Record investment year in sight as volumes surge 86.6% in 9M

H1 sales of $35.2b had already surpassed 2025’s full-year total before Q3.

Singapore’s investment market is on course for a record year in 2026, with year-to-date volumes through the third quarter already 86.6% above the same period last year.

Cushman & Wakefield’s Q3 2026 MarketBeat said that “2026 is shaping up to be a record year for investment sales, with volumes reaching $44.3b for 2026 YTD (Q1-Q3 2026), or an 86.6% yoy increase compared to the same period last year.”

This remains in line with the company’s earlier projection in Q2 when investment volume reached $15.5b. Despite a 21.1% QoQ decline, that was still the highest Q2 investment sales volume since Q2 2022.

“With H1 2026 investment sales volumes ($35.2b) already surpassing 2025’s full-year total, 2026 investment sales is on track to set a record high, exceeding the previous peak of $36.8b recorded in 2017,” the company said.

As global interest rates stay elevated,the company said  investors are increasingly focused on income-driven returns over cap rate compression, with well-located assets offering visible recurring cash flows and/or potential rental upside drawing the strongest interest.

Q3 investment volume fell 41.1% QoQ to $9.1b, led by residential ($5.3b), followed by industrial ($1.7b) and mixed/others ($1.3b).

Residential investment volume rose slightly by 0.9% QoQ, with activity largely driven by the public market, which saw the award of 5 Government Land Sales (GLS) sites.

Notably, the GLS site at Lorong Puntong / Sin Ming Avenue was sold at $1,612 per square foot per plot ratio, surpassing expectations and setting a new record price for a residential-zoned site in the Rest of Central Region (RCR).

The mixed/others sector’s investment volume more than doubled, led by the sales of Wheelock Place ($1.1b) and Cuppage Terrace ($175m).

Commercial investment activity was dominated by the sales of several big-ticket retail assets, including Scotts Square ($310m) and Rivervale Mall ($276m).

“Whilst office investment activity dipped in Q3 2026, office volumes could rebound in Q4 2026 if major assets currently on the market, including Marina One, Frasers Tower (50% stake), 30 Raffles Place, and Lazada One, materialise,” Cushman & Wakefield said.