The H1 2021 Portal Demand Analytics (Subsale Residential Market) by iProperty.com.my revealed that demand for subsale homes has improved and all major states in Malaysia recorded a positive demand despite the ongoing lockdown. The publication also divulged property search trends in the second year of COVID-19 lockdowns. Interestingly, the value of home loan applications has also increased in H1 2021, signalling genuine purchasing interest.
Subscribe to us on Telegram for the latest insights and updates.
Note: To ensure that the demand data is of the highest quality, proper due diligence was conducted. This is on top of the measures put in place during the preparation of the iProperty.com.my H1 2021 Portal Demand Analytics. Please refer to the Notes section at the end of this article for more details.
The iProperty.com.my H1 2021 Portal Demand Analytics provides an overview of demand-supply trends in the Malaysian subsale residential property market using the property portal’s user visits and property listing data.
iProperty.com.my garners millions of visits each month and these real-time behaviours indicate where Malaysia’s subsale residential property demand is (represented by user visits to the site) in comparison to supply (represented by residential property listings on iProperty.com.my).
For the H1 2021 Portal Demand Analytics (Subsale Residential Market), we have shifted from transacted prices (this metric was used in previous publications) to asking prices. We have introduced this change to provide more insight into the seller’s side of the equation. Asking prices is a better indication of whether prospective sellers would be able to hold specific price points or must reduce their prices to cash out.
The publication focuses on four main regions: Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang, and Johor.
In this article, we will share the following highlights from the H1 2021:
- National overview of the Malaysian subsale residential market
- Demand movements for all states and capital cities in Malaysia
- 15 Most in-demand areas in Kuala Lumpur
- 15 Most in-demand areas in Selangor
- 15 Most in-demand areas in Penang
- 10 Most in-demand areas in Johor
National overview: Consumer sentiment improves despite lockdowns
Despite the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO 2.0) in January and MCO 3.0 in May, the sentiment for the subsale residential property is intact. In fact, it has seen a significant demand YoY growth to +19.2% in the first half of 2021.
With the new normal, many people have shifted their activities from offline to online and that includes the property search journey. The attractive discounts and the extension of the Home Ownership Campaign (HOC) have motivated aspiring purchasers to spend more time online and browse subsale properties in the same area to obtain a benchmark for house prices. This could be another reason that has contributed to the high demand growth in the first half of 2021.
The +19% growth does not only represent an increase in property interest. We also saw follow-through actions by genuine purchasers in the form of home loan applications. Based on Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) monthly loan application data, the value of home loan applications grew +86% year-on-year from RM96.4 billion in H1 2020 to RM179.4 billion in H1 2021. In addition, the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) is at a record low of 1.75% prompting home buyers to be on the lookout for property bargains in a low-interest-rate environment.
The value of home loans approved has grown as well, by +92.6% YoY between January to June 2021 compared to H1 2020.
Positive subsale residential property demand growth in all major cities in Malaysia with the exception of Alor Setar
In H1 2021, we saw a +8.1% YoY growth in residential subsale demand in Kuala Lumpur, an improvement from its performance in H1 2020 (+0.3%). An increase in the popularity of luxury condos and terrace houses priced above RM2 million and 3,000 sq ft and above in size, was also observed in KL. YoY demand for terrace houses is still strong in the capital of Malaysia at +27.8%. Asking prices for terrace houses have also increased +2.9% YoY, while the asking prices for high-rise properties have dipped.
In Selangor, the subsale property YoY demand grew by +17.6% in the first half of 2021, thanks to the popularity of terrace houses in the state. We see a +20.7% increase in YoY demand for terrace houses, with asking prices trending upward at +3.5% YoY. Data for high-rise properties showed asking prices are trending downwards, except for apartments.
On the northern side, Penang also saw positive YoY demand growth of +23%. Batu Kawan, where major tech companies reside, tops the most in-demand area list in this state. This is followed by Bayan Lepas and Kulim, a city in the neighbouring state of Kedah, which saw their visitor figures doubling and YoY demand growing by +57.5% in H1 2021. We expect to see a trickle-down effect from the newly acquired wealth into the economy, spurring buying interests.
The subsale residential property demand in Johor is finally positive at +36.5% in H1 2021 compared to -22.8% in H1 2020. The increase in demand comes mainly from a domestic audience at a time when foreign demand has yet to return. Interest from Singaporeans remains down by -25% due to strict border controls between Malaysia and Singapore.
Top 15 in-demand areas in Kuala Lumpur
- Damansara Heights
- Bangsar
- Taman Tun Dr Ismail
- Setiawangsa
- Seputeh
- Taman Desa
- Pantai
- Sungai Besi
- Sri Hartamas
- Bukit Jalil
- Batu Caves
- Desa ParkCity
- Kuchai Lama
- Desa Petaling
- Salak South
Bangsar has seen a strong demand for its terrace houses priced between RM1.5 million to RM2 million and 1,500 sq ft to 2,000 sq ft in size. Taman Tun Dr Ismail has attracted buyers who are interested in high-rise units priced between RM1 million to RM1.5 million and 1,500 sq ft to 2,000 sq ft in size. Setiawangsa has seen much interest in condominiums priced below RM750,000 for units 1,250 sq ft in size or smaller.
Top 15 in-demand areas in Selangor
- Puncak alam
- Dengkil
- Semenyih
- Setia Alam
- Kuala selangor
- Serendah
- Cyberjaya
- Gombak
- Damansara Perdana
- Teluk Panglima Garang
- Sunway
- Sungai Long
- Tropicana
- Petaling Jaya
- Sungai Buloh
In Puncak Alam and Dengkil, site users are primarily interested in terrace houses priced between RM500,000 to RM750,000 and 1,500 sq ft to 2,000 sq ft in size, while visits for Semenyih lean towards slightly more spacious terrace houses 2,000 sq ft to 3,000 sq ft in size.
Setia Alam is home to a top rubber manufacturing factory in Malaysia and its thousands of workers have contributed to the residential demand in the area. The bulk of Setia Alam property seekers are split between two main groups: Those interested in more affordable high-rise units priced between RM300,000 to RM500,000 and 700 sq ft to 1,000 sq ft in size, and those interested in landed properties priced above RM1 million 2,000 sq ft or larger. Demand for Setia Alam in H1 2021 grew by +41% YoY.
Top 15 most in-demand areas in Penang
- Batu Kawan
- Balik Pulau
- Nibong Tebal
- Kepala Batas
- Seberang Jaya
- Simpang Ampat
- Bukit Mertajam
- Bukit Minyak
- Bukit Jambul
- Teluk Kumbar
- Batu Maung
- Juru
- Sungai Ara
- Butterworth
- Bayan Lepas
A good number of visitors were looking at landed properties priced between RM 500,000 to RM 750,000 in Balik Pulau. Meanwhile, Seberang Jaya garnered many visitors for landed properties priced between RM 500,000 to RM 600,000 in H1 2021.
Top 15 in-demand areas in Johor
- Batu Pahat
- Pasir Gudang
- Kluang
- Kota Tinggi
- Senai
- Kulai
- Gelang Patah
- Johor Bahru
- Permas Jaya
- Masai
- Iskandar Puteri (Nusajaya)
- Tampoi
- Skudai
- Perling
- Ulu Tiram
There is significant interest from site visitors for Batu Pahat and Pasir Gudang semi-D homes with prices not exceeding RM750,000 and at least 2,000 sq ft in size, as well as terrace houses with prices not exceeding RM500,000 and at least 1,500 sq ft in size.
For more insights, check out the full report on our website. To download the full H1 2020 Portal Demand Analytics publication, click here.
NOTES:
- The asking prices in this report are based on asking prices on property listings available on iProperty.com.my only. It is not a representation of the overall subsale residential market in Malaysia. The asking prices on iProperty.com.my are provided by the respective property sellers/owner.
- Considerations and measures put in place:
- Only areas that have more than 350 listings were selected to negate the effect of any spikes/big increases.
- Unique visits were used to prevent a single user from distorting the demand figures through multiple visits.
- In the case where a single user visits multiple areas, the visit is equally weighted across the multiple areas and building types to maintain the uniqueness of the user.
- All visits used in this report are based on organic and direct traffic only.
- Prices listed in iProperty.com.my is used to represent Asking Price.
- Median Asking Price per Square Feet (PSF) is used to calculate Asking Price Change due to various Built-up sized being listed.
- Definitions
- Unique Visit: Based on Google Analytics tracking of unique visitors, where multiple visits on the same listing by one visitor are counted as one.
- Active Property Listing: Property listings in iProperty that were active for at least one day and has a minimum of 1 view
- Property Demand: The number of unique user visits over the number of active property listings with views
- Organic / Direct Traffic: Based on Google Analytics tracking, organic and direct traffic is not obtained through paid services or other sites.