Auction listings up by 7.1% q-o-q in 1Q2025, mortgagee sale listings likely to continue growing: Knight Frank
In General, Knight Frank is forecasting an effectiveness price of around 5% for the whole of 2025, in accordance with the average yearly auction growth rate of 5.1% covering the last one decade.
Looking forward, Knight Frank expects the uptick in mortgagee sale listings to proceed throughout the year, as even more troubled possessions materialise because of the long term high interest rates in 2023 and 2024. In addition, the prevalent tolls revealed by the Trump administration could bring about a dampening impact on the realty sector.
While initial buyer interest was monitored in 1Q2025, Knight Frank anticipates buyers to re-adopt “a careful wait-and-see position” amidst the growing uncertainty. That said, with further rates of interest cuts anticipated, the firm notes that there could be a renewed interest from property financiers seeking to capitalise on the increase in mortgagee sale home listings.
Mortgagee sales represented 83 listings in 1Q2025, up 23.9% q-oq from 67 listings in the last quarter. Knight Frank associates the quarterly rise to the prolonged impact of high interest rates all throughout 2023 and 2024, which caused a rise in troubled assets to go into the public auction market.
Knight Frank attributes the greater success price to more customer interest, as US interest rate cuts since September 2024 have encouraged buyers to look out for opportunities. The properties successfully auctioned in 1Q2025 had a complete gross sale value of $11.9 million.
In terms of real property type, housing properties made up 45.6% (62) of total listings, up from the 46 residential listings in the past quarter. Commercial real estates comprised 38 (28%) listings, consisting of 36 retail units and two office units, compared to 36 retail units and 6 offices listed in 4Q2024. Industrial properties made up 23.5% (32) of the overall listings, up by one listing contrasted to the previous quarter. There were also two shophouse listings in 1Q2025, contrasted to five in the previous quarter.
Four of the real properties were cost their respective opening prices: A three-bedroom apartment at Scotts Square fetched $4.1 million; a HDB shophouse in Serangoon was cost $1.9 million; a retail shop at The Commerze @ Irving obtained $637,000; and a manufacturing facility unit at T99 changed controls for $635,000.
Owner sale lists clocked in at 43, going down 23.2% q-o-q from 56 listings recorded in 4Q2024. The remaining ten auction listings were for other kinds of sales– five non commercial units listed as sheriff sales, three liquidator sales of factories, a bank sale of an industrial unit, and an estate sale of a non-landed residence.
Another property, a two-bedder house in D’Ecosia, was torn down at $1.7 million– a 14.7% premium to its opening cost of $1.5 million. On the other hand, a manufacturing facility unit at In-Space and a one-bedder at Le Wood were sold for $1.9 million and $ 1 million each, translating to price cuts of 3.8% and 2.9% from their first rates.
“While there was no considerable surge in home listings in 1Q2025, this might be the calmness before the storm of sweeping international tariffs and a looming trade war strikes,” states Sharon Lee, head of auction and sales at Knight Frank Singapore.
According to the company, the rise was “unanticipated”, as it overlaped with Chinese New Year events that usually result in a lull in auction event.
The Singapore property auction market saw a total amount of 136 auction listings (including repeat listings and leaving out properties marketed outside of auction) in 1Q2025, up 7.1% q-o-q compared to the previous quarter, based on data compiled by Knight Frank Singapore.
The sell-off sector also noticed a higher growth rate in 1Q2025. Seven listings were knocked down last quarter, mirroring a success rate of 5.1%. This is significantly more than the 1.6% success rate reported in 4Q2024. The 7 listings comprise five mortgagee sales and 2 proprietor sales.
