Penang Property Talk

George Town and  Kuala Lumpur are the only two Asian cities to make the list in the Top 10 of The World’s Best Places to Retire in 2017 from Live and Invest Overseas (LIO), a much-respected international journal.

The list is quoted by Forbes magazine as having gone through a “seismic shake-up” too, because eight of the cities which made the list in 2016 were dropped.

The two Malaysian cities, ranked six (KL) and 10th (George Town), join six cities from Europe and two in Mexico into the esteemed annual list.

They are Algarve (Portugal, ranked 1 for the fourth year in a row), Valletta (Malta, 2 for second year), Mazatlán (Mexico, 3), Abruzzo (Italy, 4), Saint-Chinian (France, 5) Kuala Lumpur (6), Lisbon (Portugal, 7), Budapest (Hungary, 8), San Miguel de Allende (Mexico, 9) and George Town (10).

KL’s selling point, as home to more than seven million people, is that its “not quiet and remote, yet one of the world’s most affordable, exotic and comfortable places to retire”, according to LIO.

“Travel a bit out of the city and you’ll hit rural villages, where life is slower. Foreigners are welcome in Kuala Lumpur and almost everyone speaks “adequate English.”

On George Town, the capital of Penang state, LIO said it was “smaller and slower” compared with KL.

“However, the island has excellent medical care at reasonable prices and that locals communicate largely in English.

“ECA International called George Town the most livable city in Malaysia and a few years back, Lonely Planet dubbed Penang the top food destination in the world, with dining choices which include Chinese, Malay, Indian, Thai and more, going for about US$3 (RM13) a person,” LIO was reported to have said.

Forbes also noted that Malaysia, as well as Mexico, Malta and Portugal are the only countries which appear in more than one list on living, retiring and investing abroad.

According to Leif Simon, the investment editor of Live and Invest Overseas, many cities were dropped from the list because of rising costs.

“Part of it is that a lot of the areas we’ve talked about in Latin America, have become more expensive. And European destinations do so well on things like infrastructure,” he was quoted as saying by Forbes.

Source: FMT News

Nine developers will showcase a total of 2,747 affordable housing units in four districts at the south atrium of Queensbay Mall from 10am to 10pm.

State Housing Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said the affordable units would be open for registration from tomorrow till Sunday.

He said 867 low-cost (LC) units, 9,283 low medium-cost (LMC) units and 17,080 affordable units were being built under the state government’s 17 affordable housing projects.

“The state government will maintain its LC and LMC price at RM42,000 and RM72,500 respectively.

“We have even lowered the ceiling price of affordable housing on the island from RM400,000 to RM300,000,” he told a press conference on Monday.

Jagdeep said the expo, which was incepted in 2014, first showcased the state government’s own projects before it was joined by other private developers.

“It is important to hold this kind of housing expos to create awareness among Penangites on the availability of affordable units in the state.

“The state housing committee will also be present at the expo to assist in new applications, update current applications and attend to enquiries pertaining to the projects,” he said.

The projects available for registration are Dua Residensi and Hijau E-Komuniti (Bandar Cassia) by PDC Properties Sdn Bhd, Tri Pinnacle by Aspen Vision Ventures Sdn Bhd, The Park by Silver Channel Sdn Bhd, Ramah Pavilion by M Summit Corporation Sdn Bhd, Prestige III by PLB Land Sdn Bhd, Quinton by Prisma Bumiraya Sdn Bhd, I-Condo @ One Foresta and I-Santorini by Ideal Property Group, Granito by Taman Sri Bunga Sdn Bhd and Iconic Vue by Iconic Land Sdn Bhd.

Find out all 47 proposed affordable housing in Penang

Source: TheStar.com.my

More lower-priced affordable homes await first-time buyers on Penang Island as more developers are willing to build RM150,000 apartments on the island, ever since the state government’s lowering of maximum prices in one category last year.

State executive councillor in charge of housing Jagdeep Singh Deo said the state government has so far approved three projects in the RM150,000 category for 750 sq ft (minus finishing) homes.

“I am happy to announce that since the introduction of the RM150,000 for 750 sq ft homes, it has received good feedback from private developers.

“We have approved three such projects in the RM150,000 category. We received many more proposals for such projects which are now under review. By lowering the maximum prices, we are trying to make housing more accessible.

“We also previously reduced the maximum pricing of affordable homes on the island from RM400,000 to RM300,000. The response has been very encouraging,” he said in a press conference in Komtar here today.

The 750 sq ft (minus finishing) units were previously priced at RM200,000.

Currently, affordable homes on the island are capped at the following prices, based on the relevant size: RM150,000 (750 sq ft), RM 250,000 (800 sq ft), and RM300,000 (900 sq ft).

On mainland Seberang Perai, the prices are capped at RM150,000 (750 sq ft), RM 200,000 (800 sq ft) and RM250,000 (900 sq ft).

Find out full list of affordable housing in Penang

Jagdeep said the Penang government was also retaining the old RM42,000 and RM72,500 housing price guideline, despite being told to revise the pricing to RM60,000 and RM100,000 by the federal government.

He said those interested in purchasing homes can visit the “Mission Home-Possible” affordable homes fair at the Queensbay Mall from Aug 10 to 13. It will be held at the mall’s south atrium from 10am to 10pm.

“Those with questions on how to apply for homes can visit the expo, where officers from the Penang Housing Department will be there to assist new buyers and field questions,” Jagdeep said.

Currently, the Penang government is building 27,230 affordable homes while another 36,786 units are being built by private developers.

Source: FMT News

It’s pretty common for our readers to approach us to enquire about the latest property market in Penang. Here is an infographic on property hotspots in Penang. Hotspots is defined as the location where the top 20 most active projects in 2017 are located, along with the price ranges of the respective properties within that location.

In Penang, any location can be a property hotspot as long as you have the right product in the right location selling at the right price.

* Most active projects are ranked based on the pageviews recorded in Google Analytic web traffic report for PenangPropertyTalk.com.

The government’s target of building one million affordable housing units (RMM) is expected to be achieved by year end, according to the urban well-being, housing and local government ministry.

The ministry, in a written reply to Wong Tien Fatt (DAP-Sandakan) in Dewan Rakyat yesterday, said until April, the total number of RMM units targeted for construction was 875,490, of which 237,738 units had been fully completed. Each RMM unit’s selling price is set at the maximum RM300,000.

According to the written reply, Kedah recorded the most number of RMM homes that had been completed at 42,131 units, followed by Selangor (34,344 units), Johor (25,410 units), Perak (20,952 units), Melaka (17,750 units), Sabah (17,665 units), Terengganu (15,906 units), Pahang (14,650 units), Penang (13,278 units), Kelantan (12,893 units), Kuala Lumpur (5,810 units), Sarawak (5,220 units), Putrajaya (1,123 units) and the Federal Territory of Labuan (172 units).

About the Rent To Buy scheme, the ministry said although it is currently only available for homes under the People’s Housing Programme, it has the potential to be extended for the purchase of housing units developed by other agencies and state governments in future.

Source: TheEdgeProperty.com.my