Dip in Penang residential property transactions

However, Real Estate & Housing Developers Association (Penang) chairman Datuk Jerry Chan (filepic) said the Napic figures were not reflective of the current decline in primary and secondary market sales. 

GEORGE TOWN: The number of residential property transactions in Penang dipped slightly to 9,023 in the first half of this year from 9,217 in the second half of last year, according to statistics from the National Property Information Centre (Napic).

The report shows the value of transactions declined slightly to RM3.76bil from RM3.84bil during the period.

For the overall property transactions, Napic recorded 12,929 transactions for all ranges of properties valued at RM7.21bil in the first half of this year, up by 12.9% in volume and 28.3% in value against the previous corresponding period.

According to the report, the residential sub-sector remained the most dominant, with 69.8% of the total transactions, followed by agricultural (9.8%), commercial (9.6%), development land (9%), and industrial sub-sectors (1.8%).

However, Real Estate & Housing Developers Association (Penang) chairman Datuk Jerry Chan said the Napic figures were not reflective of the current decline in primary and secondary market sales.

“The Napic figures capture also the transfer of titles to owners in 2014.

“These figures include strata titles issued recently for sales concluded three to four years ago or even longer,” he said.

According to Chan, there is at least a 30% decline in property transactions so far this year, compared with the same period last year. “Moving ahead, we can expect to see little or no appreciation for high-end condominiums.

“The mid-range high-rise properties with price tags of RM400,000-RM500,000 are likely to see appreciation.

“We can also expect to see lower demand for landed residential properties priced between RM3.5mil and RM5mil,” he added.

Raine & Horne director Michael Geh said that over 70% of residential property transactions in Penang were in the secondary market.

“The subsale properties are priced between RM250,000 and RM800,000. Transactions in the primary market are less than 30%. The dip in subsale transactions and value is about 5%, which shows there is confidence in secondary sales.

“Difficulty in obtaining bank loans has also reduced sales in the secondary market,” Geh added.