Capitaland’s J’Den Condo is J’Den Condo set to be released in 2023, located at Jurong East station. It will include commercial space and be surrounded by amenities. Prices of residential units are expected to be S$2,000 to S$2,100 psf.

in Singapore

Investment activity in Asia Pacific (APAC) decreased significantly in 1Q2023, with quarterly volumes reaching their lowest since 4Q2011, according to a research report by Knight Frank. This drop was driven by broad-based declines across domestic, as well as cross-border investments and sectors.

Despite this, Singapore remained the only market to record higher investment volumes, with a total of US$4.3 billion in 1Q2023, compared to US$3.3 billion the year before. This volume was supported by the sale of a portfolio of retail assets by Mercatus Co-Operative, a unit of NTUC Enterprise Co-operative.

In contrast, commercial transaction volumes from APAC to North America rose over 400% y-o-y to US$13.9 billion ($18.6 billion) in 1Q2023. This marked a new record high and was driven by investor interest in more efficient price discovery in mature and liquid markets, such as the US. The US accounted for the highest proportion of APAC outbound investments last quarter at 58%, followed by Canada at 27%.

Singapore topped the list in terms of investments in North America, representing 89% of 1Q investment volumes. GIC invested the most, with multiple deals in the market, including a US$8.5 billion investment in US REIT Store Capital and its US$3.3 billion purchase of Canada’s Summit Income Industrial Reit. The latter deal propelled APAC investments into Canada to US$3.9 billion in 1Q2023, a record high for Singapore capital outflows into the country.

Other notable Singapore investors in North America during 1Q2023 included City Developments, which made a US$468.2 million purchase of the St Katherine’s Dock estate in London.

Asian sovereign wealth funds dominated APAC outbound investments in 1Q2023, accounting for 79% of the total volume. Knight Frank notes that the retail and industrial sectors were the most invested, making up 45% and 40% of the investment volume respectively. This can be attributed to repricing opportunities in a rising rate environment, coupled with limited competition.

In other regions, investments in Seoul hit their lowest level since 1Q2015, with a transaction volume of US$2.8 billion, or a y-o-y drop of 80%. Meanwhile, in Japan, although foreign investments rose, overall transaction volume fell 17% y-o-y to US$9.4 billion in 1Q2023, owing to banks tightening financing.

Neil Brookes, global head of capital markets at Knight Frank, maintains that asset repricing and confidence in stabilising debt costs will result in increased investor demand. He adds that ultra-high-net-worth investors, with their unique investment goals and resilience to financial headwinds, are expected to play a pivotal role in capital deployment.