HOME PRICES SOAR IN KUALA LUMPUR, SELANGOR, JOHOR, NEGERI SEMBILAN AND PENANG.

Malaysia is expected to be swamped with residential properties this year, in anticipation of a buying rush before the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) in April 2015.
Despite the central bank’s tougher mortgage rules, buyers will likely buy a house this year before they get too expensive due to the GST.

As such, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) should implement measures to prevent panic in the market, which could negatively affect the country’s housing sector.

Nevertheless, the property buying trend in Malaysia is still “looking good”, especially in major urban centres such as Johor, Penang, Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, noted Kho.

“We have seen consistent strong search of properties in these areas from our portal. Search of apartment/condominium and terrace/link house seem to be on the rise compared to semi-detached units and other high value properties.” But the most noticeable is the strong demand for mid-tier properties.

In terms of prices, residential values are still rising despite the government’s anti-speculation measures. In fact, the national house price index rose by 10.1 percent year-on-year in Q3 2013 compared to a 11.9 percent growth in 2012.

Specifically, nominal home prices in Kuala Lumpur rose by 14.4 percent, with current prices at RM650,000 on average. This was followed by Selangor where prices average RM400,000, revealed the Valuation and Property Services Department (JPPH).

Furthermore, home prices have soared in Johor by 20.4 percent, while those in Negeri Sembilan and Pulau Pinang have increased by 6.3 percent and 14.3 percent respectively.

Editor: Farah Wahida