“PROPERTY OVERHANG” and “housing market glut” are the commonly used terms in the property industry lately due to concerns raised from the oversupply in real estate.

According to Socio-Economic Research Centre executive director Lee Heng Guie, the total residential overhang surged 30.7% to 14,792 units at the end of 2016. The houses which are considered affordable, ranging from RM200,000 to RM400,000, are also facing similar issues.

Buyers are in cautious mode due to the high cost of living, job insecurity and the lack of income growth in recent years giving rise to the problem of property glut.

In light of this situation, Rehda Institute is organising the Rehda Institute CEO Series 2017 (cum Annual Property Development Conference) on Nov 9 (Thursday) at Connexion@Nexus. This series will be looking at various innovative solutions to create demand for the current market.

The stakeholders of the property industry will be brainstorming to come up with sustainable long-term solutions for the current market issues.

One of the issues that will be discussed is the creation of new demand for the underutilised office space, retail mall space and residential space. There are two possible innovative solutions whereby the underutilised areas are used as co-living and co-working space.

Besides that, expanding the property to cater to multigenerational living is also another critical idea to overcome the residential property glut in Malaysia. The daycare centre and wellness centre, when combined with a mixed development with special features, might be able to cater to the expanding population of old citizens in Malaysia.

Another critical issue is the incorporation of latest information technology. Technology such as IoT, big data and IBS will help developers to cut costs without compromising quality, enhance their branding and reach for potential customers.

In a broader perspective, divergence to the international aspects of a property will also be discussed. Import and export of property knowledge, expertise and investments are hoped to move the current property market towards a more positive direction.

Among the key players in the industry involved in the discussions is Credit Suisse country head Stephen Hagger, Employees Provident Fund head of private markets Rohaya Muhammad Yusof, Alliance Bank chief economist Manokaran Mottain, RAM Ratings’ Agribusiness, Real Estate and Construction Ratings Department Head Thong Mun Wai and InvestKL chairman Datuk Seri Michael Yam.

The programme which is divided into four sections will be participated by more than 400 participants from chief executive officers to assistant managers.

For more information regarding the programme visit http://rehdainstitute.com/event/ceo-series-2017/.