2017 possibly the best time to buy property, says Zerin Properties

KUALA LUMPUR (March 25): The residential, office and hospitality property sectors are believed to have bottomed but the retail property is expected to remain under pressure in 2017, said Zerin Properties group CEO and founder Previndran Singhe (pictured) during his talk at The Edge Malaysia Investment Forum on Real Estate 2017 today.

His talk was entitled "Market Outlook: Is recovery in motion? What to look out for in 2017".

He added that buying interest for residential property is seeing a recovery as many projects that were launched by developers have been sold within a short period.

"People are coming back to the market and banks are more aggressive in their lending now, as evidenced by the 73.8% housing loans approval rate in 2016 reported by the Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM)," he said.

"For the first time in many years, many analysts are concerned about inflation, which is expected to hit 3% to 4% this year, according to Bank Negara Malaysia's projection. I believe the high inflation will trigger some buying in the property market as property investment is considered a hedge against inflation," he said

Besides, he added that 2017 is possibly the best year to buy property as owners are being more reasonable with their asking prices, and banks are more willing to lend.

Meanwhile, the office property market has experienced a drop in rental rates last year and the market has hit its bottom now, he noted.

"The office market will remain flat this year and continue to be a tenant's market. It is expected to improve beyond 2017, but there is a lot of movement and pickup in demand in the market, thanks to the Economic Transformation Programme and initiatives by the government," he said.

As for the hospitality property sector, Previndran said it is expected to enjoy another good year in 2017 as the government is putting a lot of effort to support the sector and the demand for serviced apartments in Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Johor Bahru will remain strong due to the popularity of Airbnb.

However, the retail property sector will still be soft and under pressure, he noted.

"I'm not so confident about the retail market this year, and I hope that the tourism industry and consumer spending can help boost the market," he added.

Meanwhile, in his opening remarks, The Edge Media Group publisher and group CEO Ho Kay Tat said the past two to three years have been tough for the property market, but with the household debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio reduced to 88.4% in 2016, from 89.1% in 2015, and with the positive sales performance by many developers, the outlook for the property sector this year remains healthy.

The forum is organised by City & Country of The Edge Malaysia and presented by Sunway Property. It is supported by TheEdgeProperty.com.