GEORGE TOWN: The purchase of properties such as residential ones have been deemed as "good debts" compared to debts on vehicle purchases, credit cards and personal loans.
Conceding that it was easier to obtain financing for the purchase of vehicles as opposed to property, the Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda) Penang branch chairman Datuk Toh Chin Leong pointed out that vehicle prices would continue to depreciate before loans were fully paid up while it was the reverse with property prices.
"So the right time to purchase a property is now and I urge young working adults to grab this opportunity to purchase any property which is affordable to them be it low-cost, low-medium cost, affordable housing or any property in the primary and secondary markets," he said during the Rehda annual dinner tonight at G Hotel.
Toh, who is also IJM Land Bhd senior general manager, said it would be prudent for everyone to make lifestyle adjustments during these economic times by reducing their patronage of coffee outlets and purchase of the latest gadgets to "stay trendy."
"History," he noted, "tells us that house prices will double every seven years.
"Please ask the people who had invested in property many years ago. what is the value of their properties now. This is the time to create wealth for yourself."
Toh said the property development industry was going through challenging times owing to various elements such as land scarcity, an increase in prices of construction materials as a result of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), continuous labour shortage and an increase in compliance costs.
"These have created a direct impact on the industry, which in turn resulted in the escalation of house prices," he added.
"Before the tabling of the 2017 Budget last Friday, we were so hopeful, as Rehda at the national level had submitted our wish-list to the government," Toh said.
"We had hoped that some incentives would be announced during the Budget to help at least the first time house buyers, and the industry as a whole.
"Instead, most of the incentives are mostly focused on buyers of Perumahan Rakyat 1Malaysia (PR1MA) housing and developers which are government-linked companies," he said.