Bank Negara Malaysia: Oversupply Of Property Units Still Happening

Back In February, Bank Negara Malaysia reported that Malaysia is facing a shortage of affordable houses for the people. In fact, BNM also published a research showing that the total number of properties that remain unsold in Malaysia is the highest in a decade.

Fast forward to the present, and the problem still persists.

In a recent financial stability review that was released, BNM stated that the number of unsold housing units reached 146,196 units as of March. The majority of the unsold units are above the RM250,000 price category.

Here are three key points that the report highlighted:

• Supply-demand imbalances in the property market have increased since 2015.

• Unsold residential properties are at a decade-high, with the majority of unsold units being in the above RM250,000 price category.

• The oversupply of office space and shopping complexes in the major states will be exacerbated by incoming supply, potentially becoming more severe than during the Asian Financial Crisis.

In efforts to lower housing prices, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng has warned developers to lower prices of homes or risk losing their exemption from the Sales and Services Tax (SST) for construction materials and services.

“The government wants to see the reduction of house price. We are not interested to see developers giving out freebies from the saving. It is meaningless. All the people hope to buy cheaper homes,” Lim Guan Eng was quoted as saying.

 

[Source]