RESIDENTS of two condominium blocks in Gurney Drive, Penang, are having sleepless nights due to the loud music coming from vehicles parked opposite their blocks.

One of the residents, who wished to be known only as Kori, 68, said he and his wife, Hashiko, 59, had not been sleeping well for the past five months because of the loud music.

“Every night, there will be cars parked opposite our block and loud music will be played from the speakers in the car boot. There will also be people dancing to the music ” it’s like a mini open-air discotheque for them.

“We’ve been living in this place since March and we thought it was a temporary thing at first but it has been getting worse especially on weekends,” said the Malaysia My Second Home Programme participant.

Kori, who hails from Osaka, Japan, said the music was so loud that he could hardly hear his wife speaking and they live on the third floor.

“We’ve made numerous police reports and even got our landlord to report the matter to the area’s assemblyman and it would stop for only a few days.”

Another resident, who wished to be known only as Teoh, said she too had difficulties falling asleep due to the loud noise.

Kori and Teoh said they had reported the matter to the building manage- ment and was told that they were in the midst of finding a solution to the problem.

The condominium?s property ma-nager Regan Maurice said the police had been alerted of the situation.

“There is a police beat base nearby but each time they see the police approa-ching, they’d quickly disperse but would come back again after the police had left.”

State police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Wira Ayub Yaakob when contacted said he would instruct his personnel to look into the matter.

SOURCE: The Star

Given the sharp hike in housing prices in the hot markets of the Klang Valley and Penang island in the past two years, it is about time some long-term initiatives are implemented to promote the decentralisation and widening of our “core favourite markets” to the larger undeveloped peripherals.

Besides ensuring that development will be spread out to other parts of the country, these efforts will also be able to help “cool down” the hot property market.

Unlike some countries that face acute land shortage problem, Malaysia is blessed with vast tracts of land but the main problem causing the centralisation of development in the few core corridors can be traced to poor accessibility and lack of facilities of these undeveloped locations.

Fast-track development efforts such as extending the My Rapid Transit (MRT) system and promoting other urbanisation projects and activities to the outskirts will be a good start to spread out the development efforts.

I believe once such plans are in place and made known to the public, land owners and developers with land in these parts of the country will be encouraged to open up their land for development.

Unlocking the value of these land will be a worthwhile proposition to catch the wave of the seemingly insatiable demand of the housing market now. With the higher supply of good property projects, it will help to ease the market and prevent overheating like what has happened to some countries.

Developers looking to move into “blue ocean” or underserved market should make their move to lead in the affordable housing market by offering quality projects as they can be assured of a good following.

Malaysia is still a relatively young country and has a sizeable population of under the age of 40 years. Save for the 10% to 20% of the population who are in the wealthy and super-rich categories, most of the first-time home buyers will opt for medium-priced property.

I believe the local property landscape will need to go through major changes to keep up with the rapid urbanisation and rising housing and infrastructure needs of the maturing population.

And developers need to think out of the box and introduce more innovative building and design plans in their projects.

Some of the workable ideas include adopting minimalist housing designs to keep cost down and offering more flexibility to buyers to “dress up” their own property.

Available statistics show that many of the unsold residences in the KL City Centre (KLCC) area are highly luxurious and extravagant in their built-up (some up to 20,000 sq ft), which means their prices are also way above the affordability of the average Malaysians.

As such, projects that have yet to get off the ground can still be redesigned to allow for more smaller units of about 800 sq ft to 2,000 sq ft.

The condominium sector, particularly in the KLCC area, is still reeling from low take-up and occupancy rates.

In fact, a number of high-end projects witnessed a decline in both capital values and rents as the market consolidated after the heady growth of 2007-2009.

Of concern is the impending supply, with 2011 completions projected to be around 6,000 units, and we can expect this to have a further downside impact on the luxury residential market.

It is worth noting that despite the perceived wealth created by the sharp property price hike for property owners and investors, this will remain merely as “paper” gains unless the property have been transacted for cash.

Unless one is a serious investor and has a portfolio of property assets, those who can count the property they are currently occupying as their only asset will not be better off in monetary terms, unless they are counting the gains made on paper.

For many, the house or shoplot that they are occupying is the only asset that they own. There is no way they can realise the gain that comes with the higher price unless they are willing to liquidate their position by selling their unit and become a tenant.

But as we know, prices can go upwards and likewise they can take a dip when the market turns. So like the saying goes: It is wise not to count the chicks until the eggs are hatched.

For many average Malaysians who are dependent on their monthly wages to make ends meet and have yet to purchase their own home, they are the most hard hit by the property price hike. They are the ones who have little choice but to scour around for more affordably priced property to buy.

The various Government initiatives to set aside land for affordable projects is a good first step to a plan for more affordable projects for the average Malaysians.

Sizeable land parcels that are suitable for township development has become scarce and the Government’s pledge to set aside enough land to build medium-priced housing projects will hopefully be a long-term commitment to benefit the larger populace of the average folk.

Land is one of the main ingredients that have to be in place to ensure the success of the affordable housing programmes.

Development projects need planning and a gestation period from a few months to a year or two to materialise. By the time the two affordable housing programmes – My First Home Scheme and 1Malaysia Housing Programme – are able to deliver their first completed units to buyers, it will be at least two years down the road.

In the interim period, private developers have to take on the responsibility as the provider of these housing units and those who do will benefit in the long run.

SOURCE: The Star

NIBONG TEBAL: A total of 368 low-cost and low medium-cost houses are being built at Taman Sungai Duri Permai near here for the people in south Seberang Prai district.

They comprise 224 units of low-cost terrace, 114 units of low medium-cost terrace and 30 units of low medium-cost semi-detached houses. The low-cost units are built in townhouse style, with two units occupying each double-storey townhouse.

The houses, under the Penang government’s privatised housing programme, are expected to be completed by the end of October, said state Housing, Urban and Town Planning Committee chairman Wong Hon Wai.

Wong said the low-cost units are priced at RM38,000, low medium-cost units at between RM80,000 and RM104,760 while the semi-detached units are priced between RM90,000 and RM112,200.

“The Pakatan Rakyat state government will continue to approve and build low and medium-cost houses to meet the needs and demands of the people in the state.

“It is our commitment to provide sufficient affordable homes for the poor and the middle income group,” Wong said after visiting the RM28mil project undertaken by Asas Dunia Bhd in Sungai Duri yesterday.

He said only those whose monthly income was below RM2,500 were eligible to apply for the houses through the state housing department or their assemblyman.

Wong said the state had approved low and medium-cost housing projects in all five districts in the state under its privatised housing programme but could not provide details on the number of projects approved.

He said some developers had yet to start their projects due to factors like squatter problems and ground works.

Source: The Star

VISITORS to the 10th Penang Fur-niture Exhibition (Penfurnex) exhibition will be spoilt for choice as 96 exhibitors have set up 430 booths showcasing a wide range of furniture and home fixtures.

The three-day exhibition, which ends tomorrow, will be held at the Penang International Sports Arena (PISA) from 11am to 9pm.

Organising chairman Richard Ooi said the event themed ‘Modern. Simple. Characteristic’ was organised by the Penang Furniture Manufacturers and Dealers Asso- ciation (PFMDA).

He said PFMDA was emphasising the state’s ‘Go Green’ campaign at the exhibition by setting up a corner called ‘Green Home and Healthy Living’ to raise awareness among the public.

PFMDA president Ngai Chin Soon said the association would donate RM5,000 from proceeds of the exhibition to the SJKC Beng Teik (Pusat) building committee.

He was speaking during the start of the event yesterday which also saw the launch of the quarterly magazine titled ‘Furniture Malaysia’.

Ooi said the magazine provided players in the furniture industry with an opportunity to share information.

He said the magazine, priced at RM6, would be available at bookstores and retail outlets.

The event also saw trophies presented to winners of the Best Booth Design competition.

Gama Marketing Sdn Bhd won the first prize while Yo Soon Timber Sdn Bhd and Glass House Enterprise bagged the second and third prizes respectively.

Visitors to the exhibition can take part in several competitions, in- cluding the ‘Buy and Win’ lucky draw contest, and stand a chance to win prizes worth more than RM65,000.

Admission to the exhibition is free.

GEORGE TOWN: The general election appears to be a factor in property purchasing decisions by certain investors, a survey carried out by an online property portal has revealed.

PropertyGuru, Asia’s leading property portal, and its Malaysian arm HomeGuru, have said 40 per cent of over 2,000 respondents of a survey carried out in Malaysia have said they will buy properties after the elections, while 49 per cent stated the polls would have no effect on their buying decision.

“About 800 of our respondents feel the coming general election will affect their property buying decision and say they will buy properties only after the election,” HomeGuru Sdn Bhd country manager Steven Tan told Business Times.

The findings were part of the company’s “Malaysia Property Sentiment Survey” for the second half of 2011.

He said 18 per cent of the respondents said they used the Internet to do a research on property market trends, 16 per cent for home loan packages, 15 per cent for real estate agents and 15 per cent scoured online for auction properties.

Tan was in Penang on Thursday with AllProperty Media Pte Ltd group chief executive officer Steve Melhuish to relaunch Property-Guru’s northern region property website, Fullhouse.com.my.

Other finds of the survey included the fact that 20 per cent of its respondents said potential profit from capital appreciation of property is the most attractive reason to invest in property.

“About 19 per cent say property investment is good for retirement planning and 18 per cent see property as solid and safe investment,” Tan added.

“Our sentiment survey indicates that north Malaysia will continue to experience a sharp growth due to high demand from local and overseas buyers in the next two years,” Melhuish said.

“This is based on the fact that an average of 46 per cent of 120 survey respondents from northern Malaysia – notably Penang – say that property prices for apartments/condominiums, terrace and link-houses and town houses are reasonable.”

PropertyGuru, which was founded in 2006, has a presence in 8 countries, including offices in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand, along with partnerships with property websites in Australia, Hong Kong, India and Macau.

SOURCE: Business Times