GEORGE TOWN: The demand for property nationwide is expected to pick up when there is more awareness of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), said Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (Rehda) Penang chairman Datuk Jerry Chan.
The demand, which has dropped by more than 30% so far this year, is expected to improve from November, he said.
Chan said the slowdown was due to the Government’s cooling measures and the stringent steps taken by banks and financial institutions.
“About 30% to 40% of buyers failed to get loans early this year. This has now increased to between 50% and 70%,” he said.
Asked about the impact of GST on the property market, he said this would depend on factors such as the cost of living.
“If the cost of living goes up a lot, people will pull the handbrake,” Chan told reporters yesterday.
He said the public might still buy residential property, which is GST exempted, after April if they needed to do so and if developers did not raise prices.
However, this would still depend on the cost of living, he added.
In Penang, residential units costing below RM1.2mil on the island and RM400,000 on the mainland will continue to sell well. - The Star
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