“We are clearly seeing greater transaction momentum compared with the past one to two years,” said Chua Yang Liang, JLL South-east Asia head of research and consultancy, as reported by The Business Times.
“Investment managers are actively acquiring and recycling capital, and portfolio transactions are gradually re-emerging, particularly in the retail and industrial segments. Competitive tension has increased for high-quality assets, especially where there is a clear value-add or repositioning angle.”
Among the latest blockbuster transactions, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust sold Asia Square Tower 2 to the IOI group for nearly SGD2.5 billion (US$1.9 billion) in April, before redeploying the proceeds into the SGD3.9 billion acquisition of Paragon mall from Cuscaden Peak Investments, according to Reuters.
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Asia Square Tower 2 in Singapore. Photo by CapitaLand |
The rise in deal activity has intensified competition among capital markets teams.
“We have more than doubled our mandates compared with one to two years ago and are seeing roughly 1.5 to two times more assignments than before,” said Shaun Poh, executive director of capital markets at Cushman & Wakefield (C&W).
Since December, the firm has completed six major transactions worth around SGD2.6 billion, some of which were jointly marketed with Savills Singapore.
These included the SGD809 million sale of The Clementi Mall to Chinese investor Elegant Group in December 2025 and Altallo Asset Management’s SGD175 million acquisition of 158 Cecil Street in February.
Poh said C&W is currently negotiating another six to seven commercial deals valued at more than SGD300 million each.
Market revived
After nearly two subdued years during a high-interest-rate environment, declining financing costs and renewed investor confidence have drawn buyers back into the market and revived previously stalled deals.
Jeremy Lake, managing director of investment sales and capital markets at Savills Singapore, said the sharp fall in the Singapore Overnight Rate Average from around 3-4% in early 2025 to just above 1% by year-end had improved investment underwriting.
Tricia Song, head of research for Singapore and Southeast Asia at CBRE, said office sector transactions in the first four months of 2026 had already exceeded the total volume recorded for the whole of 2025.
Singapore was also the top-performing commercial real estate market in the Asia-Pacific in the first quarter of 2026, with transaction volume jumping more than fourfold year on year to US$7.9 billion, according to U.S.-based financial services firm MSCI.