PETALING JAYA (June 22): The change in government may have boosted confidence in the market, but real estate agents and negotiators have yet to experience any significant impact as there are still many uncertainties ahead, said the Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA) president-elect Lim Boon Ping.

While the general market sentiment is positive, it does not translate into better sales performance as the market is still “waiting for the dust to settle”.

“We anticipate there will be a change of housing policies which will have a direct impact on supply and demand as well as pricing. 

“In the current transition period, people are confident, but we will need a few months to observe the [policy] changes. Generally, it won’t have a significant impact to property market transactions this year,” he told EdgeProp.my after the agents’ briefing on the annual National Real Estate Awards (NREA). 

He lauded Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin’s move to synchronise all affordable housing schemes under one program as this will help to simplify the application process and encourage homeownership effectively.

However, he opined that there is a need for the ministry to look into the overall housing supply and demand mismatch problem due to poor planning.

“There should be a mechanism where data is available to all stakeholders as this will help to reduce over-supply and under-supply problems,” he added.

Meanwhile, he also revealed that MIEA may be chosen to host the Asia Pacific Awards next year.

Lim said Australia will also participate in the Asia Pacific Awards to celebrate the stellar achievements of regional industry practitioners.

“Our country’s central location and MIEA’s effort in connecting regional industry practitioners are the reasons that Malaysia is one of the preferred choices by Arena and the Australian counterpart,” he added.

Besides this, MIEA’s annual NREA is now open for submissions until August 10.

This year, there will be 17 awards open to real estate agents, probationary estate agents/valuers and real estate negotiators.

The awards night will take place on Oct 21 at the JW Marriott Hotel Kuala Lumpur in Bukit Bintang.

Winners of the NREA will go on to compete at the Asia Pacific Awards.

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