I was giving a talk entitled, “The Key Driver for Property Demand will always be Affordability” in Starproperty.my Fair 2018 in KLCC and I asked the audience about Budget 2019. “How many of you here thinks the Budget 2019 is positive for you?” I looked around and none put up their hands. Perhaps they have yet to feel the effects from Budget 2019 since it’s supposed to start next year. Moving on I asked if they believe property prices are already too high. Most of them nodded their heads. From my observation, most of them are owners of properties and not the first-time home owners. Perhaps this was the reason because Budget 2019 was quite focused on first- time home buyers from all the measures introduced by our Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.
Henry Butcher Malaysia described Budget 2019 as ‘mildly positive.’ This is the article in NST. The reason is because of the positive GDP growth forecasts of of 4.8 and 4.9 per cent next year and 2020. This should provide support to a stable property market. With regards to the continuation of the MRT Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya and Light Rail Transit Line 3 after costs were cut, it said, “This is certainly sweet news to property developers who have purchased land along these rail lines to take advantage of the enhanced accessibility, as well as investors or house buyers who have invested in properties near the proposed stations along these lines in the hope of enjoying strong capital appreciation when these rail lines become operational.” Article in NST here.
By the way, the MRT SSP or the LRT 3 WERE already part of the property market and continuation should not be considered as positive from the Budget 2019 perspective. As for Henry Butcher Malaysia’s ‘mildly positive’ assessment on the Budget 2019, perhaps what they meant is that they are neutral on what the Budget 2019 will bring but thinks that the economic growth will provide the support to the property market. I was also speaking to a developer in the property show and he was telling me that many potential buyers said that they just want to wait till 2019 to buy. There are some uncertainties currently. I asked if most of these buyers are first-time home buyers and he answered, Yes. I personally think the market needs a bit more push and it’s not enough to just rely on first-time home buyers. Happy following.
written on 18 Nov 2018
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