Data centres and healthcare properties most profitable in 2024 REIT market

Cushman & Wakefield reports a 9.7% total return rate for data centres last year.

Data centres registered a total return rate of 9.7% in the Singapore REIT Market by property type in 2024, followed by healthcare properties with 6.9%, emerging as the most profitable properties for the year, according to Cushman & Wakefield. 

In Singapore, the iEdge S-REIT total return index for 2024 was at 3%. Based on the data from the Singapore Exchange, positive total returns were observed across multiple property types in 2024.

Total returns for retail and office REITs remained negative at -2.1% and -5.1%, respectively, but the losses narrowed significantly compared to 2023. 

Total returns for diversified REITs saw another decline to -5.6%. For industrial and logistics REIT, it declined significantly to -7.9%.

Singapore’s REITs recorded an average leverage ratio of 39.3% in 2024, a rise of 1.2 percentage points from 2023. 

Regulatory and structural changes proved beneficial. Singapore has streamlined leverage ratio requirements for all REITs, providing flexibility for growth while promoting financial prudence

Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan account for more than 70% of the total Asia REIT market share as of the end of 2024.