Number Of Mortgagee Properties On Auction Block Up In Q1

Source : The Business Times, March 27, 2009

The number of repossessed properties put up for auction sale by banks and financial institutions in Singapore has risen by 18 per cent - from 45 in fourth quarter 2008 to 53 in Q1 2009, according to Colliers International.

'This indicates an impending trend of continued growth in the number of properties put up for mortgagee sale, which is in tandem with the deteriorating economy and rising level of retrenchments,' the property consultancy said in a release issued on Friday evening.

Colliers deputy managing director and auctioneer Grace Ng said: 'We can expect to see a more significant number for repossessed properties in the later part of the year or in 2010. This is due to the general lag time of approximately six months or more - between when a buyer defaults on his loan repayments and when the bank repossesses the property and puts it up for auction sale.'