Singapore’s investment property market put in a very strong showing in 2Q2017. According to a report by CBRE, preliminary investment property sales volume jumped 76.2% q-o-q to $9 billion, surpassing the previous high of $8 billion recorded in 4Q2016.

The largest deal inked for the quarter was Mercatus Cooperative’s acquisition of Jurong Point (below) for $2.2 billion. This led to a higher domestic investment volume of $6.2 billion in the quarter, an increase of more than 3.5 times q-o-q. The residential collective sales market also saw momentum with four transactions by local developers amounting to $1.5 billion. This is the highest investment volume of collective sales since 2Q2011. The largest private collective sale transaction in 2Q2017 was the acquisition of Eunosville by MCL Land for $765.8 million.

“Under tight residential supply conditions from the Government Land Sales scheme, going the private collective sales route is an alternative way to shore up land banks,” says Desmond Sim, head, CBRE Research, Singapore and South East Asia.

“The recent successful sales have kick-started the collective sale process for a number of projects,” adds Sim. Singapore’s investment sales currently stand at $14 billion. CBRE says it expects investment sales to remain healthy for the rest of the year.