Property prices likely to continue downtrend in Malaysia: PropertyGuru

Property prices in the country are likely to continue their downtrend for at least the first half of the year (1H19), despite improving consumer sentiment and proactive government policies announced in the Budget 2019, online property company PropertyGuru said. It said in a statement that this is validated by the company’s Market Index, which shows that asking prices of homes in Malaysia continue to show a 2.3% drop year-on-year.

The Market Index is an analysis of over 250,000 property listings aggregated and indexed. PropertyGuru said its online portal, which has over 1.3 million Malaysians searching for properties, has seen a surge of interest in the following property hotspots identified in the various states of Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang and Johor.

While there has been a dip in asking prices, it said the demand for properties in Kuala Lumpur is still strong with the most popular and highly searched areas being Bangsar, Mont Kiara and Cheras.

It said the property types that are most searched in these three areas are condominiums, followed by apartments and townhouses, noting the reason for high-rises being the most preferred property type in Kuala Lumpur may be due to the more affordable entry price points.

In terms of the price bracket, PropertyGuru said many are searching below the RM300,000 bracket which is not feasible for the locations that are preferred, since many of these locations are priced above the affordability range.

The company said demand for properties in Selangor continues to be high despite declining prices, with properties in Petaling Jaya, Shah Alam, and Subang Jaya topping the list in this order.

It said properties that are most searched for in these areas are condominiums, followed by apartments and two-storey terrace houses, with many looking at transit-oriented development properties.