Unity Realty founder, Dato Cat Chee, shares her view on the state of the property market in 2019.
You may have read about her six habits of highly successful real estate team leaders – this time, the founder of Unity Realty, Dato Cat Chee, brings her experience and knowledge to provide us with deep insight into the ebbs and flows of the real estate industry in 2019.
What are your predictions for the property market in 2019?
“As Malaysia’s economy improves, this will translate into a healthier real estate market. The economic model and direction have changed, and so have international relations and foreign partnerships.
Taken on February 14th 2019, this picture shows the Petronas Twin Towers and city skyline from the observation deck of the Kuala Lumpur Tower in Kuala Lumpur. (Photo by Mohd RASFAN / AFP)
"This has resulted in improved labour market conditions, a lower rate of inflation, and higher confidence among consumers. However, the mortgage approval rate is on the rise.
“In my opinion, the Malaysian property market is expected to remain positive and with better prospects this year as there will be more upcoming projects soon.”
How does Unity Realty overcome the current perception of a cooling property market?
“Most industries have periods of natural downtime, which provides for slower-than-normal days. I would put it this way; it is a chance to catch your breath and make good use of the extra time to advance your career by gaining professional knowledge.
Part of the crowds during the Critical Real Estate Issues Q1 2016 seminar. IZZRAFIQ ALIAS / The Star. May 19, 2016.
“Besides, it is a good time to plan for the next peak season. We believe the previous busy peak season has passed by and we can probably do something better to improve our performance during the next peak. Or, we could use the time to reflect on whether we are still on track to meet our larger objectives.
“Another thing we will do during downtime is motivation meetings and brainstorming sessions to drum up new ideas, new selling strategies, and determine what we can do to improve our personal sales and group sales.
“At the same time, we will find ways to generate new leads and set our own time for networking in order to bring our customer service up a notch and build stronger relationships with current and potential customers.
“Most important is to keep yourself positive and motivated during the cooling market. We encourage our negotiators to use this time to expand their own professional knowledge to advance their careers.”
Do you think there are enough affordable homes available to the average Malaysian?
“When affordable housing projects are planned, it is important for government authorities to collaborate with the private sector in developing the affordable units, especially in identifying suitable areas for such development, noting that developers have the experience and the commercial sense.
"Local authorities also must be responsible for coordinating basic infrastructure like clinics, preschools, primary schools, and markets in the vicinity. This will encourage people to stay in these areas.
The LRT in Kuala Lumpur. FAIHAN GHANI/The Star.
“Every state has its own policies and plans for the future. The question of whether there is enough affordable housing for Malaysians depends on government planning and the demographics of a particular state, in addition to occupancy rates, security measures, and facilities provided in the vicinity.”
How can real estate agencies utilise data analytics to target buyers more efficiently?
“Modern technologies have turned the real estate market upside down. They have changed the way of doing business, managing human resources, optimising expenditures, and many others. Many real estate companies already use Big Data powered software for data analysis.
“The main purpose of using Big Data in real estate is to analyse large datasets from multiple sources and extract useful information from them. Unlike algorithms, humans are not able to analyse such colossal data threads. Companies can benefit a lot by optimising the time they spend on the completion of a certain task as well as the financial resources they expend for the task.
Modern data analytics tools can be used in any organisation, at any scale, without a huge investment of money.
“Due to predictive analytics, companies working in the real estate industry can estimate overall conditions more accurately, make better-informed decisions, and provide their customers with up-to-date information – while increasing their satisfaction as a result. Moreover, real estate agents can quickly find appropriate property variants to meet the demands and preferences of customers according to affordability, age, preferred location, etc.”
Read about other real estate negotiators, visit Propwall.my on Facebook to stay informed, or read about Dato Cat Chee’s journey from a humble store operator to the founder of a real estate agency that transacted properties worth a total of 4 billion ringgit in 2018.
