KUALA LUMPUR: Real estate agents believe local property sales will continue to be sluggish over the next three years but affordable housing serves as a sweet spot.
Hartanahguru.com founder Abdul Aziz Ahmad said after a year of slow sales and modestly declining prices, property agents can expect more of the same for another three years especially in the segment of commercial as well as residential properties with price of more than RM500,000.
"Real estate agents have found it more challenging to sell now. Property market will not see any high pick-up in the next three years as I don't see Bank Negara loosening up the property cooling measures anytime soon.
"Looking at last year's performance, overall market dropped in terms of value and transaction volume. However, affordable segment remains strong and unaffected by the economic conditions.
"For example, home and office prices in the KLCC area dropped last year but residential properties with price of less than RM300,000 recorded the highest transaction volume," he told NST Business.
Aziz said as a result, real estate agents should be selective in properties they want to sell and focus on affordable housing to survive in this tough economic environment.
Chester Properties real estate agent Izuddin Nazir said buyers face competition for affordable housing and would snap up the properties as soon as they hit the market.
"This serves as an opportunity and is why real estate agents are shifting their attention to affordable housing. Sometimes you could get three or four buyers for one unit," he said.
"But for the residential properties with price of more than RM500,000, it is really difficult to find buyers although interest is there.
"And I don't see any sign of sales in this segment improving in the near term." he added.