What is the main driving force behind Malaysia’s property market? Residential properties, or in other words, houses, apartments and condominiums.

At least that was what the officials said, as what was reported by Malaysia news agency, Bernama.

Below is the full article.
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KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 5 (Bernama) — The Malaysian residential property

market continues to drive growth in the property market, Second Finance

Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop said today.

“It accounts for almost two thirds of total volume and half of total

value of transactions of almost RM14 billion during the first half of this

year,” Nor Mohamed said.

“We have also seen increases in housing starts and planned supply,

reflecting improvements in market confidence,” he said at the “Country

Heights Innovation in Property Investment” gala night here.

Nor Mohamed said the government’s policy on housing development

programmes has always been focused on the need to ensure that Malaysians in

all income groups have access to adequate, quality and affordable homes.

Emphasis is also given on ensuring appropriate locations for housing,

particularly for low and medium cost housing, as well as the provision of

sufficient public amenities to create a conducive living environment for

home buyers and their families, he said.

The Ninth Malaysia Plan has estimated that new housing requirements

during the plan period will total more than 700,000 units.

“Of this, some 38 percent will be for the low-medium cost houses, while

the balance 62 percent for the medium and high-end homes,” Nor Mohamed

said.

The plan also envisaged that the private sector would play the lead

role in meeting the nation’s housing requirements, he said.

“The government, on its part, will continue to provide the necessary

support to facilitate the private sector to meet the target,” he added.

Nor Mohamed said the government’s efforts at improving the delivery

system in the housing sector has focused on several initiatives.

The recent introduction of the build-and-sell approach for sales of

residential units aimed to reduce the risks to house buyers of incomplete

and abandoned housing schemes, which presently, clearly placed house buyers

at a disadvantage, he said.

He also said that to further promote sales of higher end properties to

foreign purchasers in line with “Malaysia: My Second Home” programme, the

government has further relaxed home ownership rules for foreigners.

Foreign acquisitions of residential properties of more than RM250,000

per unit no longer required the approval of the Foreign Investment

Committee, he added. — BERNAMA