Glaring mismatch between property prices and affordability

KUALA LUMPUR: The mismatch between property prices and affordability is becoming more apparent as property price growth continued to far exceed income growth, a property consultant said.

Jones Lang Wootton executive director Prem Kumar said the mismatch between property supply and demand was very glaring as income levels were not able to support property prices.

“The rate of increase in property prices is greater than the rate of increase in employment income,” he told a press conference held on the sidelines of the one-day PropertyGuru Malaysia Real Estate Summit 2017 yesterday.

The rate of increase was minimal compared to the rate of increase in terms of properties themselves, especially residential units, he said, adding that even joint loan applications by buyers to gain lending was reaching saturation point.

“Joint loans have long been leveraged by developers to sell the more expensive properties but they have not been able to catch up with the growth in property prices,” he added.

Themed, “Shaping The Future of Malaysian Real Estate”, the summit is part of PropertyGuru’s Asia Real Estate Summit series of high-level forum focusing on cutting-edge strategies and industry innovation.

The forum is held annually in the region’s most established real estate markets such as Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia. — Bernama