Survey Shows M'sians Hot On Property Trail

Source : The Business Times, January 31, 2008

MALAYSIANS are keen property purchasers, and many are still on the lookout for investment opportunities, according to a recent survey.

Real estate website iProperty.com said that a significant 88 per cent of those polled online over six weeks in November and December expressed an intention to acquire a property within the next 12 months. Nearly half or 48 per cent of the 2,066 respondents claimed that they had purchased at least one property over the past 24 months, and 10 per cent said that they had acquired two or more.

Given the current economic uncertainties, developers who were concerned about weaker demand would be heartened to know that a fair number of Malaysians are apparently still hot on the property trail and planning to maximise loan arrangements.

More than three-quarters of respondents told iProperty that they would fund their properties by taking loans that provide 80 to 100 per cent financing. This practice allows the buyer greater disposable income to invest in other assets, Robert Kiyosaki, an investor and self-help author, told BT.

An investor who declined to be identified has acquired three apartments over the past three years and regularly attends new launches.

In his books, Mr Kiyosaki advocates investing in assets that generate passive income so that one can eventually live off those sources of funds.

In general, locals continue to show an interest in residential units over high-rise development.

iProperty said that 62 per cent of respondents, citing potential capital appreciation gains as the main reason - corresponding with their primary attraction to the property investment - indicated their preference for landed units.

This is consistent with other surveys. Over the past three years, property consultants CH Williams' CEO opinion survey has revealed Malaysian investors to be most interested in terraced/link residential units, followed by semi-detached/detached houses. In comparison, residential condominiums/apartments are top of the property list for foreign buyers.

Buyers prefer landed properties as they tend to appreciate more over the longer term than apartments, but that is because the scarcity of land in Klang Valley, for example, has resulted in fewer houses being built.

Still, some residential apartments in prime areas are selling like hot cakes as evidenced by the following:

Over the past month, 65-70 per cent of the 318 units of Twins Damansara in the upmarket suburb of Damansara Heights, which retails from upwards of RM700,000 (S$307,160), has been sold. In November, 90 per cent of the 90-unit One Jelatek condominiums situated 10 minutes from an LRT station in Ampang were signed up in less than two hours.

Within a week of its launch this month, Gaya Bangsar saw 95 per cent of its 285 units priced between RM350,000 and RM900,000 snapped up. The developer expects the units, which were sold at an average RM550 per square foot, to appreciate by 20 to 30 per cent in the next three to four years.

The Internet is increasingly the medium used in property searches, with half of iProperty's respondents turning to it first, and up to 86 per cent using it primarily for its speed and convenience.