by S BIRRUNTHA / pic by TMR FILE 

THERE has been a 19.2% growth in demand for secondary residential properties in the country in the first half of 2021 (1H21) compared to a decline of 2.5% in 1H20.

iProperty.com.my revealed that both unique visits and property listing supply on its website consisting of terrace houses, condominiums, service residences and apartments have increased in 1H21 with visits outweighing the increase in listing supply.

iProperty.com.my GM for customer data solutions and quality Premendran Pathmanathan said the Covid-19 pandemic did not adversely affect this segment as it did in 1H20, where the demand figure dropped into the negative region.

He added that one of the critical factors which supported demand recovery in 1H21 is that property seekers have warmed up to the idea of conducting their property search journey online, where online property browsing and following up with property agents virtually is being accepted as the new normal.

“It is encouraging to see recovery for the subsale residential market in 1H21. Moreover, the Home Ownership Campaign (HOC) extension until December 2021 serves as a motivation, too.

“The various HOC property deals have a spillover effect on the subsale residential segment as property seekers who are conducting due diligence will continue to browse subsale homes in the same area or vicinity to compare property prices,” he said while presenting iProperty.com.my’s Secondary Residential Market Portal Demand Analysis report for 1H21 virtually yesterday.

The analysis focuses specifically on four states, namely Kuala Lumpur (KL), Selangor, Johor and Penang.

Elaborating further, Premendran said interest in terrace houses remained high with an increase of 29% year-on-year (YoY), thus enabling sellers to maintain high demand prices at a 1.6% increase.

He noted that the demand for condominiums, apartments and serviced residences is positive albeit lower, with an increase of 5.2%, 11.7%, and 6.8% YoY, respectively.

However, he said the asking prices of high-rise homes in all major states have reduced due to a high number of unsold units and as a means for sellers to attract buyers.

Premendran added that the upward trend of approved home loan applications is promising, as it shows that financially able Malaysians are still interested in purchasing homes either for their own stay or for investment purposes.

“However, positive figures aside, aspiring homeowners should plan before committing to long-term borrowing, as interest rates might not stay low for long.

“A return to pre-pandemic interest rates could result in higher monthly repayments in the future.

“As our country ramps up its vaccination programme and moves towards herd immunity, we hope the economy and by extension, the property market will continue to recover in 2H21,” he said.

KL posted an increase of 8.1% growth for 1H21 in subsale residential demand, compared to an increase of 0.3% in 1H20.

The asking prices in affluent areas such as Damansara Heights, Sri Hartamas, Mont Kiara and Desa Park City are more likely to be higher as these are prime areas for wealthy property seekers.

Meanwhile, Selangor’s subsale residential property demand grew by 17.6% in 1H21, mainly driven by the demand increase of 20.7% YoY for terrace houses.

The state’s suburban areas remain the top choice seeing that the working from home trend is here to stay and consumers are interested in affordable and spacious properties.

Compared to 1H20, Penang’s subsale residential property demand growth recovered from a decline of 6.5% to an increase of 23% YoY due to interest in industrial areas such as Batu Kawan and Bayan Lepas, which host many tech manufacturing companies.

In Johor, the subsale residential property market experienced positive growth of 36.5% in 1H21 from a decline of 22.8% in 1H20.

The increase came mainly from local property seekers as foreign demands, especially from Singapore, remain low with international borders still closed.