Property investing: The moment of truth is now

Time to take stock: Property owners who are renting out their units are facing the brunt of the weakening economic conditions especially in expat-favoured locations such as Mont Kiara and the Kuala Lumpur City Centre.

YOU are taking a leisurely drive around town on a Sunday morning and you can’t help but notice the numerous up-and-coming developments in almost any area of the city. At first glance, it would seem that the property market is thriving and demand must be at an all-time high, given the non-stop construction going on. But the reality is quite the opposite; residential and commercial units everywhere are experiencing less than satisfactory occupancy rates. Gone are the days when investors flock to new property launches, and stories of buyers queuing up overnight at the property developer’s office seem to be a thing of the past.

As property owners and investors, we have to face the fact that there is a dampening in the property sector, brought about by oversupply and a mismatch of what is being built and what is in demand. Consumers yearn for affordable housing whereas developers are building more lucrative high-end properties which are mostly out of reach of the average middle-income Malaysian.