The property market is expected to remain flat this year before picking up again next year, said Rahim & Co International Sdn Bhd. Executive chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Abdul Rahman said the property market will remain flat across all sectors this year, except for the warehousing sub-sector, which will be driven by growth of e-commerce.
He said the overall market will take about 12 months to begin picking up, in line with the anticipated resolution of the trade war between the US and China.
Rahim & Co director of research Sulaiman Akhmady Mohd Saheh said the residential market will take one to two years to improve due to affordability issues while the office market will remain slow for more than a year due to incoming supply.
He said asking rents for offices have dropped 20% while effective rents have dropped 8-10%.