Property developers in Malaysia expect housing prices to increase by another 20 percent in the second half, as prices of raw materials rise and supply tightens in major areas.
In particular, landed property prices are expected to increase in Penang and the Klang Valley, where recent launches set new price benchmarks and have drawn strong interest. Mid-year launches of semi-detached houses, terraced houses and bungalows have sparked huge turnouts.
During the launch of Desa Parkcity, the latest township development in the Klang Valley, all of its 147 units were sold within five hours despite record prices of between RM1.7 million (S$731,100) and RM2.1 million for two- and three-storey link homes.
Over 650 registrants were present during the balloting exercise, each armed with a bank draft of around RM50,000 to RM100,000.
Based on the data provided by the Real Estate & Housing Developers Association (Rehda), terraced houses launched in the first half were unchanged at 35 percent, but the percentage of semi-detached houses and bungalows launched increase 9 percent compared with the second half of last year.
Rehda also said that homes will cost more due to several factors, including low mortgage rates, ample liquidity, continuous population growth, appreciating land prices, urbanization and demand for a better lifestyle.
Almost 40 percent of Rehda members are expecting prices to increase as much as 10 percent in H2 this year, and a similar number expect a 10 to 20 percent increase.