No property bubble in M'sia; Sunway chairman says local prices affordable

PETALING JAYA: The local property industry continues to face many
obstacles despite signs of steady economic growth, which was announced
recently for the second quarter and the first-half, underpinned among
other factors by a jump in construction activity as well as healthy
consumption.
Among the challenges the industry faces, according to Asian Strategy & Leadership Institute chairman Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah, is the market perception that the industry is heading towards a property bubble, which is not backed by reasonable evidence.
“As
a developer I'm convinced as of now that we shall not be experiencing
any such property bubble, as our property prices are still affordable
compared with some of our neighbouring cities in the region,” Cheah,
also Sunway Bhd chairman, said at an address during the launch of the 15th National Housing and Property Summit.
He cited Bank Negara's
second-quarter gross domestic product data which indicated a 5.4%
year-on-year growth despite external challenges as signs that private
consumption remained steady. Central bank data showed the construction
sector, which includes housing and civil infrastructure activity,
surging 22%.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Great stuff:
(From left) Land & General Bhd MD Low Gay Teck, PKNS GM Othman
Omar, Asli CEO Tan Sri Michael Yeoh, Housing and Local Government
Minister Datuk Seri Chor Chee Heung and Cheah looking at a project
model. Cheah said it was also untrue that property
prices were being driven up due to foreigners' purchases in the country
as transactions by foreigners had historically hovered at 3% compared
with 20% in Singapore.
He added that 54% of total residential transactions in 2011 were below the RM150,000 range.
Cheah
said the other challenge the industry faced was the lack of skilled
workers, which caused delays in the completion of projects. He said it
was important for the Construction Industry Development Board to
continue engaging with both industry players and non-governmental
organisations to address this issue in order to improve the quality of
finished projects.
Cheah said there needed to be combined
efforts by the Govern-ment and industry players to address these issues
as well as come up with strategies to overcome them.
He urged
the Government not to take “too drastic measures” to cool the property
market as this “can kill market sentiment and slow supply of housing
further.”
“The Government should not in-crease the real property
gains tax. I also hope it will not further restrict lending to the
property sector or introduce new measures that will make it more
difficult for house buyers to purchase properties,” Cheah said.
He
also stressed the sustainability of the industry, which would be
important to ensure continued buoyant economic growth and resilience.
Meanwhile, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Chor Chee Heung
said new fiscal policies might be introduced in Budget 2013, as current
measures taken to control house prices had not been very effective.
Despite
the Government's measures to curb the rise in house prices, such as the
increase in RPGT and a restriction on loan-to-value ratios on third
properties and above, there were feelings that the Government has not
done enough.
“I will be recommending a review of fiscal policies in the next budget,” Chor said.
Cheah's remarks on the property bubble continue to divide analysts who closely follow the industry with Kenanga Investment Bank
research head Chan Ken Yew pointing out that a bubble might exist to a
certain extant as prices continued to be above what younger workers
were able to afford.
“This is because their salary can't catch
up with the current house prices. This problem is not only evident in
Malaysia but also in Hong Kong and Singapore,” he said.
Increasing the Employees Provident Fund's
(EPF) withdrawal rate to be utilised for the down payment of a member's
first home could solve this problem, he added. Currently, the EPF
allows for a 30% withdrawal from Account 2. “If the Government allows
for a 50% withdrawal, this would help to lower the burden,” he said.

increase epf withdrawal rate? i second that!

epf money better increased to be withdraw to buy house, otherwise why would stay in there until 50-60 years then only can use hard earned money. if die 40 then jia lat.

government shall encourage more people affortable home.....otherwise epf also tak cukup.[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]