Shophouse market ends on quiet note in 2023: Knight Frank
The lower sales volume in 2H2023 was guided by a fall in rates, with the common unit cost for shophouse deals declining by 6.1% to $5,116 psf based on acreage, contrasted to $5,448 psf in 1H2023. The fall was mainly steered by leasehold shophouse deals which saw standard unit cost plunge 34.2% from 1H2023 to $3,937 psf based on acreage. In contrast, the average unit rate for property shophouses inched up 1% to $5,389 psf contrasted to 1H2023.
Estate deals made up 105 units (79.5%) of shophouses marketed, marking a 31.4% decrease y-o-y, while average rates for this sector climbed 10.1% y-o-y to $5,354 psf. Sai mentions that the rise in rates has prompted private-wealth customers to withhold funding in anticipation of even more reasonable price levels and reduced rates of interest this year.
The leading shophouse deal in 2H2023 was the sale of three units on Jalan Besar in District 8 last September for $38.5 million. District 8 maintained its position as one of the most active district for the shophouse market, with 16 units worth $132 million marketed there in the last half of 2023. Sai credits the continued gentrification happening in the district– consisting of the continuous completion of landmark combined advancement Guoco Midtown on Beach Road– and its transformation right into a hip tourist location as reasons for sustained need for shophouses in the area.
Sai even posits that the quantity of disclosed deals might be lower than actual figures. “There is every probability that more shophouse purchases occurred between July and December, going unreported without caveats being lodged.” Sai adds that the purchases most likely included wealthy buyers who “favored to be low-key”.
Knight Frank is forecasting shophouse sales value to follow in between $1.1 billion and $1.2 billion for 2024.
Sai emphasize that interest for conservation homes has actually stayed resilient given their scarcity and historic value that underpin their potential for substantial resources appreciation. In 2H2023, the sale of a shophouse at 37 Bussorah Street in the Kampong Glam Conservation Area was the most rewarding shophouse purchase. The seller nabbed a general return of 1,196% when it was cost $4.8 million in July after being held for two decades.
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The reduced volume comes as high rate of interest and huge cost premiums urged purchasers to hold back on decision-making, claims Mary Sai, executive director, funding markets, at Knight Frank Singapore. “Some institutional purchasers, specifically those reliant on financial debt financing and recurring rental revenue for favorable gains, exercised caution and withdrew to the sidelines, adopting a wait-and-see posture.”
For the whole of 2023, 132 shophouses changed hands, representing a 30.9% drop y-o-y. Overall sales worth for the year appeared in at $1.2 billion, some 25% less than the $1.6 billion racked up in 2022.
Information compiled by Knight Frank in its most current shophouse industry report released on Jan 31 displays that a total of 53 shophouses cost $428.2 million were transacted in the final half of last year, toppling 26.4% and 35.5% compared to 1H2023 in with regards to the range of shophouses offered and overall sales value respectively. Among the 53 shophouses sold in 2H2023, over 43 (81%) were freehold deals worth $358.9 million, while the remaining 10 were leasehold deals worth $69.3 million.
However, the total typical cost of shophouses surged up in 2023, climbing up nearly 10% from $4,849 psf on land area in 2022 to $5,325 psf in 2023.
Because of this, she expects costs to trend to levels extra aligned with market expectations this year. “With a better economic expectation in 2024, in addition to with rates of interest securing and perhaps being adjusted downwards, the speed of deal task is assumed to pick up,” she continues.
Looking in front, Sai thinks that whilst total need for shophouses remains undamaged because of their restricted supply and the resources appreciation they provide over the medium-to-long term, buyers have actually started to withstand “unlikely” rate premiums provided the current atmosphere. “Vendors need to stabilize the evergreen popularity of shophouses with the higher levels of caution among buyers and moderate their profit requirements in order for a sale to materialise in the year in advance,” she adds.
While shophouse event was robust in the initial half of last year, the prevailing high interest rate atmosphere and other market uncertainties added to a downturn in the marketplace in 2H2023.
