EDGEPROP. 15TH MARCH: Deputy Finance Minister II Steven Sim: Residential sub-sector led the overall property market activity, with 62.5% contribution in volume.
The Malaysian property market is expected to grow this year despite the projection of a moderately lower economic growth due to the unpredictable external environment, said Deputy Finance Minister II Steven Sim (pictured).
He said that the accommodative policies, continuous government support, execution of measures outlined in the revised Budget 2023, as well as strategies and initiatives under the 12th Malaysia Plan would support the property sector.
The national property market recorded more than 389,000 transactions worth RM179.0 billion in 2022 — an increase of 29.5% year-on-year (y-o-y) in terms of volume and a 23.6% y-o-y rise in value, he added.
“The residential sub-sector led the overall property market activity, with 62.5% contribution in volume,” he said in his address at the launch of 2022 Property Market Report here on Wednesday (March 15).
The text of his speech was read by Valuation and Property Services Department director-general Abdul Razak Yusak.
According to the property market report, there were 243,190 transactions for residential properties worth RM94.28 billion recorded last year, an increase of 22.3% in volume and 22.6% in value y-o-y, supported by the uptrend recorded in Penang (31.1%), Johor (24.3%), Perak (18.9%), Kuala Lumpur (18.4%), and Selangor (15.9%).
Meanwhile, the commercial property segment registered 32,809 transactions worth RM32.61 billion in 2022, a growth of 46.3% in volume and 16.7% in value compared to 2021.
The residential overhang numbers declined to 27,746 units worth RM18.41 billion as of the fourth quarter of 2022, down by 24.7% and 19.2% in volume and value respectively, compared with 36,864 units worth RM22.79 billion in the same period in 2021.
The report noted that Johor retained the highest number and value of overhang in the country with 5,285 units worth RM4.33 billion, accounting for 19.0% and 23.5% of the national volume and value respectively.
This was followed by Selangor (3,698 units, worth RM3.36 billion), Penang (3,593 units; RM2.74 billion) and Kuala Lumpur (3,429 units; RM3.15 billion).
Nevertheless, the overhang volume in all four states decreased, each fell by 13.8%, 39.3%, 34.6% and 12.2% respectively compared to 2021, mainly due to the absorption of supplies in the affordable price bracket (RM300,000 and below).
Construction activity recorded an increase in housing starts, which grew 13.4% to 97,804 units, while new planned supply increased by 14.9% to 89,111 units compared to 2021.
Contrarily, completions were down by 5.8% to 71,981 units, the property market report said.
The Malaysian House Price Index (HPI) stood at 208.4 points in 2022, with a low annual growth of 2.8%.
The report said Terraced HPI managed to sustain growth at 3.7%, followed by High-Rise Price Index (3.4%) and Semi-Detached Price Index (2.9%). However, Detached HPI saw a slight decline of 2.9%.
The overall performance of shopping complex continued to moderate, recording an occupancy rate of 75.4%, down from 76.3% in 2021.
The report said Kuala Lumpur and Selangor recorded 77.5% and 82.7% respectively above national occupancy rate, whereas Johor and Penang managed to secure an average occupancy of 68.8% and 72.6% respectively.
Meanwhile, Negeri Sembilan and Melaka recorded among the lowest occupancy rate in the country, each at 66.6% and 61.2%.
The average occupancy rate (AOR) for the hotel sector in January to September 2022 increased to 46.6% compared to 21.8% recorded in 2021, while the AOR prior to the pandemic was around 60%.