Malaysia’s sector is expected to extend its strong sales momentum into 2023 after gaining traction in 2022, especially after the reopening of international borders in April 2022, says Maybank Investment Bank Bhd (Maybank IB).
“We expect the strong sales momentum to extend into 2023 with rising investment diversion from China on persisting United States (US)-China trade war,” it said in a note today.
Although industrial parks continue to be favoured by investors, the investment bank said developers have turned cautious and intend to slow down their property launches next year to avoid higher construction costs and potential delays in delivery.
“Also, developers are cautious on property demand as higher interest rates would hit buyers’ affordability,” it said, noting that mortgage loan applications have declined by seven per cent quarter-on-quarter and 15 per cent year-on-year to RM33.5 billion in October 2022.
For financial year 2023, Maybank IB expects the property sales targets to either be flat or marginally up y-o-y due to slower launches by developers as labour supply issues remain unresolved.
Overall, the investment bank has maintained its “neutral” call on the property sector next year, as external factors such as tightening monetary policy, supply chain disruptions and labour shortage issues are likely to linger into 2023 and continue to weigh on property stocks.
