KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 1): The Edge weekly in its latest edition reported that between the government’s intervention and Bank Negara Malaysia’s cautionary tone on the record level of unsold units, there is growing concern over a property glut.

However, the weekly’s Ben Shane Lim and Ahmad Naqib Idris wrote that perhaps developers have not received the memo.

In its cover story, The Edge said in the first half of the year, National Property Information Centre’s (Napic) data shows residential launches surging 32% to 28,397 units compared with the second half of last year.

It said that on top of that, a whopping 29.86% of the units were unveiled in Kuala Lumpur, where property launches more than tripled in the same period.

The weekly said while the rebound comes off a low base and may not be true for all states (Selangor, for example, saw property launches fall 9%), it certainly paints a very different picture of the property market.

It said more importantly, the data shows that developers were also selling more properties — moving 6,775 units in 1H2017, a 42% increase from 2H2016.

The Edge said developers claim that it was due to a change in their pricing strategy, shifting their focus to products that cater for the mass market.

The magazine said perhaps the recent rebound points to a longer-term and more sustained recovery, which is good news for developers and homeowners.

Alternatively, it could be relatively short-lived, merely a minor correction as the market settles back into the “old normal” — ditching the volatile bull run of 2010 to 2015 for the sober property price appreciation of yesteryear, said the weekly.

The good news

Despite a few sensational headlines over the past few months, it is safe to say that the property market is not headed for a crash. At least, not in the current macroeconomic environment, said the weekly.

For a detailed discussion on the direction of the local property sector, read the Edge for the week of Dec 4 – Dec 10 available at newsstands now.

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