The total value of land transactions in Singapore, currently at $13 billion year-to-date, may surpass the peak of $14.1 billion recorded in 2011, according to data from Real Capital Analytics and research by Cushman & Wakefield. Should all public and private pipeline deals materialise by the end of the year, it would add $3.4 billion, bringing the total value of land transactions to about $16.4 billion.

The average premium paid for the top residential sites over comparable sites is 22%, while the premium amounted to 36% for commercial sites. 18 residential projects, with a total value of $6.34 billion, have been sold this year, the highest in 10 years.

The highest residential land transaction so far this year is the Stirling Road GLS site, with sold for $1 billion. Amber Park and Normanton Park sold for $906.7 million and $830.1 million respectively.

As market sentiment improves in the next two to three years, says Christine Li, head of research at Cushman & Wakefield, developers are sourcing for land sites to ride the wave of growth for the rest of the decade.

Cushman & Wakefield expects overall private residential prices to rise by up to 5% next year, and office rents to go up by 9% y-o-y.