Buyers who have job stability and steady income have begun to look for good bargains in the market.
After two years of volatility, the market is bouncing back
By Joseph Wong
Stakeholders of the real estate industry are looking towards 2023 with high expectations. While there are still many factors that could still create issues like political uncertainty, increasing interest rates and the rising cost of materials and services which will impact buyers and renters, the fact that there is a steady rise in demand for property equates to good news.
The existing stocks and properties that were recently launched will help to stabilise the prices of real estate for the short term. This gives investors, buyers and tenants a short period to lock down the prices.
Chester Group of Companies chairman and chief executive officer Kam Jun Yin said 2022 has been a turbulent time for those in the real estate sector and the uncertainties have deterred many potential buyers from making their purchases.
However, those who have job stability and steady income have begun to look for good bargains in the market during this period as this is also the best time to buy, he said.
Property developers are also feeling more optimistic about next year’s outlook. “Developers such as Sime Darby Property and SuezCap are some of the clients that we have a positive relationship with, and they have signed us on for several on-going and even upcoming projects. We see 2023 as a positive year. With GE settling down and the new budget favouring the property industry, we believe the market will be more stable in the coming year.
“Also, many of our clients have hinted that they are gearing up for launches in 2023. Moreover, with inflation going up, we see many investors switching to property to safeguard their wealth and hedge against currency depreciation,” said Foreward Realty chief executive officer Steve Yap.
Juwai IQI group managing director Daniel Ho revealed that the group’s overall revenue growth for the year 2022 compared to 2021 has risen by 60%.
“We expect to achieve a total revenue of RM470 million by the end of 2022. These phenomenal achievements are attributed to our technological advancement that empowers our agents to be more efficient in the marketplace, as well as our extensive global platform with more than 700 primary projects making IQI the agency with the most projects in the Asia Pacific region. By onboarding to the IQI Ecosystem, agents can five times to 10 times their business. We are undoubtedly optimistic that 2023 will be a record-breaking year for us,” he added.
However, Tech Realtors Properties brand associate director Barry Ong said the real estate’s performance in 2023 will depend on several factors like the finalisation of the 2023 Budget, Malaysia’s depreciating ringgit and interest hikes and the inflation rate.
By integrating both property and technology, investors and buyers will have greater ease of mind when dealing with their properties.
Branding and skills
On a brighter note, several real estate agencies are ramping up their workforce, not just hiring more staff but nurturing their existing ones. Gather Properties principal Vincent Tan believes that higher calibre agents will eventually generate and draw more talented individuals to the real estate industry.
“We constantly endeavour to nourish quality agents, who in turn will help each other and then nourish additional quality agents. Furthermore, these distinctive agents from nourishment will be able to help investors, owners or buyers to sell or find the right and suitable property in the shortest period possible. Our goal is to instil in our agents the mindset that helping others comes before getting money,” he said.
For WEREG Properties, its managing director Wilson Law said service branding is an effective means of promoting customer communication for real estate intermediary enterprises, as well as an effective weapon for seizing the initiative and gaining the right to win in market competition.
“WEREG Properties will continue to forge ahead, achieve more outstanding results and become one of Malaysia's top real estate agencies in the future.,” Law said.
iLP Realty founder and chief executive officer Ivon Lai pointed out that as the market recovers, her firm has put in the extra effort to strengthen its team by developing the existing talent while at the same time scouting for more talent and collaborating with other StarProperty-recognised agencies and developers.
“We aim to be the ambassador of Malaysia by promoting our local properties positively and consistently to our international network in line with our government initiatives. As we enter the post-Covid-19 period, we identify this to be in line with our effort of improving everybody’s income through real estate,” she said.
Tech savviness
“With the continuous advancement in technology, businesses will continually be reliant on automation through the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), big data, and other advanced technology e.g. cloud-based/online platforms.
“These are imperative to the future of real estate agents. As such, the utilisation of such tools should ideally assist agents in streamlining the process of qualifying real estate leads and closing deals as quickly as possible, so that they stay competitive and keep up with the latest real estate tech trends without incurring high costs,” added Lai.
The Roof Realty group managing director Datuk Nicholas Yap agreed with the integration of property with technology.
“We have come to an era where technology has become part of our daily life. By integrating both property and technology, we hope our clients will have ease of mind when dealing with their properties. Furthermore, TRR is committed to giving back to society. Numerous CSR projects will be carried out to help Malaysians who are less fortunate. Some of our moving forward plans include helping the homeless to get a proper home. This is one of our company's core values," he said.
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