From 2010 to 2020, the state's property market is expected see similar growth trends that were experienced between 2000 to 2009, says CH Williams Talhar Wong and Yeo Sdn Bhd (WTWY).

According to Managing Director Robert Ting, the market is expected to slow down this year with expected gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 4% to 5%, but with parts of Sarawak affected by the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) to be an exception.

"Additional demand is also anticipated from the increased workforce for SCORE projects" he said, adding that Bintulu, Sibu and Mukah will benefit more particularly after 2015.

With the ongoing property price hike, coupled with high inflationary pressures on food, consumables and transport, Ting noted that household priority has shifted to basic needs which leaves less disposable income for housing.

Ting believes that this is the reason for increased interest in the secondary market as an alternative. It is evident that there is still a lot of demand for residential properties.

More than 9,000 residential properties were completed in Kuching within 2008 to 2013, followed by Miri (more than 7,000 properties), Sibu (about 7,000 properties), Samarahan (about 5,000) and Bintulu (about 1,500).

When asked on whether prices of properties will drop in Sarawak, Ting said that the situation is very different from West Malaysia. Sarawakian developers prefer to release small amounts of units each time to ensure that chances of property price drop is slim.

Ting said, "Though the market appeared to be slowing down, there is still a lot of construction activities going on due to the past two years' prolific development."

He believes that the residential sector will continue to remain the mainstay of the property sector with close to 50% of transactions contributed by residential projects.

"Prospects for commercial properties in Sarawak is good as the business community is growing with the state's increasing development" Ting said, adding this was further boosted by the SCORE projects concentrated in the central region of the state.

Looking at the industrial sector in Sarawak, Ting said the private industrial estates will continue to have demand for their semi-detached and detached units for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and small and medium industries.