Residential property transactions sees a slight drop nationwide in first quarter of 2015

Article sent to kopiandproperty.my for publishing. All charts were provided by Michael Geh , Senior Partner of Raine & Horne and also the Vice-President of FIABCI Malaysian Chapter with numbers from NAPIC.
GEORGE TOWN – The number of residential property transactions nationwide saw a slight drop from 60,760 transactions last quarter to 59,626 transactions for the first quarter of this year.
If compared with the same period last year, there were a total 58,767 transactions in the first quarter of 2014 which means the number of transactions for the same period this year has increased. These are the latest figures released by National Property Information Centre (Napic).
It is noted that the number of transactions for properties in three states – Penang, Selangor and Wilayah Persekutuan – have also seen drops when compared to the last quarter of 2014.
Over in Penang, the number of transactions had dropped from 5,193 units in the fourth quarter of 2014 to 3,834 units in the first quarter of this year. The number of transactions in Selangor for the first quarter of this year is 14,744 units, a slight drop from 15,613 transactions in the previous quarter.
Meanwhile, in Wilayah Persekutuan, there is also a slight drop from 4,127 transactions in the previous quarter to 3,250 units this quarter. Interestingly, the number of transactions for properties priced under RM100,000 nationwide have increased to 16,733 units the first quarter this year as compared to 12,723 units the previous quarter.
All four quarters of last year saw the number of transactions for properties below RM100,000 hovering between 12,000 and 13,000 units per quarter. The total of below RM100,000 properties transacted nationwide last year was only 51,140 units. The transactions for properties priced below RM100,000 has been falling nationwide since 2012.
From a total 90,081 transactions in 2010, the number of transactions increased to 100,589 in 2011 before it dipped in 2012 to 97,259. By 2013, the numbers have fallen drastically to 63,528 transactions in 2013 and almost half from 2011, to 51,140 transactions in 2014.
It is even more noticeable in Penang where the fluctuations in transactions for this range of properties is more dramatic. In 2010, a total 5,674 transactions were recorded before almost doubling to 10,436 transactions in 2011. However, the number of transactions began to drop in 2012 to 7,217 before falling drastically to 3,529 transactions in 2013 and 3,460 in 2014.
The trend seems to continue in the first quarter of 2015 with Penang recording only 764 transactions for properties priced below RM100,000 as compared to 1,062 units in the previous quarter. The transactions for properties this range hovered between 700 and 800 in the first three quarter last year before peaking in the final quarter at slightly above 1,000 transactions.
In comparison, Wilayah Persekutuan recorded 3,772 transactions in 2010 to increase to 4,926 in 2011. There was a slight drop to 4,189 transactions in 2012 before it too dropped drastically to 1,602 transactions in 2013 and 1,404 in 2014.
Meanwhile, in Selangor, the number of transactions for residential properties below RM100,000 also decreased but it was a gradual drop. There were a total 16,633 transactions in 2010 before increasing to 17,673 in 2011. The number of transactions saw a slight drop to 17,099 in 2012 before it drops to 11,403 in 2013 and 10,449 in 2014.
Noting the drop in transactions nationwide, property researcher Ho Chin Soon said it could be due to tightening measures on housing loans. As for the increasing trend for properties priced above RM100,000 nationwide, Ho said inflation and upward price adjustments could play a role in the general overall increase across the board.
Raine & Horne International Zaki + Partners Sdn Bhd Senior Partner Michael Geh believed that the drop in transactions for properties below RM100,000 in Penang could be due to lesser number of such properties being built in recent years.
“More of these units must and should be build because there is a lack of supply despite strong demands for such units,” he said, adding that there is also a lower rate of bank approvals for applicants in the lower income group.
He called on banks to relax lending rules to allow more homebuyers to be eligible for housing loans to purchase these homes.