Friday 26 April 2013

Home prices to rise 10-15%



By Farah Wahida:

Prices of residential properties in Malaysia are expected to increase between 10 percent and 15 percent this year, said C H Williams Talhar and Wong Sdn Bhd (WTW), a real estate service firm.

According to WTW’s Managing Director Foo Gee Jen, sales of new housing projects will be sustained this year thanks to robust demand for residential properties.

“Areas of high demand will be close to the high-level infrastructure projects such as Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Komuter train lines,” he told the media during the launch of the WTW‘s Property Market Report 2013 yesterday.

“A big volume correction will be seen this year. House prices will remain generally flat but prices could face upward pressure from rising materials prices and other cost-push factors,” Foo said.

At the same time, landed residential segment is predicted to remain resilient with stable growth. However, developer could launch fewer units with higher prices, in an effort to sustain profit margins and test consumer reaction.

“In tandem with that, they are putting in more eco-friendly and green building features as an added value to the projects,” noted Foo.

“We have seen developers veering away from high-end niche developments and switching to more mid-range products in tandem with the government's PR1MA scheme.”

Meanwhile, the outlook for the mass-market residential segment is very positive.

“We can expect units in this segment to continue to find a ready market.  High-end residential properties continue to sell well in the major cities of Johor Baharu, Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu and Penang.”

“We can expect with the seemingly strong demand, prices may be pushed upwards,” Foo added.

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