Real estate sector on track for healthy year
With most property developers delivering earnings broadly in line with expectations in the recently concluded results season...
Co-founder and group chief executive officer Kashif Ansari said in a statement that AI and digital infrastructure investments are expected to be major drivers of industrial real estate growth.
"Over RM57 billion has already been committed for data centres, with a total investment pipeline of RM149 billion. That indicates continued investor confidence.
"Foreign direct investment and Malaysia's strategic participation in BRICS and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership will also contribute to sustaining the commercial real estate market," he said.
Kashif noted that for the residential sector, the company projects price growth of up to three per cent in 2025, along with an increase in new home supply and continued improvement in transaction volume.
He reckoned that the southern region, particularly areas with strong cross-border ties with Singapore, will see heightened demand as companies and consumers begin to take advantage of the new transport links and the incentives of the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone.
On the industrial and commercial segments, he said that industrial transaction values for the third quarter (3Q) of 2024 had climbed by 22 per cent to RM7.2 billion on a year-on-year basis.
"Strong demand for warehouses and distribution centres was driven by the rapid expansion of Malaysia as a distribution hub. There is a lot of shopping going on in Malaysia, and that has boosted demand for warehouses and distribution facilities," he said.
Additionally, Kashif said that the country's residential real estate market will continue to grow this year. In 2024, the residential market had recorded a strong result, with a 10.4 per cent increase in transaction value, reaching RM28.74 billion during 3Q last year.
"Residential transactions accounted for 50 per cent of all property transactions, an increase from 46 per cent in the first half of the year.
"In part, that growth was driven by new supply, with 10 per cent more new homes completed," he said.
There is much more supply in the pipeline as well. The industry has nearly tripled the number of new homes it is building compared to last year, he added.
