According to the internal data from end-to-end rental platform Speedhome, after the movement control order (MCO) , the company’s amount of searches for residential rentals has greatly increased, and the number of searches within individual areas in May increased by 20 to 30 percent.
After entering the conditional movement control period (CMCO), the number of searches for Speedhome greatly increased. In May of this year, the number of searches in some areas even showed double-digit growth, setting a new monthly high in the number of searches on the platform.
Speedhome’s chief executive officer, Wong Whei Meng, stated that, in May of this year, the areas where the number of searches on the platform grew the most were Petaling Jaya, which grew by 33 percent, Cyberjaya by 26 percent, and Shah Alam, by 19 percent.
When Speedhome further analysed the background of the tenants on the platform, most of them were young adults aged between 22 and 31, and most of them were in the salaried class. Their cash flow status was relatively tight, that’s why their acceptance of renting online is better.
The rental prices of the properties searched by these users was mostly between RM1200 and RM2400, and search number of searches within the top 10 areas of Speedhome Klang Valley areas are between 100,000 and 900,000 times.
The outbreak of the new Covid-19 epidemic has further accelerated people’s purchase of services or goods online. This consumption pattern is not only happening to young people. Speedhome’s homeowners over 50 years old are also growing steadily, and changes in this pattern can be observed.
The platform has also noted that young tenants are looking for residential property types, mostly fully furnished high-rise buildings. The number of people searching for fully-furnished spaces in May this year alone was as high as 780,000 times , more than double the number of partially decorated or undecorated houses.
Whei Meng pointed out that the bank loan moratorium will end in October this year. It is recommended that homeowners must find tenants for their properties as soon as possible as the rental cycle of fully furnished houses is twice as fast as that of unfurnished houses.
“If the homeowner is not sure whether they can find a tenant after the house is decorated, it is recommended that they contact the real estate agent or search online for the rental price and evaluation in their area to make a more accurate judgment,” he added.
He also shared several changes in the second half of the 2020 Klang Valley rental market. He expected that college students’ return to school will be loosened from August to September. The areas where students are the main tenants sources are predicted to usher in a rebound, and house vacancy rate is going to be lower, but there is not much room rental growth, and under certain pressure, some homeowners even lower rents to attract tenants.
At the same time, queries from foreigners about short-term rent (three-month lease) on the platform also saw an increase, mainly because the epidemic disrupted their work arrangements. If foreign tenants can provide legal work visas and company guarantee, the platform recommends that homeowners rent out to short-term tenants.
By doing so, this will allow the homeowners to generate some cash flow during the loan moratorium period.
