Singapore’s property market sentiment has plummeted in the wake of sweeping tariffs announced by the Trump administration, according to the latest Real Estate Sentiment Index (RESI) report.
The quarterly report conducted by the National University of Singapore (NUS) provides an alternate measure of the private real estate market’s performance by quantifying responses from senior executives of real estate firms.
According to the latest RESI report, the sentiment index plummeted from 6.0 in 4Q2024 to 4.3 in 1Q2025, ending a five-quarter streak of upward movement since 3Q2023.
“Tariffs generally raise costs both for businesses and consumers,” said Professor Qian Wenlan, director of the NUS Institute of Real Estate and Urban Studies (IREUS). “An export-oriented economy like Singapore is vulnerable in an environment where the costs of doing business are elevated, especially given that the US is one of our top trading partners.”
At the top of respondents’ minds was the fear of a global economic slowdown, with 88% of responses citing it as a top risk, up from 70.4% in 4Q2024. It was followed closely by the second-most cited risk factor, job losses and a decline in the domestic economy. Fears of the economic impact of tariffs on the local economy jumped from 29.6% in 4Q2024 to 70.8% in 1Q2025.
Potential risks ranked by survey respondents (Source: NUS Real Estate)
By sector, industrial and logistics properties saw the steepest drop in sentiment, suffering a 36-point swing from an 11% positive outlook in 4Q2024 among respondents to a 25% negative outlook in 1Q2025. Similarly, the office sector fell 18 points from a 7% negative outlook to a less optimistic 25% negative outlook.
“A weaker business environment will exert a spillover effect into the property sector, and with the exception of business parks and high-tech spaces, which stayed flat, sentiment fell across the board,” said Qian.
However, with trade negotiations still ongoing, Qian adds that it is still too early to predict how the global economy will eventually pan out.
