Auction listings up by 7.1% q-o-q in 1Q2025, mortgagee sale listings likely to continue growing: Knight Frank
The sell-off market also saw a higher success rate in 1Q2025. Seven lists were knocked down last quarter, showing a growth price of 5.1%. This is significantly more than the 1.6% success rate reported in 4Q2024. The seven listings consist of five mortgagee sales and 2 owner sales.
Mortgagee sales accounted for 83 listings in 1Q2025, up 23.9% q-oq from 67 listings in the last quarter. Knight Frank connects the quarterly rise to the delayed effect of high rate of interest all over 2023 and 2024, which created a boost in distressed assets to enter the auction market.
Four of the real estates were sold at their respective opening prices: A three-bedroom condo at Scotts Square fetched $4.1 million; a HDB shophouse in Serangoon was cost $1.9 million; a market outlet at The Commerze @ Irving brought $637,000; and a manufacturing facility unit at T99 changed controls for $635,000.
“While there was no substantial surge in home listings in 1Q2025, this might be the peace before the storm of mopping global tariffs and an impending trade battle strikes,” claims Sharon Lee, head of public auction and sales at Knight Frank Singapore.
According to the firm, the rise was “unforeseen”, as it coincided with Chinese New Year festivities that typically cause a break in sell-off event.
While initial purchaser interest was observed in 1Q2025, Knight Frank expects buyers to re-adopt “a careful wait-and-see position” amidst the growing uncertainty. That said, with further rate of interest cuts anticipated, the firm notes that there could be a renewed interest from property financiers seeking to capitalise on the rise in mortgagee sale home listings.
One more real estate, a two-bedder house in D’Ecosia, was torn down at $1.7 million– a 14.7% premium to its initial rate of $1.5 million. Meanwhile, a manufacturing facility unit at In-Space and a one-bedder at Le Wood were brought $1.9 million and $ 1 million each, converting to price cuts of 3.8% and 2.9% from their opening prices.
Knight Frank connects the higher success price to more customer interest, as US interest rate cuts since September 2024 have encouraged buyers to keep an eye out for chances. The properties successfully auctioned in 1Q2025 had an overall gross sale worth of $11.9 million.
Looking forward, Knight Frank expects the uptick in mortgagee sale listings to proceed throughout the year, as more troubled assets happen as a result of the prolonged high interest rates in 2023 and 2024. Additionally, the extensive tolls revealed by the Trump administration could bring about a dampening influence on the property market.
In General, Knight Frank is predicting a results rate of about 5% for the whole of 2025, in accordance with the typical annual auction growth price of 5.1% covering the last one decade.
In regards to real estate kind, housing properties composed 45.6% (62) of overall listings, up from the 46 non commercial listings in the last quarter. Business properties made up 38 (28%) listings, making up 36 retail units and two office units, contrasted to 36 retail units and six offices listed in 4Q2024. Industrial real estates comprised 23.5% (32) of the general listings, up by one listing contrasted to the last quarter. There were additionally 2 shophouse listings in 1Q2025, compared to 5 in the previous quarter.
Proprietor sale listings clocked in at 43, dropping 23.2% q-o-q from 56 listings recorded in 4Q2024. The standing ten auction postings were for other kinds of sales– five non commercial units itemized as sheriff sales, three liquidator sales of factories, a financial institution sale of a commercial unit, and an estate sale of a non-landed residence.
The Singapore property auction market found a sum total of 136 auction listings (including repeat listings and excluding real properties offered outside of public auction) in 1Q2025, up 7.1% q-o-q compared to the previous quarter, based upon data assembled by Knight Frank Singapore.
