Mickey Mouse

by Jo-Ann Huang Limin
05:55 AM Dec 17, 2010

SINGAPORE - With more prime real-estate changing hands, the sale value at property auctions in the Republic has shot up 33 per cent from the previous year to a total of $223.9 million this year, according to property consultant Colliers International.

The increase - up from last year's sale value of $168.39 million - is lower than the decade-high of $407.43 million recorded in 2007 and comes despite a 39.8 per cent dip in auction sale volumes this year.

Colliers International attributes this to an increase in the sale of high-value properties.

According to Colliers, 11 high-value properties - those which are valued above $5 million - were among the 71 properties sold this year.

Last year, there were just two high-value properties among the 118 sold. It added that high-value properties performed well amid a slowdown in the mass-market segment, which experienced dampened demand due to moderating prices and government cooling measures,

Said Colliers International deputy managing director Grace Ng: "The robust sale of high-value properties was fuelled by the pick-up in demand for landed homes... as well as the returning confidence of investors, which is evidenced by the number of en bloc investment-grade properties bought by institutional investors during the year."

Source: www.todayonline.com