Kelisa Residence, another condominium development by Tambun Indah in Seberang Jaya, Penang. This project comprises:

Type A: 1,549 sf.
Type B: 1,323 sf.
Type C: 1,097 sf.

Features:

– Located at heart of Seberang Jaya, near Carrefour Hypermarket
– Low density development, only 16 units per floor, total 142 units.
– Built up area from 1097 sf to 1549 sf
– Single block 10 storey condominium
– Facilities : swimming pool, gym, landscape garden
– 24 hours security
– Good feng shui, units facing north or south
– Covered car parks

Property Project : Kelisa Residence
Location : Seberang Jaya, Penang
Property Type : Condominium
Tenure : Freehold
Built-up Area: 1,097 sq.ft. – 1,549 sq.ft.
Total Units: 142
Indicative Price: RM218,000
Developer : Tambun Indah

SP Setia will develop the Penang People’s Park project on the grounds of the Penang International Sports Arena (Pisa). Pisa is an indoor sports arena close to the Penang International Airport.

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government has set a precedent for housing developers in the state by allowing SP Setia Bhd to build extra units within any of its developments on the island over the next 30 years.

This comes under a build-operate-transfer (BOT) concession agreement that was signed on August 19 between the Municipal Island of Penang Island (MPPP) and Eco Meridian Sdn Bhd (EMSB), a wholly-owned subsidiary of SP Setia.

A summary of the concession, which was prepared by MPPP’s legal unit and disclosed yesterday, said MPPP agrees to grant EMSB the right to additional density of any SP Setia developments within Penang Island and this would be over and above the maximum permissible density for the land.

This must not exceed 1,500 residential units spread out on the island during the concession period.

The concession period is for 30 years and EMSB is also entitled to apply for a renewal for two further terms of 15 years each.

Pisa was completed in 2000 and sits on more than 10 hectares, serving as the largest and most comprehensive multi-purpose indoor venue on Penang Island.

The arena, which is owned by the Penang Island Municipal Council and managed by Penevents Sdn Bhd, boasts an Olympic-sized swimming pool and a spacious air-conditioned area, which has been designed to host conventions, exhibitions and entertainment shows, along with major sporting events.

The new project, estimated to cost up to RM300 million, is made up of three components – which include an international convention and exhibition centre, along with refurbishment works to the existing indoor stadium and aquatic centre respectively.

The concession also compels EMSB to build 450 low medium-cost housing units.

“The State Authority shall provide a piece of land for the purpose of the same,” the summary of the agreement said.

The deal also stated that MPPP has agreed to sell and transfer part of the 10 hectare plot to EMSB for the purpose of a hotel site with a leasehold title of 99 years.

The purchase price of the hotel site is RM13.7 million

Source: Business Times

GEORGE TOWN: Slower affordable property launches and less demand for such properties are some of the consequences of the proposed move by Bank Negara to assess housing loans on net income rather than on gross income.

Registered and chartered valuer C.A. Lim & Co proprietor Lim Chien Aun told StarBiz that there would be an impact on the demand for affordable properties priced between RM100,000 and RM300,000.

The proposed move to assess the eligibility for housing loans on a net income basis would lower affordability by 14% to 37%, said a recent RHB Research Institute report.

“We will definitely see slower take-up rate from the low and middle-income segments, resulting in the long run slower delivery of affordable housing projects.

“Ordinary wage earners will be affected more than the high-income segment.

“Unless the Government is willing to lower the price of affordable housing in the country, the proposed move, if implemented, may not support Government’s objective of promoting affordable housing projects,” he said.

Chartered valuer and property consultant Azmi & Co (Penang) Sdn Bhd managing director Chandra Mohan Krishnan said there would be a slowdown in the delivery of houses, especially those priced from RM100,000 to RM300,000, as the eligibility of those in the low and middle income segment for housing loans would be affected, if the move was implemented.

“I don’t encourage this move to be implemented now, as this would generate a chain of effects, although the intention is to curb speculation,” he said.

On the impact of the move on property prices, Henry Butcher Malaysia (Penang) director Dr Teoh Poh Huat said there would be additional downward pressure.

Real Estate & Housing Developers’ Association (Penang) chairman Datuk Jerry Chan said, for example, the impact of the move would be more noticeable on the island than in Seberang Prai where the property market was less speculative.

“Developers who have lined up easy and high percentage financing for its projects will feel the brunt of the proposed move.

“New projects from such developers would assume a slower pace. Property buyers with high leverage for property purchase will also be affected.

“We can expect to see a slower takeup rate from this category,” he said.

Chan said the move, however, would not impact very much on property prices, due to high land cost and strong holding power of major developers in Penang.

They were commenting on Bank Negara’s proposed move to curb rising property speculation, as household debt in the country, as measured by household debt to annual gross domestic product ratio, had surged to a record high level in 2009 and 2010, largely stimulated by low interest rates and easy financing scheme for property purchase.

The household debt to GDP ratio in the country has reached nearly 76%, which is on the high side compared with countries in South-East Asia.

Meanwhile, Penang-based Ideal Property Development Sdn Bhd plans to launch projects with about RM400mil in gross development value over the next 12 months, compared with RM600mil as originally planned.

SOURCE: The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: PLB Engineering Bhd's wholly-owned subsidiary, PLB Land Sdn Bhd, is acquiring half share over two pieces of
land in Teluk Ketumbar, Penang, from Puan Che Siah Ibrahim, for RM4.2 million.

The purchase of the land measuring 17,681.4712 square meters and 5,916.5035 square meters, respectively, would be financed via internally generated funds.

In a filing to Bursa Malaysia on Sept 7, PLB said the acquisition would increase the group's land bank to cater for future development.- Bernama

SOURCE: The Edge Property

KUALA LUMPUR: A proposal to change the way housing loans are approved has property consultants and analysts worried as they felt loans given based on net income as opposed to gross income would dampen demand for housing.

Some banks, however, don’t have an issue with the proposed changes as one banker said changes to the debt serviceability ratio would be good for the housing market. He said the proposed changes were for the benefit of home buyers.

“It’s up to the banks to manage it. Banks have their own ways to control and approve loans,” said Zerin Properties CEO Previndran Singhe.

Previndran was critical of the proposed change, saying such a drastic move would be self defeating and would mean more Malaysians could not afford homes.

Henry Butcher Marketing Sdn Bhd chief operating officer Tang Chee Meng said such a move would tantamount to a limit on the amount of money a person could borrow to buy a house.

Although lower demand may push prices down, he does not think developers may be able to reduce prices by much given the increase in building material prices over the years that has pushed the cost of building a home upwards.

“I will support any measure by the Government to cool down the property market so there is no bubble, but they have to be careful when taking measures and need to determine if there is really an asset bubble building up,” Tang said.

One analyst who covers the sector said such a measure, if it was to control speculation in the property sector, was not needed at the moment as house prices would soften in a period of weak demand brought about by an economic slowdown.

“Developers and banks would surely lobby against such a move,” she said, worried about the chain reaction a weaker property market would have on the overall economy.

RHB Research Institute on Monday analysed the proposed changes and concluded that a move to change the assessment of eligibility for housing loans to a net income basis would lower affordability by 14% to 37%.

It said the high-end market would be most affected, and should supply match demand then prices would have to correct by a similar or smaller percentage, or supply will have to be reduced to hold up prices.

“The mass market segment which is largely concentrated in the medium-priced range will see smaller impact, especially if first-time home buyers are excluded from this measure,” it said.

While some might see the measure as a move to bring down the price of homes, others think such a move by Bank Negara would in turn ease the growth in household indebtedness.

Bank Negara, which had been looking to introduce guidelines to stress-test individual borrowers this quarter, has sought the opinion of banks on the proposed move.

One of the factors that precipitated that move is the buildup of debt that has seen household debt to GDP ratio reach nearly 76%, which is on the high side compared with countries in South-East Asia.

“It is understandable for Bank Negara to take action given that the rising household debt, as measured by household debt to GDP ratio, has surged to a record high level in 2009 and 2010, largely stimulated by low interest rate and easy financing scheme for property purchase,” said RHB.

With residential loans rising 14.7% in July, residential loans accounted for 54.3% of total loans in the same month, up from 49.7% a year ago.

Although housing loans had been the biggest contributor to the increase in household debt, the buildup of personal loans had also been rapid and that had caught the attention of the regulator.

CIMB Investment Bank Bhd economic research head Lee Heng Guie concurred that the proposal would affect demand for housing, but said the intention of the proposed change was to get people to buy what they can afford.

Lee said any decision to implement the new computation method had to be weighed against the current sluggish global economic situation.

And while household debt may be an issue, the ability of households to service their loans do not appear to be a problem as yet.

Lee said that in 2010, for every ringgit of income, households paid 47.8 sen to service their debt.

The debt service ratio of household debt was 49 sen in 2009, 39.5 sen in 2008 and 41.1 sen in 2007 and the factors that affect that ratio is household income and the interest rate outlook.

SOURCE: The Star