprietor sale lists clocked in at 43, going down 23.2% q-o-q from 56 listings recorded in 4Q2024. The standing ten auction postings were for other sorts of sales– five residential units listed as sheriff sales, three liquidator sales of factories, a financial institution sale of an industrial unit, and an estate sale of a non-landed home.

According to the firm, the increase was “unanticipated”, as it overlaped with Chinese New Year events that commonly lead to a time-out in sell-off event.

Four of the real estates were sold at their respective opening prices: A three-bedroom apartment at Scotts Square brought $4.1 million; a HDB shophouse in Serangoon was sold for $1.9 million; a retail outlet at The Commerze @ Irving fetched $637,000; and a manufacturing facility unit at T99 changed controls for $635,000.

Knight Frank associates the higher success price to even more buyer interest, as US interest rate cuts ever since September 2024 have actually motivated buyers to keep an eye out for opportunities. The properties effectively auctioned in 1Q2025 had an overall gross sale worth of $11.9 million.

“While there was no significant surge in listings in 1Q2025, this could be the calm before the storm of sweeping worldwide tariffs and a looming trade war strikes,” claims Sharon Lee, head of public auction and sales at Knight Frank Singapore.

Another property, a two-bedder apartment in D’Ecosia, was torn down at $1.7 million– a 14.7% premium to its initial rate of $1.5 million. On the other hand, a factory unit at In-Space and a one-bedder at Le Wood were yielded $1.9 million and $ 1 million respectively, translating to discount rates of 3.8% and 2.9% from their first rates.

Looking forward, Knight Frank anticipates the uptick in mortgagee sale listings to proceed throughout the year, as even more troubled properties happen as a result of the long term high rates of interest in 2023 and 2024. Furthermore, the widespread tariffs revealed by the Trump administration might lead to a dampening effect on the real estate sector.