KUALA LUMPUR: Investors are increasingly turning to collectable art as an alternative to property while waiting for the real estate market to recover or reach its bottom, according to Henry Butcher Real Estate Sdn Bhd chief operating officer Tang Chee Meng.

"Rather than moving away from property entirely, today's investors simply have a broader selection of asset classes to choose from, including stocks, art, fine wine, cryptocurrency, and even collectibles like premium Chinese tea," Tang said.

"Many of these alternative options carry price tags in the thousands of ringgit, yet artwork at recent auctions has drawn noticeably stronger interest," he told NST Property.

Tang said rising attendance at art auctions, where collectable pieces can range from about RM10,000 to RM600,000, points to growing interest in alternative assets, particularly when high-quality works by established artists come to market.

He said Malaysia's property market was entering a more cautious phase as developers faced mounting construction costs and greater uncertainty over project viability.

He said the combination of higher crude oil prices, elevated material costs and ongoing conflicts overseas was putting pressure on developers' margins and making new project launches a more carefully considered decision.

"Developers, particularly those without strong balance sheets, risk being caught between weaker-than-expected sales and rising construction costs once a project is launched.

"Unless developers are very confident of the sales prospects of a project, they will be very careful about launching," he said.

He said the concern is that developers may commit to construction contracts at current prices, only to face higher building material and other input costs later.

"If sales are slow while construction costs continue to rise, developers can get caught in between. In some cases, projects may even be delayed or abandoned halfway," he said.

As a result, developers are increasingly adopting a wait-and-see approach rather than rushing new projects to market.

The market, however, is not in a downturn, with demand still evident for well-located properties that are priced appropriately.

"People are cautious. They are waiting to see what happens before making a commitment. If a project comes into the market with a good location and the pricing is right, buyers will still buy," Tang said.

He said this selective buying behaviour is particularly evident in the higher-priced segment, where buyers have greater flexibility to defer purchases.

Political uncertainty could further reinforce that caution, with the 16th General Election (GE16) expected to be another factor that some buyers may want to assess before committing to major property purchases, he said.

At the same time, the current environment is creating opportunities for cash-rich developers.

Tang said with the broader market less aggressive, financially stronger developers can take advantage of opportunities to acquire strategically located land that may have been difficult or prohibitively expensive to secure during a property boom.

"Cash-rich developers are taking the opportunity to acquire well-located land, which they may not have been able to do when the market was very hot," he said.

He said that landed properties in established and sought-after locations remain among the more resilient segments, although buyers are becoming more deliberate in their decision-making.

He said the result is a market that is neither in outright decline nor displaying the exuberance of previous cycles.

"Instead, developers and buyers are watching each other closely, with developers reluctant to launch without sufficient sales visibility and buyers prepared to wait until location, pricing and broader economic conditions provide enough confidence to act," Tang said.

For now, caution rather than contraction is defining Malaysia's property market, he said.