Real estate investments up 1.1% q-o-q in 2Q2025 amid cautious activity: Knight Frank
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 offered to IOI Properties Group, CDL’s joint venture partner for South Beach. The arrangement hit up private sales to $4.6 billion last quarter, composing the bulk of total investment sales at 79.2%.
Commercial agreements even amounted to approximately $1.8 billion last quarter, soaring 17.8% q-o-q on the back of the South Beach transaction. Nevertheless, the number is 10.5% lesser on a y-o-y basis.
Hospitality asset sales climbed up 284% q-o-q to $585.8 million in 2Q2025. Quantity was sustained 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, while Momentus Serviced Residences Novena was purchased by Weave Living, BlackRock and Lian Beng Group for $100 million.
Residential deals dropped 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 grant of two Government Land Sale (GLS) sites at Lentor Gardens and Shore Drive for $1 billion collectively. The quarter also saw the first residential cumulative sale of the year: the 24-unit, property River Valley Apartments, which cost $56 million in February.
In contrast, 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 notable industrial offers closed up 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.
Nonetheless, underlying interest in Singapore stays intact, claims Galven Tan, Chief Executive Officer of Knight Frank Singapore. “Active capital stays eager on thematic fields, that will see more success with the narrowing of the bid-ask space.”
Knight Frank observes that sales activity will “remain prudent and judicious” going into the 2nd fifty percent of the year. However, 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 most having a capacity of less than 600 new homes, well inside the favoured parameters for developers,” Tan says.
Real estate investments in Singapore observed measured activity in 2Q2025, as markets encountered volatility taken on by the US’s announcement of sweeping excises and the unfolding Israel-Iran problem. Research Study by Knight Franks shows that $5.8 billion in investment sales were documented last quarter. This stands for a q-o-q grow of just 1.1%, along with a 13.9% y-o-y decrease.
The industrial market additionally recorded 2 successful collective sales last quarter. Ching Shine Industrial Building fetched $113.2 million in April, while MacPherson Industrial Complex sold for $103.9 million in May.
Knight Frank has kept its financial investment sales projection for the complete year, reaching between $27 billion and $30 billion.
