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Auction listings saw a decline of 3.0% q-o-q to 96 listings in 1Q2023, according to a research report by Knight Frank. This marks a fourth consecutive quarter that owner listings exceeded mortgagee sale listings, with 57 owner listings in total in 1Q2023. Owner listings outnumbered mortgagee listings in this quarter, continuing a trend that began in 2Q2022.

Sharon Lee, head of auction & sales at Knight Frank Singapore, states that the fall in overall listings could be attributed to the Chinese New Year festivities, during which some auction activities were postponed. On a y-o-y basis, the total number of auction listings increased 20% from 80 listings in 1Q2022.

Residetial properties constituted 46.9% (45) of the total listings in 1Q2023, with 18 mortgaged properties and 20 owner properties. Other types of sales (including estate, receiver, and bank sales) made up the remaining seven listings. One notable example was a non-landed home located in St Regis Residences which was listed for receiver sale and eventually sold outside of auction for $13.5 million.

Mortgagee listings surged more than three times from 10 in 4Q2022 to 32 in 1Q2023, with an increase observed across all property types. That said, despite this q-o-q increase, residential mortgagee listings were 14.3% lower y-o-y than the 21 recorded in 1Q2022. Retail and office mortgagee listings increased to four and three respectively in 1Q2023. Industrial mortgagee listings tripled from two in 4Q2022 to seven in 1Q2023.

There was a more moderate success rate of 6.3% in 1Q2023, or six properties sold. The properties consisted of small quantum listings, with transactions ranging from $350,000 to $1.12 million. Knight Frank’s Lee attributes the trend to owners harnessing the auction platform to garner more interest for their property.

At the same time, the growing popularity of auctions among owners will also create more listings. With the general deteriorating business sentiment and cost pressures on operations, more business owners might find it challenging to keep their businesses above water. According to the Ministry of Law, there were a total of 959 bankruptcy applications between January and March – a 5.6% q-o-q and 22.2% y-oy increase.

Going forward, Knight Frank maintains the overall success rates at auctions for the whole of 2023 to be around 5% to 7%, with the higher number of bankruptcy applications filed resulting in more mortgagee listings, especially for workplace properties, in the second half of the year.