It has not come as a surprise that response to property fairs in general has been lukewarm. This is probably a fair reflection of the broader market sentiments, which is typified by a lack of feel-good factors. Buying a house is arguably the largest ticket item that a consumer would spend on in his lifetime. That demand for houses would be the first to dip when consumers shy away from spending should therefore be expected. This seems to be borne out by the marked reductions in product launches as witnessed in REHDA's recently released Property Survey 2006, reflecting developers' prudence and wary response to the market.
At the Property & Housing Summit 2006 jointly organized by REHDA and ASLI, the limitations of the local market in sustaining the housing and property sector were highlighted. The natural suggestion pointed to creating new demand in the form of foreign purchasers. But this is something easier said than done. There will need to be commitment from all relevant parties - developers, relevant federal and local authorities, service providers - to pull in the same direction and to work towards achieving certain set objectives and targets.
For starters, we will need a more efficient and business and user-friendly delivery system. Onerous bureaucratic requirements and suffocating laws that are outdated only add to costs. There should be urgent efforts to rationalize the various laws, policies and approving processes that encumber the delivery process and add to unnecessary compliance costs. The regulatory environment should be liberalized to facilitate a market-driven economy, not impede and cause lethargy in the sector. What is critically needed to stimulate the housing industry, aside from tangible incentives from the Government, is support in the form of relaxation in requirements for the Government's social engineering programmes, especially the imposition of quotas for low cost housing and bumiputra discounts.
In the meantime, REHDA continues its work in building bridges with regional counterparts to help members gain more information and inroads into opportunities for housing and property projects overseas, as well as to promote Malaysia as an attractive second home venue. If the numbers come through, demand for our property should hopefully pick up, and provide the necessary fillip to the current lackluster market.