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Colliers noted that while investment sales could be weak in the first half of 2020, it expects a rapid recovery by the second half of the year.
Colliers International urged property owners to recycle capital into new opportunities arising from the COVID-19 crisis, including hotel and office assets for mid- to long-term growth, on the back of favourable supply-demand drivers.
In its latest report, Colliers noted that the COVID-19 outbreak has dampened the Singapore economy which is still recovering from its weakest growth in a decade.
However, the government acted swiftly and unveiled a $4 billion package, which includes property tax rebates, to cushion the effect.
Meanwhile, the primary impact of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) was felt in the second quarter of 2003. Singapore’s full year GDP growth then stood at 4.5%.
“If COVID-19 follows the same pattern, we expect negative consequences to be contained to H1 2020,” said the report.
Colliers noted that while investment sales could be weak in the first half of 2020, it expects a rapid recovery by the second half of the year. In fact, it still expects investment sales “to be up 6% to $31.3 billion” this year.
“We believe this crisis presents both threats and opportunities: retailers should take this downtime to accelerate technology adoption and offline-to-online strategies; industrial landlords could upgrade assets and improve processes; and investors should hunt for opportunities that may emerge from this crisis,” said Tricia Song, Head of Research for Singapore at Colliers International.
Meanwhile, office occupiers are advised to rethink their real space requirements and speed-up technology adoption.
“Colliers recommends that they consider a Flex-and-CoreTM strategy or split office locations, and wellness certified buildings,” added the report.
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Victor Kang, Digital Content Specialist at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email victorkang@propertyguru.com.sg
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