Borrowers may have gotten a reprieve from Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) decision to keep the overnight policy rate (OPR) at 3 per cent, but the possibility of another rate hike this year is making some borrowers with more than one property, think of selling.

“I had to start paying an extra RM90 per month for a loan I took out with a local bank for the amount of RM800,000 after Bank Negara hiked the OPR in May 2022. I am now paying a little over RM400 monthly because of the fourth OPR increase, which is a strain for me.

“My husband and I have a total of three housing loans. So you can probably guess how much extra we have to pay each month as a result of the OPR increase,” said Jenny Goh, a senior consultant at a large corporation. Goh expressed her hope that the May 2023 rate increase would be the last one and said that she would not hesitate to sell one or two of her properties if Bank Negara did decide to increase the rate before the end of this year.

So far, the central bank has raised the OPR by 125 basis points (bps) since May 2022, bringing the rate to 3 per cent. The hikes, each time by 25 bps, happened in May, July, September, and November 2023, and in May this year.

At three per cent, the benchmark interest rate is already at the pre-pandemic level.

Bank Negara reduced the OPR to a record-low 1.75 per cent in July 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic was just starting, to support the economy by boosting spending and making borrowing cheaper.

Changes in OPR result in banks charging higher interest on borrowers’ loans.

SM Angel, a researcher based in Kuala Lumpur, said that Bank Negara’s decision to hike interest rates in May of this year was untimely as it had increased the burden on borrowers to pay back their debts.

“Any additional increases in OPR will undoubtedly make it harder for borrowers to repay their loans. Borrowers would be under much more stress as a result, particularly if the cost of living keeps rising.

“My housing loan payment has increased by RM650 a month after the first rate hike in May. Consequently, I must reduce my own spending,” she told the New Straits Times.

She advised banks to consider offering restructuring and rescheduling options for their bad loans in order to reduce default rates.

Lavanya Venkateswaran, OCBC Bank’s senior Asean economist, foresees Bank Negara holding the OPR unchanged for the rest of the year.

“We believe that Bank Negara is now more sanguine about the growth and inflation outlooks but has stopped short of sounding less hawkish.

“This is justified, in our view, not just by external factors, including the continued hawkish drumbeat of global central banks, but also by domestic factors, including sticky core inflation pressures and the inflationary impact of potential changes to the government’s subsidy policies,” she said.

MIDF Research said in a note that Bank Negara is likely to raise the OPR to 3.25 per cent by year-end, following the “stronger-than-expected domestic economy”.

Source: NST Online

Newly proposed affordable housing development by MTT Properties & Development Sdn. Bhd. in Balik Pulau. Located near Jalan Sungai Air Putih, allowing for a convenient short walk to Botanica CT Centre. Additionally, residents will also find other amenities such as Prince of Wales Island International School and Botanica Park within a 5-minute walking distance.

The proposed development will showcase a 16-storey apartment, comprising four levels of car parking podium and a total of 143 affordable homes.

This project is still pending approval. More details to be available during the official launch.

READ MORE ABOUT AFFORDABLE HOUSING:

• Eligibility and the requirement of buying affordable housing
• Full list of affordable housing in Penang

Property Project : (to be confirmed)
Location : Balik Pulau
Property Type : Affordable housing
Total Units: 143
Built-up Area: (to be confirmed)
Indicative Price: (to be confirmed)
Developer: MTT Properties & Development Sdn. Bhd.

DISCLAIMER: This article is solely based on research done using publicly available data. This is not an advertisement. Any claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a project or service should be verified with the developer, provider, or party in question.

Social media has been abuzz since Wednesday with news about the arrival of four new Penang ferries here.

At a cost of RM18 million each, the four new ferries will be used to carry pedestrians and two-wheelers.

Speaking to the New Straits Times today, Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB) chief executive officer Datuk Sasedharan Vasudevan said they were excited that the the new ferries arrived on schedule.

Construction of the new ferries began in January last year.

“We are indeed glad that the construction and delivery of the new ferries are completed as planned despite the challenges faced, including sourcing for the material and such.

“We received the new ferries yesterday and for the next three weeks, we will be preparing them for public use, scheduled next month,” he said.

According to Sasedharan, PPSB is also preparing the two ferry terminals , with the Pangkalan Raja Tun Uda ferry terminal here expected to be completed by the end of the month.

News of the new ferries first came to light after photos and video footage of one of them were leaked online back in March.

At that time, Sasedharan confirmed that the video was taken at a shipyard in Haiphong, Vietnam.

A ferry service has linked Penang island with Butterworth in the mainland for over 126 years.

In 2020, the use of the iconic double-decker vehicle and passenger ferries stopped and was replaced with speedboat ferry services for passengers.

One of the older ferries is currently being used for bicycles and motorcycles.

Source: NST Online

At its meeting today, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of Bank Negara Malaysia has decided to maintain the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) at 3% amid global economic challenges.

The committee noted that despite the expansion of the global economy driven by resilient domestic demand and strong labour market conditions, global growth is being hindered by persistent core inflation and higher interest rates.

“While China’s reopening remains supportive of the global economy, its pace of recovery has slowed in recent months. Globally, headline inflation continued to moderate, but core inflation remains above historical averages.

“For most central banks, the monetary policy stance is likely to remain tight. The growth outlook remains subject to downside risks, mainly from a slower momentum in major economies, higher-than-anticipated inflation outturns, an escalation of geopolitical tensions, and a sharp tightening in financial market conditions,” it said in a statement.

The central bank said that at the current OPR level, the monetary policy stance is slightly accommodative and remains supportive of the economy.

“The MPC continues to see limited risks of future financial imbalances. The MPC remains vigilant to ongoing developments, and will continue to monitor incoming data to inform the assessment on the outlook of domestic inflation and growth. The MPC will ensure that the monetary policy stance remains conducive to sustainable economic growth amid price stability,” it added.

Source: TheSunDaily.my

The Foreshore Residence affordable housing project is expected to reach completion by 2026. The development aims to offer 482 affordable housing units ranging in size from 800 to 900sq.ft., along with 321 low-medium cost housing units with a built-up area of 700sq.ft.

During the offer letter handover ceremony held at the construction site of Foreshore Residence, caretaker state Local Government, Housing, Town and Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo highlighted the exceptionally low prices of the affordable housing units in Penang. He emphasized that Penang is the only state that has refrained from increasing prices, unlike other states. The low-medium cost units are priced at RM72,500 each, while the low-cost units are priced at RM42,000 each.

Today, the first group of applicants for the affordable housing project received their offer letters from Jagdeep during the ceremony. Stressing the reasonable pricing of the Foreshore Residence units due to their urban location, Jagdeep assured attendees that the state government will not only announce the project but also supervise its progress until completion.

Jagdeep revealed that the state government’s objective is to construct 220,000 affordable homes of various types by 2030, with over 150,000 units already completed. These units include low-cost, low-medium cost, affordable homes, and rent-to-own housing. However, despite the provision of various affordable housing options, residents continue to encounter challenges regarding bank loan approvals. Jagdeep pledged to personally address this issue with the Prime Minister.

Additionally, former Pengkalan Kota assemblyman Daniel Gooi stated that the former occupants of the land where the Foreshore Residence housing project is being developed will receive compensation in the form of housing units. These occupants are not required to make purchases but will be allocated units as compensation. Gooi urged the concerned parties to promptly contact the developer and complete the affordable home application form (PN1) to facilitate further arrangements.