PETALING JAYA (April 25): There was minimal change in transacted volumes and values in the first quarter of this year (1Q2015) as the property market readied itself for the Goods and Services Tax (GST), said Reapfield Academy Sdn Bhd group CEO and president Dr Gerald Kho (pictured) during his presentation on the topic 'Post-GST '“ The Real Impact on Buyers' at The Edge Investment Forum on Real Estate 2015 today.

'Based on data from Reapfield Group, the property market trend since 2012 to the first quarter this year showed small difference in values and transaction volumes in the pre-GST [stages],' said Kho.

He added that GST will lead to increased cost of properties and general consumption, in which the majority will be made up of household consumption. 

While he expected gross domestic product to continue to slide, he is optimistic that in the long term, consumers' income and savings will rise in an accelerated rate. He attributed such a rise to urbanisation via the governments' economic transformation programmes, which will see more than three million Malaysians moving into urban areas for better income over the next five years. 

'People's income will be increasing at an accelerating manner [due to better infrastructure]'¦ I believe that our government is becoming more effective in helping us manage our businesses, with better infrastructure coming in,' said Kho. He also added that due to the improved infrastructure, 'foreign direct investment [in general] in the last two years was strong and it will be expected to remain strong'.

This year's forum theme is 'Investing In Uncertain Times: Make Better Decisions'.