Malaysian property transactions up almost 5% in 2019

PETALING JAYA (April 29): The Malaysian property market had shown marginal improvement last year (2019) with a total of 328,647 transactions worth RM141.40 billion recorded which was an increase of 4.8% in volume and 0.8% in value year-on-year (y-o-y).

According to the Valuation and Property Services Department (JPPH), majority of the property segments have seen market improvements in transaction volume with the commercial segment recording the highest y-o-y growth of 7.2%, followed by residential (6%), industrial (3.8%) and agricultural (2%). However, development land transactions dropped 1.2%.

In a media statement in conjunction with the launch of the 2019 Property Market Report by Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz today, JPPH said the residential sub-sector led the market growth, with 63.7% of transactions coming from this segment.

There were 209,295 residential property transactions worth RM72.42 billion recorded last year, an increase of 6.0% in volume and 5.3% in value from 2018. Overall performance across all states improved in the review period as well.

Notably, over half of the sold residential properties were priced RM300k and below.

Demand for affordably priced properties remained strong with 61.7% of the transacted residential properties priced below RM300,000.

Another 21.3% of the transactions came from properties priced between RM300,000 and RM500,000.

The remaining transactions (3.7%) were properties priced over RM1 million.

On the housing price trend, the Malaysian House Price Index (MHPI) continued to increase at a moderating rate. MHPI stood at 197.5 points (at base year 2010), increasing by 1.9% (3.8 points) on an annual basis (2018: 193.7 points).

On the market outlook, JPPH said there may be high near-term downside risks resulting from the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) worldwide. 

“This may dampen the anticipated economic growth, particularly for the first half year of 2020,” it added.

The globally-affected outbreak is expected to take its toll on the world economies and the Malaysian economy, in particular tourism-related sectors such as airlines, retail, food and beverage and hospitality; as well as the manufacturing and selected services sector. 

It noted that the magnitude of the impact on the Malaysian economy would depend on the duration and spread of the outbreak not only in Malaysia but also in other countries, especially those that are Malaysia’s major trading partners.

"Many incentives are given by the government in the effort to cushion-off the impact on the property market. However, given the challenging market coupled with the downside in consumers and business community confidence, market activity and market absorption are likely to be slow," it concluded.

EdgeProp Malaysia will be hosting a virtual Fireside Chat titled "The Malaysian property market picked up in 2019! Could this be its last hurrah?" through Facebook Live on May 1 at 2pm.

Join us for more insights from Rehda president Datuk Soam Heng Choon, Rehda vice-president and Selangor branch chairman Zulkifly Garib and Rehda Johor branch chairman Datuk Steve Chong Yoon on the market outlook post-MCO!

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