Shophouse deals in 2024 remained below the yearly average of 200 transactions recorded between 1995 and 2023 (Picture: Samuel Isaac Chua/The Edge Singapore)
The shophouse market has stayed relatively muted in 2024, logging a total of 84 caveated transactions, says Huttons Asia. In its latest quarterly research report on the shophouse market, the consultancy says that the figure remains below the yearly average of 200 shophouse deals recorded between 1995 and 2023.
“While quite a number of buyers did not lodge a caveat, shophouse deals in 2024 are probably the lowest since 1998,” remarks Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics at Huttons Asia.
Transaction volume and quantum of shophouses in 2024
The 84 caveated shophouse transactions in 2024 had a total value of $683.6 million, falling 38.9% from the $1.1 billion deal value registered the year before.
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However, Lee says that shophouse transactions that were not caveated last year include a number of “substantial” deals for properties on Amoy Street, Neil Road, North Bridge Road and Telok Ayer Street, which he estimates were sold for more than $200 million.
The biggest shophouse deal in 2024 was Paragon REIT’s divestment of The Rail Mall, a strip mall on Upper Bukit Timah Road with 43 shop units, for $78.5 million in June. “This is likely to be the biggest shophouse deal on record, breaking the previous high of $74.8 million paid for a row of shophouses along Jalan Sultan in March 2022,” Lee comments.
Top 5 shophouse transactions by quantum in 2024
The Rail Mall shophouses were valued at $62 million as of December 2023, which means the seller made an estimated gain of about $16.5 million on the sale, he adds.
Most of the shophouse deals in 2024 were done at smaller quantums. Over half the caveated deals were valued at $5 million to $15 million.
In addition, almost half of the shophouse transactions last year occurred in District 8, which Lee attributes to its attractive city-fringe location and lower prices compared to Districts 1 and 2.
Meanwhile, islandwide rents for shophouses moderated for a second consecutive quarter, falling 2.6% q-o-q to $6.47 psf per month in 4Q2024. Nonetheless, for the whole of 2024, shophouse rents were up by 1.7%.
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