Auction listings up by 7.1% q-o-q in 1Q2025, mortgagee sale listings likely to continue growing: Knight Frank

Four of the properties were sold at their respective opening prices: A three-bedroom apartment at Scotts Square brought $4.1 million; a HDB shophouse in Serangoon was sold for $1.9 million; a market shop at The Commerze @ Irving fetched $637,000; and a factory unit at T99 changed controls for $635,000.

Mortgagee sales accounted for 83 listings in 1Q2025, up 23.9% q-oq from 67 listings in the previous quarter. Knight Frank attributes the quarterly increase to the prolonged influence of high rates of interest all throughout 2023 and 2024, that triggered a boost in troubled assets to enter the public auction market.

In regards to real estate type, residential properties composed 45.6% (62) of complete listings, up from the 46 non commercial listings in the past quarter. Business real estates comprised 38 (28%) listings, making up 36 retail units and 2 workplace units, contrasted to 36 retail units and 6 offices listed in 4Q2024. Industrial properties composed 23.5% (32) of the overall listings, up by one listing compared to the previous quarter. There were also two shophouse listings in 1Q2025, compared to 5 in the previous quarter.

Whilst initial buyer interest was observed in 1Q2025, Knight Frank expects buyers to re-adopt “a careful wait-and-see stance” amid the growing uncertainty. That said, with more rates of interest cuts expected, the company notes that there could be a restored interest from real estate capitalists seeking to capitalise on the rise in mortgagee sale home listings.

Union Square Residences floor plan

Generally, Knight Frank is anticipating an effectiveness rate of about 5% for the whole of 2025, in accordance with the ordinary yearly auction growth rate of 5.1% extending the last ten years.

Proprietor sale listings clocked in at 43, going down 23.2% q-o-q from 56 listings recorded in 4Q2024. The standing ten auction postings were for other kinds of sales– five residential units listed as sheriff sales, three liquidator sales of factories, a financial institution sale of an industrial unit, and an estate sale of a non-landed house.

The auction market also noticed a greater success rate in 1Q2025. Seven listings were hit down last quarter, mirroring a success price of 5.1%. This is dramatically higher than the 1.6% success rate reported in 4Q2024. The 7 listings make up five mortgagee sales and two proprietor sales.

Looking forward, Knight Frank expects the uptick in mortgagee sale listings to proceed throughout the year, as more troubled properties materialise due to the extended high rates of interest in 2023 and 2024. Additionally, the extensive tolls revealed by the Trump management could bring about a dampening impact on the realty market.

Another real estate, a two-bedder apartment in D’Ecosia, was knocked down at $1.7 million– a 14.7% premium to its initial cost of $1.5 million. At the same time, a factory unit at In-Space and a one-bedder at Le Wood were brought $1.9 million and $ 1 million each, translating to discount rates of 3.8% and 2.9% from their opening prices.

“While there was no significant rise in listings in 1Q2025, this may be the calmness before the storm of cleaning global tolls and a looming trade battle strikes,” states Sharon Lee, head of auction and sales at Knight Frank Singapore.

Knight Frank associates the higher success price to even more buyer interest, as US interest rate cuts ever since September 2024 have actually encouraged buyers to keep an eye out for possibilities. The properties successfully auctioned in 1Q2025 had an overall gross sale worth of $11.9 million.

According to the agency, the boost was “unexpected”, as it overlaped with Chinese New Year events that usually cause a break in sell-off event.

The Singapore property auction market saw a total amount of 136 public auction lists (including repeat listings and excluding properties marketed outside of public auction) in 1Q2025, up 7.1% q-o-q contrasted to the previous quarter, based upon data assembled by Knight Frank Singapore.