KUALA LUMPUR: The property market would continue to be active this year, supported by various government initiatives under the 10th Malaysia Plan and Budget 2012, said Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Donald Lim.

“Last year, in terms of construction activities, the higher number of new unit starts and building plan approvals signified the confidence of developers and investors,” said Lim at the launch of Malaysia’s Property Market Report 2011.

According to the report, the performance of the residential sub-sector would be sustained, while vacant space in the office and retail sub-sectors is expected to be absorbed as more space is taken up during the progress of the country’s Economic Transformation Programme.

However, Lim also pointed out that the Government was worried about the emergence of a real estate bubble.

“We do not want a United States subprime mortgage crisis in Malaysia. We noted that a lot of foreigners from the Middle East and China are keen on buying properties here,” he said.

Lim said the Government would intervene when property prices were seen to have “shot up too high.”

“As such, measures such as the implementation of the maximum loan-to-value ratio of 70% for the third home and Bank Negara’s responsible lending guidelines were taken.”

According to data on Bank Negara’s website, the amount of loans applied for purchases of residential property increased by 17% year-on-year in the first two months of 2012 to RM26.7bil.

The amount of residential property loans approved during the period was RM12.25bil, which was 2.7% higher compared to a year earlier.

Last year, the property market performed strongly with the value of transactions rising 28.3% to RM137.8bil. Volume rose 14.3% to 430,403 transactions.

The report stated that market activity was led by the residential sub-sector, which had a double-digit expansion of 18.9%.

This was followed by the development land (14.7%), commercial (9.7%), industrial (6.5%) and agricultural (4.6%) sub-sectors.

In terms of value, all sub-sectors registered double-digit growth with two sub-sectors surpassing 50%, namely agricultural (65.4%) and development land (54.8%).

Despite more units launched, the performance of the residential market improved last year. In 2011, there were 49,290 units of new launches which achieved sales of 46.3%, compared with 47,698 units with 45.7% sales in 2010.

Selangor, Johor and Perak offered the most number (51.2% or 25,216 units combined) of new launches in the country.

In terms of market share, the residential sub-sector dominated with 62.7%, followed by the agricultural (19.7%), commercial (10.1%), development land (5.0%) and industrial (2.4%) sub-sectors.

The residential sub-sector also took up a 44.9% share of the transaction value in the market. Last year, there were 269,789 residential property transactions worth RM61.83bil, which was the highest recorded in the last five years.

Selangor retained the lion’s share by capturing 27.9% (75,344 transactions) of the country’s total transactions.

The demand for high-end units priced above RM500,000 had increased, with 21,905 transactions last year (compared with 16,782 transactions in 2010).

“This could be attributed to the increase in affordability level and supported by the ease in borrowing as well as attractive loan packages offered by financial institutions.”

By property type, terraced houses captured 36.6% (98,597 units) of residential transactions, of which about one-third were transacted in Selangor.

As at the end of 2011, there were 4.51 million existing residential units with 584,546 units in the incoming supply.

According to the report, the Malaysian All House Price Index had surged to 156.9 points in the fourth quarter of last year, compared with 147.2 points a year earlier.

Source: The Star

RESIDENTS of Gambier Heights Apartment in Penang are urging the Commissioner of Building (COB) to call for an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) after the parcel owners claimed that they were not given the audited financial report by the Joint Management Body (JMB).

The apartment is located in Persiaran Bukit Gambier near Bukit Gelugor.

They claimed that matters arising at the second Annual General Meeting (AGM) were also not forwarded to them during their third AGM held on May 3 last year.

Teacher S.C. Tan, 45, said the EGM was needed to vote and endorse a licensed property manager to manage the overall operations and administration of the apartments.

“We were also not given the audited financial statements for 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010.

“According to the Building and Common Property Act 2007 (Act 663), the EGM could be called if a quarter of parcel owners signed for it.

“We submitted the petition together with 202 signatures by parcel owners to COB requesting an EGM but was later informed that the request had been rejected.

“In their letter dated November 1, it was stated that the rejection was because 25 owners had withdrawn from the petition, three had duplicated their signatures and six were not parcel owners.

“This left us with 168 signatures. Hence, the petition was rejected,” she said after a meeting with the MPPP president Patahiyah Ismail at Komtar recently.

Engineering site supervisor Stephen Lee, 49, said there were 737 units in Gambier Heights Apartment and at least 185 signatures were required.

“The law is silent on whether it allows ‘withdrawal’ from petition or if it rejects the ‘add-on’ of signatures,” Lee said.

“If the COB had allowed the ‘withdrawal’ of those who are for the EGM, why can’t they allow the ‘add-on’ of signatures?” he asked.

Lee claimed that a decision would be made known after the COB’s meeting on April 13.

Patahiyah declined to comment when met after the meeting.

Source: The Star

BUYERS of low-cost and low medium-cost housing units in Halaman Kenanga in Sungai Dua, Penang, came out smiling after a meeting with project developer Penang Development Corporation Properties Sdn Bhd (PDCP).

The buyers of the 715 units were earlier not allowed to move into their units although they had received the keys to their units from Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng on March 5.

However, they were now allowed to enter their units, some 50 buyers were told during an hour-long meeting with PDCP officers at the Penang Development Corporation (PDC) headquarters in Bayan Baru yesterday.

Halaman Kenanga action committee chairman Habibur Rahman said the buyers were not allowed to install lights and fans in their units by project main contractor Cheras Pinang Sdn Bhd (CPSB).

“We had a meeting with PDCP because we were wondering why we could not move in.

“They agreed to let us move in straight away and all the issues have been resolved,” he said.

“We would also like to thank all the relevant authorities,” he said.

In a statement, PDCP, a subsidiary of PDC, stated that it was served an injunction by CPSB on March 21.

The injunction prevented it from allowing contractors or any third party from carrying out renovation to any part of the building until any further order was made by the court during the inter parte hearing on April 2.

“The grounds cited by CPSB was that it was concerned that any renovation may affect its liability during the defect liability period as per the contract,” the email stated.

PDCP added that the injunction order was set aside yesterday.

Source: The Star

Renowned for its large scale gated and guarded development on the mainland, namely in Simpang Ampat, Bukit Mertajam and Butterworth, the reputable Tambun Indah Land Berhad continues with great strides to expand its distinctive garden-living concept.

With only limited units remaining, Pearl Garden with certificate of fitness (CF) to be obtained soon, offers purchasers a chance of a lifetime to own a landed property by paying only a minimum downpayment RM6,800 for the double-storey terrace house and RM8,800 for the double storey semi-detached.

Spreading over 726 acres of freehold land in Pearl City, Tasek Mutiara, the project’s strategic location within the vicinity of established amenities and easy accessibility to the Penang second link and North-South Expressway has attracted many home seekers from the island.

An equally notable gated development adjacent to Pearl Garden is the luxurious Pearl Villas featuring double-storey semi-detached homes with built-up ranging from 24ft x 43ft on a land size of 35ft x 76ft. The units are priced from RM488,000 with buyers paying only a RM5,000 down payment until completion.

With the escalation of property prices on the island, keen home seekers searching for spacious and affordable properties to accommodate their bigger sized families will be pleased with the launching of Pearl Indah III’s double storey semi-detached homes.

Boasting built-ups starting from 24 ft x 43 ft on a land size of 35 ft x 75 ft onwards, the homes are priced from RM448,000 and come with a fantastic home package that includes free legal fees on the S&P agreement, loan and stamp duty on transfer of the titles.

By paying only a minimum RM5,000 until Vacant Possession, many buyers from the island have signed up for these properties which offer them a huge savings of up to RM50,000.

Offering a similar home package is Pearl Indah’s double-storey terrace homes that are affordably priced from RM318,000 for a spacious land area of 22ft x 70ft.

Interested purchasers need only pay a RM1,000 down payment and a monthly instalment of RM500.

Over on the island is the latest project of Straits Garden in Jelutong. This high-rise development consisting studio and executive suites attracted a lot of local and foreign interest during the recent MAPEX 2012 property fair in Straits Quay.

Source: The Star

Reputable developer Asas Dunia Berhad has done it again in delivering an architectural wonder that is the envy of all with its prestigious Asas Murni development in Bukit Minyak, central Seberang Prai.

Comprising 40 exclusive units of two-and-a-half storey townhouses that have been completed with CF, this prestigious gated and guarded community features units with built-up areas ranging from 2,120sq ft. Only limited units of these freehold homes are still available and selling from RM380,000.

Every contemporary unit features five bedrooms with individual bathrooms, two spacious balconies and two living rooms.

A place that you would be proud to call home, the low density Asas Murni also stands out with its lush and beautiful landscaped gardens.

The project also prides itself on its optimum location that is within close proximity to the Bukit Minyak Industrial Estate, Penang Bridge and the bustling Bukit Mertajam town.

A name that is synonymous with quality, value and reliability, Asas Dunia needs no further introduction having carved its niche in Penang over the years with various stunning residential and commercial developments.

It has choice parcels of land extending from south Seberang Perai to central Seberang Perai namely in prime areas of Bukit Mertajam, Nibong Tebal, Jawi, Sungai Bakap and Simpang Ampat.

All the landed property sold also have unencumbered individual titles.

Thus one can buy with confidence knowing that his dream home would be completed ahead of time.

Asas Dunia has also taken the extra initiative to assist prospective home owners in the application of housing loans (at very attractive rates and terms) and EPF withdrawals.

Source: The Star