Will developers start to build fewer facilities in their future integrated developments or high-rise residential projects to reduce cost and lower the selling price for home seekers?
Reducing home prices are the right thing to do if developers want to stay afloat amid the current Covid-19 pandemic and they can entice buyers with more affordable properties, said a senior property consultant.
He said developers are bracing for tough times ahead with the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic and they are implementing cost-cutting measures to reduce their expenses and improve profitability.
"To achieve their sales target and maintain profitability, developers are building smaller apartments with fewer facilities. Some developers tend to build more than 30 facilities, including an infinity pool with floating cocoon, pavilion garden, BBQ deck, herb and zen garden and they take up valuable land resources. These are not free for the property buyers as the developer has incorporated the cost in the selling price."
"There is no developer that is going to give you more than 20 or 30 facilities to use for free. If they can reduce the number of facilities, then surely they are able to bring down the property price and this would make it more affordable for people.
"I think the priority now for home seekers when looking for a property to purchase is the unit size, price, location, and the reputation of the developer. With the Covid-19 pandemic, they are no longer giving priority or considering the facilities that are featured in the development," he said.
According to the PropertyGuru Malaysia Consumer Sentiment Study H2 2020, 84 per cent of younger home seekers would consider purchasing properties in developments with fewer facilities such as a swimming pool and badminton court, in exchange for lower property prices.
The study, among others, focused on the impacts of Covid-19 on domestic property and how the market here is evolving as a result.
It showed that the demand for property in Malaysia remains healthy despite the Covid-19 outbreak and the implementation of Movement Control Orders (MCO).
PropertyGuru Malaysia country manager Sheldon Fernandez said that about 81 per cent of Malaysian first-time home seekers were eager to purchase a home by the end of 2021.
"There is a surge of interest among younger home seekers and renters, whereby 47 per cent and 51 per cent of whom respectively shared that Covid-19 had not caused them to delay their property transactions," Fernandez said.
He said these demographics are prioritising homeownership following months of restricted movement under the MCO.