PETALING JAYA: Selangor was the only major state to show an increase in housing demand in the first half of 2020, up 3.5% year-on-year for subsale (secondary sale) residential properties.
Meanwhile, state capital Shah Alam recorded a demand figure of 7.6%, according to iProperty.com.my’s H1 2020 Portal Demand Analytics released today.
The analysis gives an overview of subsale property demand using iProperty.com.my’s user visits and property listings data during the first half of the year for residential subsale properties in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang and Johor.
Premendran Pathmanathan, general manager of customer data solutions, REA Group Asia, said the demand was driven by affordable properties in Klang Valley’s suburban areas.
“In the outskirts, there are a lot of terrace houses available,” he said when presenting the analysis online today.
“Working from home is becoming a norm. People are starting to look at options for more affordable, larger units.”
However, national property demand had declined by 2.5%, with less demand for serviced residences and condominiums, he said.
The analysis also showed Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Johor seeing negative growth in subsale property demand, with Johor recording the biggest property overhang in the country and a 22.8% decrease in demand.
Premendran said fewer user visits, an influx of listings and the closure of the Johor-Singapore border could have contributed to the double digit drop.
Commenting on the proposal for a vacancy tax next year, Premendran said this was still in the planning stage, but could potentially spur better planning in housing development in the country.
“When you talk about planning, you’re talking about overhang and oversupply.
“Vacancy tax is for that purpose, to motivate developers to build the right quantity (of units) and to make sure all those quantities are sold within a certain period of time,” he said, adding this could help overcome the issue of an oversupply of properties.
