THE ubiquitous terrace house is still the most popular housing type in the country, according to the Residential Property Stock Report 2003 (RPSR) published by the National Property Information Centre (Napic).

The RPSR revealed that the nation has in existing supply as at Dec 31, 2003, 657,069 units of single-storey terrace houses and 642,956 units of the two- and three-storey variety.

States with a high number of such stock include Kuala Lumpur with 22,210 units of single-storey terraces and 57,556 units of two- and three-storey terraces and Selangor which has 123,390 units and 259,023 units respectively. Johor also registered an impressive number of such houses with 138,162 units and 92,601 units respectively.

The terrace house's position as the undisputed accommodation for the masses is likely to persist given the incoming supply of 78,613 units of single-storey terraces and 110,857 units of the two- and three-storey
variety.

Approvals for such houses are also among the highest of all property types. In Q4 2003, a total of 7,527 units of single-storey terraces and 9,934 units of the two- and three-storey variety were approved by the various local authorities throughout the country.

States with the highest number of such stock in the pipeline include Selangor with a total of 4,507 units and Johor with 6,188 units.

On the whole, the country's residential stock rose 1.3 per cent in Q4 2003 to 3.24 million units over Q3 2003. Selangor, Johor, Perak, Kuala Lumpur and Penang dominated the supply scenario, contributing 69 per cent
or 2.24 million units of the stock (see tables).

Meanwhile, the Property Market Report 2003 (PMR), also published by Napic, said the residential sector was the prime mover of the market. The PMR also stated that the sector is expected to perform better in the
current year. It expects the residential sector to remain active following stronger economic growth, improving market sentiments, low interest rates and easy end-financing.

It also expects the proposed development of 1,000 acres of the Rubber Research Institute of Malaysia land in Sungai Buloh, Selangor, to be known as the Klang Valley Northern Development Corridor, by Syarikat Perumahan Nasional Bhd, to provide further excitement in the market.

Commenting on the KL market, it said the volume of transactions increased 9.2 per cent to 13,357 compared to 5.2 per cent in 2002. Their value jumped 20.4 per cent to RM5.89 billion versus the 5.4 per cent growth in 2002.
Again, the residential sector proved to be the bulwark of the market, accounting for 62.4 per cent of the transactions comprising properties in the RM100,000 to RM500,000 bracket. The mukim of KL was the most active location, accounting for 26 per cent of total transactions.

Condos/apartments remained the most sought-after, contributing 33.3 per cent. In the high-end market, Bukit Damansara, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Bangsar and Sri Hartamas in KL were popular locations for residential properties.

In the rental market, condos/apartments noted contractions ranging from 4.1 per cent to 11.4 per cent. Overall, gross yields of residential units varied according to the neighbourhood and sub-sector.