Malaysia - Housing

[winston]

Property market to remain challenging in 2016 - Rahim & Co

BY NADYA NGUI

Rahim & Co. says prices are still expected to rise but it would be more marginal for the residential sector

KUALA LUMPUR: The property market is expected to remain challenging with moderate activity in 2016, says real estate consultancy firm Rahim & Co.

It said on Thursday that prices are still expected to rise but it would be more marginal for the residential sector.

"Depending on location and type of property, some may see price consolidation as the gap between sellers' asking prices closing towards buyers' expected prices," it said.

It added that more focus will be seen on the affordable housing segment as well as the secondary markets with strong owner-occupier demand.

Rahim & Co also said that the office sector will ask remain challenging as absorption of new supply coming into the market is expected to slow down.

"Prices as well as rental rates are to remain competitive and the same is to be seen for the retail sector.

"Retail sales are expected to face some tougher times fuelling the pressure in rental rates amidst decaying consumer sentiments," it said.

However the market will still remain cautious whereby buyers are definitely becoming more discerning in their purchases across all sectors, while expecting bargain purchases to slowly creep up in the market.

Source: The Star

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Home prices may go up at a lower 5% to 8%

BY NADYA NGUI

KUALA LUMPUR: The property market is expected to remain challenging, with the hike in house prices slowing to between 5% and 8% this year, compared with 7% to 10% last year.

Rahim & Co Chartered Surveyors Sdn Bhd director Sulaiman Akhmady Mohd Saheh expects prices to rise but sees only marginal price gains for the residential sector.

“Depending on location and type of property, some may see price consolidation as the gap between sellers’ asking prices is closing towards the buyers’ expected prices,” he said during the firm’s property market review.

He said that there were concerns that the number of transactions may drop this year, as new property launches could face more challenges and slower take-up.

He said that based on average annual household incomes to the price of average terraced homes, housing affordability could have slightly improved last year compared with 2014 although house prices in general continued to increase.

“Nevertheless, housing affordability is still a big concern especially in urban centres and major towns throughout the country.

“The ratio improved from 3.6 in 2014 to 3.4 last year, which indicates that an average terraced house would cost an average household or family in Malaysia 3.4 times its annual gross income,” said executive chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Abdul Rahman.

Note that the least affordable terraced house in Malaysia last year was in Sabah, with a 5.7 times ratio, Penang, 5.3 times, Kuala Lumpur, 5.2 times and Sarawak, at 4.5 times.

He said that home ownership continued to be beyond the reach of many Malaysians, especially the younger generation.

“The ratio indicate that generally our houses are still moderately unaffordable. For Sabah, Penang and Kuala Lumpur, average prices of terraced houses are even categorised as severely unaffordable,” he said.

He added that the pace of construction and completion for affordable housing needed to be improved in order to address the issue of affordability.

“It is progressing but there should be more effort, for example in PR1MA. Among these, PR1MA is to provide 175,000 units where 74,399 units are currently in various stages of construction. “At present, only 10,000 units is due to be completed by the end of the year.

“That 74,399 units under construction should be intensified instead of completing 10,000 units by the end of the year,” he noted.

For the commercial sector, particularly the office sector, it will still remain challenging as absorption of new supply coming into the market is expected to slow down.

More office buildings are expected to undergo refurbishment to prevent tenants from relocating to newer office buildings.

However, there are concerns on whether the retail property sector might be heading into a glut in supply as a number of malls are being launched within Klang Valley.

Last year, retail sales were affected by the goods and services tax, which was implemented from April as well as a weakening ringgit, driving up costs and lowering consumer spending.

Source: The Star

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High-end condo prices to remain flat

BY P. ARUNA

Property prices in the high-end condominium segment will remain flat, while rental prices fall, due to increased competition between existing units and new launches, said property consultancy firm Knight Frank Malaysia.

Source: The Star

http://www.thestar.com.my/business/busi ... main-flat/

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What first time house buyers must know to get the loan

Source: The Star

http://www.thestar.com.my/business/busi ... -the-loan/

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Property sector will not crash

Soam says the property sector is only facing a slight slowdown and not headed for a crash.

PETALING JAYA: The property sector is not heading towards a crash, according to the Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda).

This is despite low take-up rates at developers’ launches, slow secondary market, and high loan rejection rates for mortgages.

At the 2016 Rehda Property Forum, moderator and IJM Corp Bhd CEO and managing director, Datuk Soam Heng Choon said the property sector was only facing a slight slowdown and not headed for a crash.

Savills Malaysia executive chairman Chris Boyd, who was a forum panelist, noted that a crash was marked by a sudden drop in housing prices and a sharp rise in interest, both of which have not happened.

Rehda is in discussion with the Government to bring back the developers interest bearing scheme in a different form for first-time house buyers.

Source: The Star

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Property sales rose in 2H 2015

BY INTAN FARHANA ZAINUL

PETALING JAYA: Property sales rose to about 18% in the second half of 2015 compared to the first half of 2015, although property launches slowed, according to a survey by the Real Estate and Housing Developers' Association Malaysia (Rehda).

In the first half on 2015, 5,195 units were sold compared to 4,371 unit sold in first half of 2015.

The survey showed 62% of respondents reported that unsold units mainly from Selangor, Johor and Pahang in the second half of 2015 from 78% in the first half due to better sales.

Rehda president Datuk Seri FD Iskandar said sales for low cost houses and single-storey terrace units saw a pick up in the second half of 2015. Bigger residential units such as bungalows and semi-detached units also saw an increase during the period.

“Developers see that home seekers are sensitive to price, hence they will modify their launches to more smaller-sized units,” he told reporters during his presentation on the property industry survey 2H 2015 and market outlook for 2016.

He said that high-rise properties remain popular among home-buyers.

Iskandar expects property prices to remain stable with houses priced between RM200,000- RM1mil to lead the market.

Source: The Star

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not vested

Most experts rule out the possibility of a property crash

BY THEAN LEE CHENG

Source: The Star

http://www.thestar.com.my/business/busi ... rty-crash/

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Affin: Property sector could see a turnaround

Slowdown may have reached the bottom, says research house

The research house, in a report yesterday, said the local property sector could see a turnaround following three consecutive quarters of subdued transactions.

Source: The Star

http://www.thestar.com.my/business/busi ... urnaround/

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House buyers’ trap

BY CHANG KIM LOONG

House purchasers lose their homes because of defaulting developer

Source: The Star

http://www.thestar.com.my/business/busi ... yers-trap/

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Sunway offers 88% financing to boost sales

Source: The Star

http://www.thestar.com.my/business/busi ... ost-sales/