The Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia (Rehda) yesterday said their members are inclined to increase the housing price this year due to several factors.

Its president Datuk NK Tong said among the biggest issue found in their reports are the high cost of building materials as well as increasing labour costs which saw the average increase of construction cost to 17 per cent in the second half of 2022 (2H 2022).

He said the economy now is also “inflationary” and will remain so for a while, thus cost will remain high.

However, Tong did not reveal how much increase housing developers had asked, only that it will be a “two digit” in percentage increase.

“That is why I said the developers have no choice but to consider increasing the price.

“To protect the homeowners that they sell the homes to in order to complete the project,” he said during the question and answer session at the media briefing for Rehda property industry survey second half of 2022 and market outlook for 2023.

The survey, which included 136 respondents from developers who are Rehda members, saw that while the current economy situations had improved from 2021 and the pandemic, the cost increase had affected operations.

The study showed in 2H 2022, 75 per cent of respondents reported an average increase of 13 per cent in the overall costs of doing business (1H 2022:82 per cent of respondents; 17 per cent average increase).

Meanwhile, 94 per cent of respondents are said to be affected by the current economic scenario, and have taken various cost-cutting measures including freezing recruitment, reducing salary, rescheduling the launch of planned projects and reducing the scale of launches.

“Similar to 1H 2022, respondents reported that the three main cost components affecting cash flow were material and labour cost, compliance cost including but not limited to policies, contributions, planning requirements and so forth and land cost,” he said.

However, the developers are seen to be more optimistic in 2H 2022 with 66 per cent of respondents stating that they are optimistic with another 4 per cent, very optimistic, compared to 55 per cent optimistic and 3 per cent very optimistic in the first half last year.

2H 2022 also saw the launching of 9,669 units, an increase of 23 per cent from 7,843 units in 1H 2022.

The most popular property are residential serviced apartment and two-storey terraces priced below RM500,000 — especially in Seremban and Johor Baru.

However 61 per cent of the respondents reported that they have unsold residential units with the majority of them priced above RM1 million.

This is due to the end-financing loan rejections, unreleased Bumiputera plot and low demand.

Source: MalayMail.com

With Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Ming recently announcing that there are 429 “sick” housing projects, comprising 70,727 units involving 29,147 buyers nationwide as of Jan 31, the National House Buyers Association (HBA) is urging the authorities to prosecute developers that abandon their projects.

Sick housing projects are defined as those that have been delayed by more than 30% of their scheduled progress or whose sales and purchase agreements (SPA) have lapsed.

Nga said the government would issue letters of support to housebuyers to restructure their bank loans if they were affected by sick housing projects.

He said the ministry has come up with several measures to address the issue, such as displaying a list of housing projects with lapsed SPA on the National Housing Department portal.

Other measures include freezing the Housing Development Account (HDA) of sick projects and blacklisting developers and their boards of directors from applying for new advertising permits.

HBA honorary secretary-general Datuk Chang Kim Loong said existing laws were sufficient to teach developers a lesson.

“The housing laws were tweaked and fine-tuned in June 2015 (to provide) more protection and safeguards for housebuyers. The current Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act 1966 (HDA 1966) was revamped and implemented to plug some of the loopholes, and rectify inadequacies in questionable and grey clauses in the original Act.

“The lack of enforcement is the main reason that developers are getting away with their (inaction). There has been no prosecution (to date) that could (deter) housing developers from abandoning their projects. There is no need to overhaul or revamp the law again and again when no one is acting on them.”

Chang said existing laws criminalise abandonment of projects under Section 18A of HDA 1966 and provide for jail sentences, so housing developers are discouraged from abandoning their projects.

Section 18A states that any licensed housing developer that abandons, or causes to be abandoned, a housing development or any phase of a housing development, that the licensed housing developer is engaged in, carries on, undertakes or causes to be undertaken, shall be guilty of an offence and shall, upon conviction be liable to a fine which shall not be less than RM250,000, but which shall not exceed RM500,000, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or both.

“There are sufficient laws to protect housebuyers under Section 12, where the ministry has the power to give directions to safeguard the interests of purchasers. This includes directing a company to assume control and carry on the business of the housing developer upon such terms and conditions as the ministry may determine.

“The ministry can also certify that the licensed housing developer has abandoned the (project). However, developers that abandon their projects have never been prosecuted.

“Public reliance on legislation has often been let down by the lack of enforcement. It is only good on paper and it will continue to remain in our archives unless the existing laws are used to their full capacity.

“The problem of enforcement is not because of a lack of laws. Enforcement action must be organised.

“Do we honestly need new laws to purportedly ‘offer more protection’ for housebuyers when existing ones are adequate?”

Chang said he welcomes the support letters the ministry plans to issue to those who bought units in sick projects. However, he said banks have the discretion on whether they would allow loans to be restructured.

He also said blacklisting a developer was not enough as they would just set up another company and do the same.

Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) president Mohideen Abdul Kader said the government should act against all irresponsible parties that delay the delivery of units or shortchange buyers with shoddy workmanship.

“Errant housing developers should be jailed because their failure to complete their projects satisfactorily may impact hundreds, if not thousands, of housebuyers who would be forced to service their housing loan while it is delayed.

“We are also concerned about how money for a project can be released to a developer when the construction is stalled,” he said.

Mohideen added that freezing the HDA of sick projects and blacklisting developers and their boards of directors from applying for new advertising permits are the right measures to take, and they should also be prevented from operating other businesses as well.

“There is almost no reason for them to allow their project to become sick because the bank will release the funds in stages from the HDA,” he said.

Source: TheSunDaily.my

The design of the proposed Penang South Islands (PSI), a 1,821ha project next to the Penang International Airport at Bayan Lepas, has been recognised as a sustainable piece of development when it comes to minimising emissions.

The Malaysian Green Technology and Climate Change Corp (MGTC) has honoured Penang for its design as part of its drive to promote Low Carbon Cities (LCCs) in Malaysia, with the state given the “Diamond” award for PSI’s design at the Low Carbon City 2022 event.

MGTC, an agency under the Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Ministry, said the Low Carbon City 2022 award was part of its flagship programme called the Low Carbon Cities 2030 Challenge (LCC2030C), an initiative to help shift Malaysian cities and conversations towards a low carbon future.

The push for low carbon cities began in 2011, when the Low Carbon Cities Framework and Assessment System (LCCF) was set up by the government (under the then Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry) to guide local authorities and statutory organisations to transform their towns and territories into low carbon urban centres.

The LCCF provides guidance for local authorities by addressing carbon emissions in four main areas: urban environment, urban infrastructure, urban transportation, and buildings – through tools such as city design guidelines, measurement and reporting methodology, as well as an assessment programme.

Since then, MGTC has been working alongside local authorities to establish Low Carbon Zones in state capitals and major urban areas, with these zones characterised by reduced emissions from energy and water consumption of buildings and common areas, reduced emissions from internal combustion engines, and reduced generation of waste that ends in landfills.

In its citation for PSI, MGTC said the design of this development had the potential to reduce emissions by 45.47% compared with a “business as usual” scenario.

Evaluated across four areas, the development can prevent the release of emissions equivalent to 844,295 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

PSI scored big in both energy consumption and low-emission mobility, with each contributing savings of 15.61% and 20.26%, respectively.

It is also an overachiever when it comes to greenery, with Island A of PSI alone boasting of around 200,000 carefully selected trees to promote biodiversity and coastal protection, thus making PSI able to lock in 227.94% more carbon dioxide, compared to a development with no or sparse landscaping.

In an immediate reaction, Penang infrastructure and transport exco Zairil Khir Johari congratulated the PSI master planning team for the achievement, saying the low-carbon plan is evidence that Penang meant business when it talks about sustainability.

“Penang cares for the environment, and we are making holistic plans to make sure we meet our targets. We are not just making statements or being rhetorical. We mean to build a green and sustainable development we can all be proud of.”

Deputy State Secretary Datuk Mohd Zakuan Zakaria received the award on behalf of Penang from deputy Environment Minister Datuk Seri Huang Tiong Sii at a ceremony here yesterday.

Source: TheStar.com.my

About Granito @ Permai

An affordable housing development by BSG Property in Tanjung Bungah, Penang. It is strategically located next to TAR College, adjacent to 2 Permai luxury residential scheme. This development featuring a 50-storey building with two residential towers and 12 levels of car park. There are 980 units of affordable homes with a standard built-up area of 864 sq.ft.

Find out more about Granito @ Permai

Perbadanan PR1MA Malaysia (PR1MA) under the Local Government Development Ministry will be building some 4,000 high-rise homes in Penang over the next five years.

The agency will carry out residential and mixed development projects on its two plots of land measuring 121.4ha in the state.

The projects have an estimated gross development value of RM1.25bil, according to its statement.

It also said the mixed development projects would have sustainability features meant to provide inclusiveness, safety, resilience and liveability.

These efforts to provide affordable housing, which also supports Sustainable Development Goals, are in line with the Federal Government’s target under the 12th Malaysia Plan to build 500,000 affordable homes.

PR1MA chief executive officer Datuk Seri Mohd Nazri Md Shariff said, “We realise there is an urgent need for more affordable housing in the country.

“We aim to develop more high-quality housing in Penang and other strategic locations nationwide.”

There are currently three PR1MA projects in Penang comprising 3,867 affordable units.

The projects are Residensi Pauh Permai as well as Residensi Bukit Gelugor Phase 1 and Phase 2.

The Residensi Pauh Permai project in Permatang Pauh, which has 1,017 units, was completed in September 2021.

It received an award last year for the best mass market high-rise development in the northern region.

Residensi Bukit Gelugor Phase 1 is slated for completion in the third quarter of 2025 and Phase 2 in the third quarter of 2026.

Mohd Nazri said PR1MA was not only responsible for building residential projects but also the socio-economic development of the PR1MA community.

“This will indirectly add value to the eco-system,” he said in the statement.

Mohd Nazri had earlier accompanied Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Ming on a visit to Taman Bagan Jaya people’s housing project (PPR) in Butterworth, where residents would get free Internet service for nine months under the ongoing Jendela@PPR national digital infrastructure initiative.

Source: TheStar.com.my