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House prices could rise by 4% with GST
Property developer Mah Sing Group Bhd expects construction costs for residential houses to increase by 4% after the introduction of goods and services tax (GST) next year.
Executive director for corporate and investment Datuk Steven Ng Poh Seng said the increase would be driven by higher material costs.
“The increase is not a new thing because if there is any change on subsidised price, it will have a direct impact on construction costs,” he said at the sidelines of Invest Malaysia 2014 here today.
He said last year there was an increase in construction costs of about 3% following the cut in fuel subsidy by the government, increase in labour costs and other materials.
For this year, he said, there may be a 3% rise in construction costs due to increases in electricity and natural gas tariffs and a potential further cut in fuel subsidy.
However, he said, demand for properties was not expected to be impacted by the rise in property prices as the gap between demand and supply for the mass market was still big currently.
“Pre- or post-GST, we will still see demand. Perhaps pre-GST we will see more people rushing into it while post-GST we will see people still eyeing properties, basically the mass market.”
Ng said the company would continue to look for land, especially in the Klang Valley, to capture the long-term potential of the area, especially after the completion of high-speed train from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore by 2020.
To date, Mah Sing’s gross development value (GDV) and unbilled sales stood at RM33.9 billion with Klang Valley contributing 62% of the GDV, Penang 11%, Iskandar Malaysia 22% and Sabah 5%.
The company expected residential projects to contribute 71% of sales this year, commercial 25% and industrial 4%, he said.