28 Mar 2025
Retail Property Market 2025: Trends Shaping Investor Strategies
Property Insight

Singapore's retail landscape demonstrated resilience in 2024, underpinned by a sharp rebound in international visitor arrivals and strategic investor activity. Visitor arrivals surged by 21.5%, growing from 13.6 million in 2023 to 16.5 million in 2024, with strong contributions from Mainland China, Indonesia, and India. This growth was fueled by a robust calendar of high-profile events—including concerts by global artists like Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, and Coldplay, as well as the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix and Singapore Art Week—which bolstered tourism-related sectors like retail and hospitality.

Retail property transactions in 2024 moderated slightly, registering approximately 250 caveated transactions compared to 272 in 2023. Despite this moderation, District 7 (Middle Road/Golden Mile) emerged as the top-performing district with 52 transactions. This reflects investor confidence tied to the transformation of the Golden Mile Complex into The Golden Mile, integrating retail, office, and medical suites alongside the upcoming Aurea residential tower. Districts 14 (Geylang, Eunos) and 9 (Orchard, River Valley) followed with 35 and 32 transactions, respectively, underscoring demand for strategically located and historically stable commercial zones.

From a project perspective, Parklane Shopping Mall led with 12 transacted retail units, indicating sustained interest in older, strata-titled developments with flexible configurations. Far East Plaza and Sim Lim Square also recorded strong activity, each with 10 units transacted, appealing to niche businesses and tourist-centric trades.

Notably, City Developments Limited’s acquisition of Delfi Orchard for S$439 million highlighted institutional interest in Orchard Road’s rejuvenation. Other high-value deals included transactions along Irrawaddy Road, North Bridge Road, and Beach Road—signaling a preference for prime, high-footfall locations.

The leasing market also improved, with total retail rental value rising by 2.7% year-on-year from $254.5 million in 2023 to $261.2 million in 2024. Median rentals held firm across multiple regions, with the North and North-East regions commanding premium rates. Fringe and Central Areas also experienced rental recovery, reflecting sustained demand in key retail corridors.

Looking ahead to 2025, Singapore's retail sector is poised for continued growth. The Singapore Tourism Board projects 17.0 to 18.5 million visitors, generating up to $30.5 billion in tourism receipts. This optimism is supported by new attractions such as Illumination’s Minion Land at Universal Studios Singapore and the Disney Adventure Cruise Line, both expected to draw significant regional traffic.

Retail will also benefit from a vibrant MICE calendar, bringing in high-spending business travelers. Experiential retail, the integration of physical and digital commerce, and evolving consumer expectations will continue to shape leasing and investment trends. While external risks such as geopolitical uncertainties and macroeconomic fluctuations persist, the sector remains anchored by Singapore’s strong fundamentals, diversified tourism base, and investor confidence in well-located assets.

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Prepared By:

Mohan Sandrasegeran

Head of Research & Data Analytics

Email: mohan@sri.com.sg  

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Property Insight
13 Feb 2026
Budget 2026 Analysis: What It Means for Singapore’s Property Market

Singapore Budget 2026 is delivered against a backdrop of heightened global uncertainty, including geopolitical tensions and financial market fragility. Despite these external headwinds, Singapore’s macroeconomic outlook remains steady, with GDP growth projected at 2% to 4% and inflation expected to moderate to 1% to 2%. These forecasts reflect a stable economic environment that supports business confidence and household resilience. The Budget reinforces Singapore’s long-term strategy of anchoring high value industry clusters, investing in research and innovation, and strengthening structural competitiveness. Together, these measures provide a firm foundation for the property market across residential, industrial and commercial segments.

On the industrial front, the Government’s continued emphasis on anchoring high value industry clusters such as advanced semiconductor packaging, aerospace and biomedical sciences carries direct implications for space demand. These sectors require high specification facilities including cleanrooms, advanced manufacturing space and research laboratories. 

A key highlight of Budget 2026 is the strengthening of One North as Singapore’s AI and innovation nucleus. The development of a larger AI park and the launch of national AI Missions across advanced manufacturing, connectivity, finance and healthcare signal a coordinated push to embed artificial intelligence across core economic sectors. 

Within this evolving ecosystem, the upcoming Hudson Place Residences at Media Circle Parcel A is well positioned to benefit from One North’s continued expansion. Its proximity to research facilities, transport infrastructure, educational institutions and business parks situates it within a live work environment anchored by structural economic transformation rather than short term cyclical drivers.

Finally, Budget 2026 introduces broad based cost of living support across all HDB flat types, including cash payouts, GST Vouchers, MediSave and CPF top ups, CDC Vouchers, U Save rebates and S and CC rebates. These measures cushion household expenses, strengthen balance sheets and reinforce affordability within the housing ecosystem.

Overall, Budget 2026 signals policy continuity, economic resilience and calibrated growth. For the property market, the combination of structural economic transformation, disciplined supply management and household support measures points toward a stable and sustainable trajectory in 2026 and beyond.

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Prepared By:

Mohan Sandrasegeran

Head of Research & Data Analytics

Email: mohan@sri.com.sg

Property Insight
11 Feb 2026
What Lies Ahead for Singapore Rental Market in 2026

The Singapore rental property market has entered a more stable and balanced phase heading into 2026, following a period of sharp adjustment in earlier years. Data from 2025 points to a market that remains fundamentally resilient, underpinned by genuine housing demand rather than speculative pressures. Total non-landed rental transactions rose by 3.8% year on year to 84,622 units, reflecting sustained leasing activity even as rental growth moderated and conditions normalised.

Leasing momentum in 2025 was broad based across all market segments. The Core Central Region recorded the strongest growth, with rental transactions increasing by 5.7% to 25,532 units. This reflects a gradual return of depth in the prime rental segment, supported by expatriates, senior professionals, and corporate tenants who continue to prioritise centrality, connectivity, and proximity to employment nodes. 

At the project level, rental demand in 2025 remained concentrated within large scale, well located developments across all regions. In the CCR, projects such as The Sail @ Marina Bay, D’Leedon, and Marina One Residences continued to anchor leasing activity due to their proximity to employment hubs and transport infrastructure. In the RCR, Normanton Park emerged as the top performing project by rental transactions following its recent completion, highlighting strong tenant acceptance for large, amenity rich city fringe developments. In the OCR, rental demand was more evenly distributed across multiple projects, reflecting tenant preferences for affordability and convenience rather than concentration in a single dominant development.

Overall, the rental market in 2026 is likely to be characterised by stability rather than acceleration, supported by steady employment conditions, population stability, and a more balanced supply environment.

 

Click

here

for the full report:  

 Prepared By: 

Mohan Sandrasegeran 

Head of Research & Data Analytics 

  

  

Email:

mohan@sri.com.sg

  

Property Insight
11 Feb 2026
CDL and Woh Hup Emerge as Top Bidder for Tanjong Rhu Road GLS at $1,455 psf ppr

The tender for the residential Government Land Sales site at Tanjong Rhu Road has officially closed, with a joint venture between CDL and Woh Hup emerging as the top bidder at $1,455 $psf ppr, translating to a total land price of about $709.3 million. The tender attracted 5 bidders, signalling sustained developer interest in rare city fringe sites with strong long term locational fundamentals.

Notably, this site marks the first residential land parcel released for sale in the Tanjong Rhu area in more than 2 decades. The previous GLS site in the vicinity was awarded in 1997 and subsequently developed into Water Place. The long interval since the last land release underscores the scarcity of new private residential opportunities in this established waterfront precinct, enhancing the appeal of the site to both developers and future homebuyers.

The level of participation reflects continued confidence in well located Rest of Central Region sites, even within a more calibrated and disciplined bidding environment. Developers appear increasingly mindful of demand conditions, upcoming supply visibility and cost considerations, contributing to bids that remain competitive while staying measured.

The site benefits from direct access to Tanjong Rhu MRT station on the Thomson East Coast Line, providing seamless connectivity to major employment and lifestyle nodes such as Marina Bay, Orchard and Changi Airport. It is also located near the Singapore Sports Hub, which is set to be progressively rejuvenated under the Kallang Alive Masterplan. Over time, this transformation is expected to introduce more community focused waterfront spaces, enhanced recreational facilities and a more vibrant lifestyle environment, further strengthening the liveability of the precinct.

Based on planning parameters, the site is expected to yield approximately 525 private residential units, allowing for a meaningful development scale while preserving the exclusivity associated with a waterfront city fringe address. With limited new private residential supply in the immediate vicinity, the future development is well positioned to attract interest from both owner occupiers and long term investors.

Overall, the outcome of the Tanjong Rhu Road GLS tender reflects the continued effectiveness of a calibrated ramp up in land supply. By improving visibility over the future housing pipeline, the GLS programme supports a healthier development environment and contributes to more balanced and sustainable pricing dynamics over the longer term.

Click

here

for the full report:  

 Prepared By: 

Mohan Sandrasegeran 

Head of Research & Data Analytics 

  

  

Email:

mohan@sri.com.sg