Rahim & Co: Property market expected to improve in 12 to 18 months

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 16): Property consultancy firm Rahim & Co said it expects the Malaysian property market to recover within the next year or so, as the decline in property transactions is seen to be slowing down.

Rahim & Co director Sulaiman Akhmady Mohd Saheh (pictured) pointed out that the market has been declining since it peaked in 2012.

"The market peaked in 2011 and 2012 and had fallen in 2013, and the drop continued to 2016. By the third quarter of 2016, the total volume dropped by 11.9% while value dropped by 16.4%.

"Since 2010, we had an average of 96,000 transactions per quarter but for the first three quarters of 2016, it averaged below 80,000, which reflects the current subdued market," he said during the company's review of the Malaysian Property Market and the prospects of 2017 today.

While he acknowledged that 2017 would still be a slow year for the property market, he noted that the rate of decline has been slowing down.

"The market will be slowing down its decline in 2017, and we hope that within the next 12 to 18 months it will halt its decline. It'll gradually pick up from there on," he said.

Meanwhile, Rahim & Co founder and executive chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Abdul Rahman pointed out that based on historical data, the local market has a 10-year cycle. He explained that the market sees a dip every 10 years before rebounding.

"Every 10 years, the market dips. It'll dip for about two to three years and then it rebounds. 2015 was a good year but 2016 was a subdued year and it will remain subdued in 2017.

"I am very confident of Malaysia's economy. In spite of what has been said, I think the economy will recover. The oil prices are also stabilising, which is encouraging. I am confident that we will come out of this subdued position within the next 12 to 18 months," he said.

Rahim added that the local market could see a 10% increase in transactions over the next 24 months. — theedgemarkets.com

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