GEORGE TOWN, June 20 – Malaysians hoping for cheaper homes will be disappointed as prices will keep rising despite a decline in the number of properties sold last year, said Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents president Siva Shanker.

Citing figures released by the Ministry of Finance for 2013, Siva pointed out that the number of property transactions fell by 10.9 per cent.

“This technically means the property market in Malaysia is in a recession as the number of properties sold had fallen,” he told a press conference after the official launch of Malaysian Secondary Property Exhibition (Maspex) Penang 2014 here.

Despite the drop in property sales, he said property prices were set to continue climbing.

“For 2013, the value of properties transacted increased by almost 7 per cent,” he said.

He advised home buyers not to play the “waiting game” in hopes that property prices would drop.

“There is virtually no data to indicate that property prices will go down so don’t wait because it will continue rise,” he said.

He said property prices nationwide had continued to rise steadily every year and there was no reason for it to drop.

“We see an increase in value of properties of between 7 and 9 per cent each year,” he said.

He suggested that first-time home buyers considered the secondary market when looking for a home.

“More than 70 per cent of the overall property transactions come from the secondary market and the prices of properties in this market are also lower than new launches,” he said.

The secondary market refers to pre-owned houses that are several years old in mature locations.