Property Hunter Magazine Property Hunter Magazine Issue 53 - April 2014 | Page 60

/// West Malaysia Property News WEST MALAYSIA PROPERTY NEWS Sharing news and information about various issues related to the property industry from Peninsular Malaysia. Properties in KL Penang, Iskandar Continues to Attract Foreign Interest Netizens Share Their Views on Property Prices an outright ban on any individual owning more than one property),” said Michael. However, many are not convinced that RM14,580 a month is needed to afford a home in the Klang Valley. Property investment consultant Datuk Seri Gavin Tee expects to see more interest from foreigners in Malaysia’s property sector despite the Budget 2014 cooling measures. In spite of the hike in Real Property Gain Tax (RPGT) and he higher minimum purchase piece for foreigners, more foreign interest is expected, especially in the Greater Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Iskandar regions. “China, Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan have even tougher tightening measures compared to Malaysia;s cooling measures which are relatively mild,” Tee said adding that property prices in some growth areas have the 60 www.PropertyHunter.com.my potential to hit record highs. He also said there will be more choices fr those purchasing properties for their own use, as prices are expected to correct slightly in residential and commercial areas. Besides that, he expects the property market to be lifted up towards the end of March, driven by investors and developers reentering the market. He said that large-scale projects by the government will be driving Malaysia’s growth in the next couple of years, adding that he is the most optimistic of developments in Greater KL and Melaka. Several Netizens have shared possible solutions to the high property prices on several social media platforms. Ungku Abdul Hafiz advised people not to be fooled by developers who say that house prices are going up. “The developers like to create hype and urgency so that people will continue to buy houses even though they can’t afford it,” she said. Michael G believes that decentralisation is the short-term answer to solving the high housing prices. “But before that, I would suggest both government housing (i.e. no private property, with statecontrolled rent) and a much heavier property gains tax (if not Facebook user Wai Keat agrees that the study does not reflect the actual situation in Klang Valley because the study only covered a small group of 1,529 respondents. Mohd Luqman Abdullah also points out that the figures may vary based on location, type of housing and the size of the home. Another user, Grace Chong, comments that the sample doesn’t represent the average homeowner’s salary: “Most people I know earn between RM3,000 and RM5,000 a month. They are not rich nor poor and they survived.” While @farahaziz tweets: “I own a house in the Klang Valley and I definitely have a much lower monthly household income.”