IT is important to look for ways to bridge the gap between property valuations provided by private and government valuers, said Lim Guan Eng.

The finance minister said valuations provided by the Valuation and Property Services Department and private valuers sometimes differed.

The difference, he said, could be due to the use of different methodology during valuation as well as differing opinions and approach.

“If the valuation provided by the two are drastically different, then it will create a confusion on who to follow,” he said while delivering his keynote address at the launch of the National Property Information Centre’s 2018 Malaysia property market report.

He suggested establishing a standard operating procedure (SOP) to streamline the working methods of the government and private surveyors.

Additionally, Lim urged private surveyors and the department to engage with one another.

Meanwhile, director-general of Valuation and Property Services Ahmad Zailan Azizuddin said the regulations and standards for government and private property surveyors are the same.

However, the interpretation of the standards could be different.

“The same standard and same principle but the opinion may differ.”

Zailan said there have been meetings with private surveyors from time to time.

The Board of Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and Property Managers is indeed concerned about the mismatch in valuations, he said.

“We as a board, if there is any wrongdoing in terms of valuation either it is undervalued or overvalued, the public is welcome to complain to the board.

“We will look into that.”

The board comprises of property industry players from the government and private sectors.

 The property sector saw a marginal improvement in 2018.

 The sector recorded 313,710 transactions worth RM140.33 billion last year, translating to a 0.6% increase in volume and 0.3% rise in value as compared to 2017.

Residential property continued to support the overall property sector with a market share of 62.9%.

However, the situation of overhang in the residential space increased to 32,313 units valued at RM19.86 billion from 24,738 units worth RM15.64 billion.

High-rise residential properties formed the bulk of the overhang. – April 30, 2019.