Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Rahim & Co International is in its 41st year of delivering real estate services to local clients and investors from around the world. Despite market challenges, including housing affordability, Director of Research Sulaiman Saheh is capitalizing on Malaysia’s many market opportunities. Find out more about the firm’s success in this interview with Saheh.
Real Estate magazine: Please tell us about your firm.
Sulaiman Saheh: Established in 1976, Rahim & Co has 18 offices throughout Malaysia, with its head office in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. Celebrating 41 years of serving both local and international clients, our close to 400-strong workforce, including 27 registered sales professionals, provides expert real estate services throughout the whole of Peninsular Malaysia, East Malaysia/Borneo, international regions such as ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations, comprised of 10 countries in the region), the United Kingdom, China and Australia.
RE: Please describe your current housing market.
SS: The RM (Malaysian ringgit) 60-70 billion residential market (in terms of annual market transactions), consisting of approximately 200,000-250,000 units sold annually, represents two-thirds of the property market in Malaysia. The Malaysian residential market at present is going through a consolidation period after a bull run subsequent to the 2007/08 global financial crisis.
Transaction activities have since been showing a declining trend at around 7 percent per annum from the peak in 2012. Up to 2014, despite a slowing down in property sales, the total value of transactions was still climbing; however, in 2015, the value of residential transactions dropped for the first time since 2009, and the same was expected in 2016. Nevertheless, residential prices are still holding with even a marginal increase in average house prices across major urban centers.
The average house price in Malaysia is around the RM350,000 mark. Looking specifically into urban centers such as Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya, an average terraced house is priced anywhere from RM620,000 to RM1,000,000. A prime condominium unit in Kuala Lumpur ranges between RM1.5 to 2.0 million.
The marketing period for a house is dependent on many factors, like market cycle, consumer sentiment and other macroeconomic factors, on top of the property’s location, design, quality and type. Generally, a good product in a healthy market would be sold within three to six months, but during tougher times, the same property can be on the market for more than 12 months.
RE: What are some of the challenges in your current market?
SS: One issue that is hotly debated today is housing affordability. During the boom period, especially between 2010 and 2013, housing prices soared at 11-13 percent per annum, and up to 18 percent in certain areas. Although the rate of increase has been more muted in recent years, homebuyers are disgruntled about how unaffordable houses are. This, coupled with the cooling measures imposed by the central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia, such as tightening of loan eligibility criteria, the relaxation of the Real Property Gains Tax and abolishment of the Developer’s Interest Bearing Scheme, prevented many homebuyers from getting approved for loans. Government programs such …read more
From:: Real Estate News