KUALA LUMPUR, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's property sales increased by 23.8 percent year-on-year to 105.65 billion ringgit in the first half of 2024, the highest in five years, official data showed Monday.
The National Property Information Center (NAPIC) said in a statement that the property transactions volume also rose 8 percent year on year to 198,806 in the first half.
"The highest achievement of the property market in the first half 2024 was driven by Malaysia's strong economic growth of 5.9 percent, provides confidences that the country is on the right track towards achieving the national economic transformation," Malaysia's Deputy Minister of Finance Lim Hui Ying said.
Lim said the government support including offering up to 10 billion ringgit in guarantees under the housing credit guarantee scheme, maintaining the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) at 3.0 percent, and fiscal policies such as the extension of the stamp duty exemptions period on property transfer documents for the purchase of first-time home buyers have driven a stronger property market.
Meanwhile, preliminary data for the Malaysian House Price Index in the first half stood at 218.7 points, with an average price of 471,918 ringgit per unit, reflecting an annual growth rate of 0.9 percent. (1 ringgit equals 0.23 U.S. dollars) ■