Huttons Asia reports that the shophouse market has remained quiet in 2024, with 84 recorded transactions. This figure is below the average of 200 deals per year that were recorded between 1995 and 2023.
Senior director of data analytics, Lee Sze Teck, notes that although many buyers did not lodge a caveat, 2024 saw the lowest number of shophouse deals since 1998. The total value of the 84 transactions was $683.6 million, a 38.9% decrease from the previous year’s $1.1 billion.
However, Lee mentions that there were also several significant un-caveated shophouse deals last year, including properties on Amoy Street, Neil Road, North Bridge Road, and Telok Ayer Street, which were likely sold for more than $200 million.
The largest shophouse deal in 2024 was the sale of The Rail Mall by Paragon REIT for $78.5 million in June. Lee remarks that this is likely the largest shophouse deal on record, surpassing the previous record of $74.8 million for a row of shophouses along Jalan Sultan in March 2022.
The Rail Mall shophouses were valued at $62 million in December 2023, indicating a potential gain of $16.5 million for the seller. Most of the shophouse transactions in 2024 were for smaller quantums, with over half of the recorded deals falling in the $5 million to $15 million range.
District 8 saw the highest number of shophouse transactions in 2024, which Lee attributes to its desirable location near the city center and lower prices compared to Districts 1 and 2.
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Additionally, shophouse rents islandwide saw a 2.6% decline in the fourth quarter of 2024, with a monthly average of $6.47 per square foot. However, for the entire year, shophouse rents increased by 1.7%.
On the market for conservation shophouses, a set of properties on Telok Ayer Street is currently up for sale at $42 million.