THE SUN DAILY. 13TH DECEMBER: Property technology group Juwai IQI expects property-related measures in the revised budget to focus on housing affordability and firm financial management to support economic growth and employment.
Its Bumiputera segment head Muhazrol Muhamad said these policies are a response to the high cost of living pressures in the country and the long-standing barriers that have made it difficult for young people and the bottom 40 (B40) group to buy their own houses.
“It is important that all Malaysians have access to housing, the cornerstone of financial security and wealth creation,” he said, adding that the government has declared that protecting low and middle-income groups from rising prices is a top priority.
Muhazrol said potential budget measures may include down payment assistance, incentivising the construction of desirable affordable housing, and reducing the long-term costs of ownership through mortgage guarantees and similar policies.
As 2023 is just around the corner, he said one factor affecting housing is the cost of building materials which is expected to remain elevated.
This could constrain new housing supply, indirectly assisting developers to further clear their unsold inventory, Muhazrol said.
On the housing outlook, the group expects property prices to remain stable in the first half with potential price increases to begin in the second half.
“In the two most recent quarters, developers displayed more confidence. New home starts, completions, and planned supply have increased at a double-digit rate,“ he said.
Muhazrol said between 2020 and the early part of 2022, developers cut back on every stage of their supply pipeline, including planned dwellings, dwellings under construction, and dwellings actually delivered to the marketplace.
This move allowed them to clear inventory and significantly improve the supply-demand balance.
“Location, size, and fixtures are key elements of the product-fit equation,” he said, adding that some projects sell very quickly but those that are not well-located and not well-designed are languishing.
“Buyers still have an abundance of choices, so the success (of a project) depends on the ability to build products that buyers can get excited about,” he said.
On the preservation of the current Bumiputera policy, he said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had made it clear that his coalition government would preserve the current Bumiputera policy. Therefore, continuity and stability are a given.
He said there is unlikely to be many changes in this area of the new impending Budget 2023.