CBRE | WTW: Secondary market driving property prices

PETALING JAYA (April 21): The declining prices of properties on the secondary market – by as much as 6% in some cases – will affect primary market prices, prompting property developers to amend their offerings to control costs, said CBRE | WTW managing director Foo Gee Jen.

“These days, a developer would not give a top-grade finish all the way to cut costs and keep prices down. To me, this is driven by the secondary market,” the property consultancy head said in a report by The Edge weekly.

“So, overall, I expect 2018 to be a flattish market – volume may pick up a little bit, driven by transactions of affordable housing and homes priced below RM500,000,” he added.

The decline in property transaction volume and value has slowed, with annual drops of 2.7% to 311,824 transactions and 3.8% to RM139.84 billion respectively.

Residential properties continued to dominate the market, accounting for 62.4% of transacted volume and 49% of transacted value.