KUALA LUMPUR, March 24 ― Malaysians are adjusting to the new “cooling measures” in the property sector; resulting in them adopting a cautious approach to purchase or invest.
They are waiting to see how the cooling measures announced in Budget 2014 would affect the property market, iProperty Group Chief Executive Officer, Shaun Di Gregorio, said.
“While Malaysians digest and react to the latest cooling measures, the property market can expect a slowdown,” he said in a statement.
Based on the iProperty.com Asia Property Market Sentiment Report 2014 for the first half of this year, he said affordability and rising house prices continue to remain a major concern.
On a scale of one to 10 ― one being very affordable and 10 not being affordable at all ― respondents rated the current affordability of property prices at 7.5, Di Gregorio said.
He said 79 per cent of respondents expect the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), effective April 1, 2015, will come with the risk of inflation.
The survey findings, which attracted 6,865 respondents from Malaysia, also showed that 70 per cent of them believed the GST implementation would lead to increase in property prices.
In terms of highly popular areas for investment are Petaling Jaya, Ara Damansara, Puchong, Iskandar Malaysia, Penang and Melaka, Di Gregorio said.
He said 51 per cent of Singaporean respondents expressed strong interest in wanting to invest in Iskandar Malaysia as landed property was the key favourite followed by private condominiums. ― Bernama
