KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 4 — High-end homes in Malaysia are expected to take a dip due to weakened demand among buyers pending the rollout of a controversial consumer tax in April, Moody's Investors Service said in a report today.

The bond credit rating agency said in its latest quarterly report on Southeast Asian countries, that sales will likely be dampened by inflationary pressures tied to policies set out by the government and central bank.

“We expect the anticipation of higher mortgage rates in 2015 and the implementation of a 6 per cent goods and service tax in April to dampen sales in 2015 as buyers take a wait-and-see approach,” Moody's assistant vice-president Jacintha Poh was quoted as saying by Singapore's Straits Times.

Poh noted that the slowdown is expected to bear down on developers that have invested heavily in boom areas such as Kuala Lumpur, Johor, Penang and Selangor, where units are typically priced above RM1 million and aimed at high-income households or foreign investors.

Despite the projected decline, Moody's expects Malaysia's top-five developers - the Sunway Group, SP Setia, UEM Sunrise, IJM Land and Mah Sing Group - to remain resilient in terms of revenue.

Moody's Malaysia assessment was part of the agency's latest edition of Inside ASEAN, which looks at major credit trends in the region.

It was reported last month that Malaysia's real estate market will expand at a lower rate this year due to Putrajaya's cooling measures and mounting economic uncertainty tied to the April implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the ongoing slump in global crude oil prices.

In 2012, Putrajaya doubled property gains tax and prohibited developer interest bearing schemes in a bid to rein in spiralling home prices.

International property consultants Knight Frank said the uncertainty in the country's economy has shifted focus towards affordable housing, prompting “an outlook of caution“ due to the resulting glut in luxury properties.

A high number of bookings of high-end housing have also not translated into actual sales due to tighter lending guidelines set by Bank Negara Malaysia, in a bid to deal with high household debt that is at nearly 87 per cent of gross domestic product.

JF Apex Research was earlier reported by The Star daily as saying that overall property transactions are expected to decline by 10 per cent, with house prices expected to either plateau or rise slightly by up to 5 per cent once GST kicks in on building materials.

The research house expects the property market to moderate across the board, especially in the Klang Valley, Penang and Johor due to Malaysia's challenging economic outlook, stricter mortgage approval, the government's cooling measures and cautious buyer sentiments ahead of GST implementation.