The Malaysian Insight

THE real estate sector in the Klang Valley, Penang, Johor Baru, and Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, will see pockets of opportunities this year, global property consultancy Knight Frank Malaysia said.

The company, which offers professional advice and solutions on property, said this in its latest research report on real estate trends and outlook in key markets in the second half of last year. The report was launched today.

Knight Frank reported that the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) would be good for Penang’s property market.

Tay Tam, Knight Frank Penang’s executive director, said the PTMP, including its proposed Pan Island Link (PIL) highway and the light rail transit (LRT) project, would boost connectivity in the state.

This, he said, would be favourable towards the property market.

“The industrial and office property markets in Penang are poised to continue their favourable performance this year.

“In contrast, the retail market is expected to be more competitive in 2019 due to the entry of new supplies like Ikea in Batu Kawan.

“Meanwhile, the residential market will likely show some signs of improvement moving forward, with outperformance being anticipated in the landed housing market.”

The different components of the PTMP, which aims to solve Penang’s worsening traffic, are at various stages of implementation.  

Some components are still at the application level, like the PIL highway and LRT. Both projects link the northern parts of the island and Bayan Lepas in the south.

In Johor Baru, Knight Frank’s branch head Debbie Choy said there were “robust investments” in the region, namely in the economic region of Iskandar Malaysia that recorded cumulative investment of RM272.90 billion in the third quarter of last year.

“Amidst a challenging market, the industrial property sub-sector is still expected to fare well, as investments in the logistics and manufacturing sector remains at a healthy level.

“Also, landed housing with reasonable prices ranging from RM400,000 to RM500,000 are expected to fare well among homebuyers,” she said.

Knight Frank said the overall property market in the country had held up rather well during the second half of 2018, with no major decline in market activities across various sub-sectors.  

It said despite uncertainties following the government change after the 14th general election last May, most international rating agencies had continued to maintain Malaysia’s fiscal outlook, which helped bolster confidence among foreign investors.

“Moving into 2019, sentiment in Malaysia’s property market is expected to improve barring any unforeseen circumstances.  

“This applies especially toward the residential property market, as policies announced under Budget 2019 are expected to strengthen demand, particularly among first-time homebuyers.”

Knight Frank’s report said the industrial sector would maintain its resilience due to growth in the manufacturing sector but the retail and office markets would remain challenging due to higher supply levels. – January 8, 2018.