Napic: Despite slowdown, KL landed home values continued to grow in 2015

PETALING JAYA (April 21): The Federal Territory KL’s (KL) property market saw a slight moderation as the market activity and construction sector softened, but prices of landed residential property still recorded strong growth in 2015.

According to the Property Market Report 2015 by National Property Information Centre (Napic), KL recorded 18,574 transactions worth RM23.39 billion in 2015, indicating a decrease of 9.8% in volume and 1.6% in value from a year ago.

The all house price index for KL stood at 277.0 points, rising by 6.4% over 2014 while average house prices rose to RM734,957 (4Q2015) from RM690,541 (4Q2014).

The largest market share is still retained by the residential sub-sector, contributing 74.8% to total transactions, followed by commercial (21.9%), development land (2.1%) and industrial (1.2%).

“Due to limited supply of landed properties, residential properties in prominent and established areas such as Bangsar Park, Lucky Garden, Damansara Heights and Desa Park City continued to enjoy capital appreciation,” the report noted.

“A 1-storey terrace in Bangsar Park could have be priced between RM1.13 million to RM1.73 million whilst the 2-storey Zenia units ranged from RM2.11 million to RM2.2 million,” the report added.

However, high-rise properties saw a mixed performance.

The report noted that apartments and condominiums in Bangsar and Cheras, as well as those located along the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) route, recorded capital appreciations while the Ambassy Business Park and Hampshire Residences located at Jalan Ampang and Kuala Lumpur City Centre respectively saw some downward movements.

Rental yield was also on an upward trend, especially for properties located along the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) route.

“Average rental yields for landed residential units were between 2% to 3.8% while high-rise residential units were between 3% to 7%,” the report noted.

In terms of new launches and overhang units for residential properties in KL, the primary market saw the launching of 14,444 units, a contraction of 12% against 2014.

“Sales performance also moderated at 41.4%, lower than 47% registered last year, with serviced apartments and condominiums forming the bulk of the new launches,” the report highlighted.

Meanwhile, the residential overhang has dropped by 37.3% in volume and 26.8% in value with current overhang units at 651 units worth RM617.23 million.

A similar trend can be seen for unsold units under construction which contracted to 8,523 units, a contraction of 4.7% y-o-y.

However, the unsold units which have not been constructed rose by more than two times to 3,419 units against 933 units recorded last year.

The report noted that KL’s property market as a whole would remain on a positive path backed by ongoing projects and proposed development projects.

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