Despite several concerns this year, the property market is expected to
remain bullish in 2013 and prices are unlikely to drop, said Nixon Paul,
President of Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA).
In a report by Business Times,
Paul noted that investors were coming back in the second half of 2012,
particularly in the last two months while transactions remained strong.
He
said one of the misconceptions that emerged was the oversupply of
office space as manufacturing based companies relocate to China.
“And
then there was Bank Negara Malaysia's responsible lending guidelines
which affected the market initially but the market bounced back
eventually,” he said, adding that the valuation part, where banks
disagree with the price initially agreed upon by the buyer and seller,
was the biggest frustration faced by the property market.
“But
other than that, it has been a good year for the property market and
will remain that way next year. Prices will generally be stagnant and
not likely to drop. In areas where there is land scarcity, prices will
go up a bit,” he said.
In concurring, Gerald Kho, Chief Executive
Officer of Reapfield Properties, said “the market will remain strong
next year where prices will continue to increase if the stock
availability remains tight.”
Since the implementation of the
responsible lending guidelines, the quality of buyers stayed strong with
the last month being a very busy month for property agents, added Kho.
“If this continues into the first half of 2013, there is no reason the second half can't be stronger.”
