Property mart to remain stable this year: WTW
Published on: Friday, March 06, 2015
Kuala Lumpur: The Malaysian property market is expected to remain stable this year despite the economic uncertainty and the forthcoming implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on April 1.CH Williams Talhar & Wong Sdn Bhd Managing Director Foo Gee Jen said as long as there was population growth, demand for properties would always be there."The market is driven by demand. If there is demand, there will definitely be supply and in Malaysia, the population is still growing," he told reporters after launching the 2015 Property Market Report for, the Klang Valley, Penang and Johor Bahru.
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The report also said following the implementation of GST, house prices would increase by four per cent."Prices of landed residential are unlikely to come down especially for houses in the mid-range where demand exceeds supply," the report said, adding that sales activity could, however, contract drastically.Meanwhile, for high-rise properties, the report said rental rates would remain competitive, which would be favourable for tenants, as incoming supply in 2015 would exert more pressure on occupancy rates.The report also forecast that prime retail rental was expected to remain around RM22 per square foot.
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"Consumers will be cautious over their spending with sales on big items likely to be affected while retail sales is expected to remain resilient with the implementation of GST," the report added. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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However, it said the average occupancy rate may dip with the influx of new hotels and rooms in the coming years. –Bernama
