KUALA LUMPUR – PropertyGuru announced in a statement on April 27 that its latest Malaysia Property Market Index (MPMI) report registered a downtrend in overall asking prices by 0.84% QoQ and 1.79% YoY – to 87.86 index points – in the first quarter of 2021.
“This dip may be attributed to buyers’ apprehension as they take a wait-and-see approach due to the resurging COVID-19 infections and the imposition of a second Movement Control Order (MCO 2.0) which impacted commercial activity,” said PropertyGuru.
“With the backdrop of pandemic-related economic uncertainties, we believe that the market sentiment will remain cautious as the property market is expected to see fluctuating price trends in the coming months. However, the increased rate of vaccinations across Malaysian society is expected to bring more stability and improve consumer sentiment as the year progresses,” said Sheldon Fernandez, Country Manager of PropertyGuru Malaysia.
He added that the government’s plan to extend the Home Ownership Campaign (HOC) till the end of 2021 is also a welcomed boon to the market, as it will continue to play an important role in spurring buyer interest as economic conditions begin to improve across the year.
In Kuala Lumpur, Johor, and Penang, the overall asking prices dropped by 0.66%, 0.29%, and 1.36% respectively QoQ, while Selangor sees asking prices remain in the positive territory at 0.01%.
“In Q1 2021, Kuala Lumpur’s YoY asking price dropped by 5.00%, the highest recorded dip since PropertyGuru launched its market index in 2016. This more than two-year downtrend is now being accelerated by the pandemic and can be seen as a price correction trend that began following a challenging economic period and highly-priced mismatched property offerings.”
“According to MyPropertyData, investors make up 79% of the property transaction in Malaysia last year, an increase of 38% from previous year. The price correction trend observed in KL, Johor, and Penang may continue to spur this growth,” said PropertyGuru.
While the overall asking prices in Malaysia have dropped both on a QoQ and YoY-basis, in contrast, the MPMI found that the overall supply listings tracked on PropertyGuru saw a growth of 2.71% QoQ. It also recorded a spike of 15.85% YoY in Q1 2021, the highest growth since Q1 2020, indicating an upward trend.
Read more: Malaysia’s property market fairly sustainable despite COVID-19
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