Wong (sixth from right) with 2022-2024 Johor Rehda committee members at the launch of Johor Mapex 2023 at The Mall, Mid Valley Southkey in Johor Baru.
PROPERTY developers in Johor offered completed houses at their original prices at Johor Mapex 2023.
Johor Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda) chairman Wong Boon Lang said developers were letting go of the old stock before planning for a new launch.
He said that after almost a three-year hiatus following the Covid-19 pandemic, which first hit Malaysia in early 2020, buyers would no longer have to wait long to get their houses.
“Eligible buyers with approved housing loans can move in almost immediately, as the houses are ready for occupation,” he said at the Malaysia Property Expo 2023 (Johor Mapex 2023) at The Mall, Mid Valley Southkey in Johor Baru.
Twenty-five developers and two banks participated in the recent event themed “Rising to the Challenge’’, held from March 3 to 5 that featured 45 booths.
Wong said Johor Rehda members were happy to be back this year after the last Johor Mapex, planned for November 2019 at the Johor Baru City Square, was postponed due to the pandemic.
Wong said this year’s event offered 5,755 units of residential and commercial properties for sale worth RM3.70bil, which was almost half of the units offered at the Johor Mapex pre-Covid-19.
“Our economy is slowly picking up as Malaysia is now in the Covid-19 endemic phase but it is not without challenges,” he said.
He noted that developers were facing challenges such as rising building material costs, labour shortage and longer construction times.
He stressed that intervention from both the Federal and Johor governments was important in addressing the problems, without which the housing industry could be in jeopardy.
“About 240 sectors are benefitting directly and indirectly from the housing industry.
“A slowdown in the industry will definitely impact the sectors,” he added.
Wong said that while developers were cautiously optimistic on the property outlook for the coming years, their main focus was to sell off their existing stock.
“Many of us are not launching a new project in the first half of this year and will only consider doing it from the second half of 2023,” he said.
However, he could not guarantee that developers in Johor would launch their new projects from June onwards, as it would depend on the economic situation.
