Investment guru Datuk Gavin Tee expects 2016 to be “the worst year for Malaysian property” on the back of weaker economic growth, loss of pricing power and subdued financing, reported The Malaysian Reserve.
“2015 was bad, and 2016 will be worse,” said Tee, founder and President of SwhengTee International Real Estate Investors Club, at a recent briefing in Kuala Lumpur.
“I’ve travelled all over the region, speaking to ministers, developers, investors and the media. The feedback (on Malaysia) is something you don’t want to hear.”
Notably, property prices within the secondary market fell 15 percent this year due to weaker demand and the absence of speculators.
As such, Tee expects prices to drop even further compared to the past few years as buyers do not foresee significant positive changes in the first half of 2016.
And while property prices may not go back to the levels seen in 2009 and 2010, they will be at their lowest for the next eight years, he noted.
Lower prices, however, will not translate to more sales for developers given the slowing demand for property.
“Demand is low in the sense that there is lower foreign investment and job creation, lower purchasing ability from Malaysians, as well as the poor economic and political situations,” shared Tee.
A bigger dilemma is the high loan rejection rates, which stands at over 50 percent for KL-based properties and 80 percent for Iskandar-based properties.
Tee said that the Malaysian government should relax the cooling measures and take more steps to make it easier for investors to acquire property.
He added that if financing policies do not change, the government would not be killing the Malaysian property sector but the “Malaysian pockets”.
“If you make it difficult for local investors, the wealth will transfer to foreign hands,” he said.
Mangalesri Chandrasekaran, Editor at PropertyGuru Malaysia, edited this story. To contact her about this or other stories email mangales@propertyguru.com.my
