About Mezzo @ The Light City

The first residential project at The Light City – a large-scale 32.76 acre integrated mixed-use waterfront development by  IJM Perennial Development in Gelugor, Penang. Strategically located next to The Light Collection, just a mere minutes drive from Penang Bridge and George Town.

It comprises two 34-storey residential towers, featuring 456 seaview condominium units with various built-up sizes.

(Photos taken on Mar 2022)

Find out more about Mezzo @ The Light City

The construction of the largest banquet hall in Seberang Perai or known as Butterworth Arena is expected to be completed in September this year!

Located in Ampang Jajar, Butterworth Arena is a five-star banquet hall! It is an initiative of the Penang state government through the Penang Development Corporation (PDC) with a total cost of RM59 million.

When completed, Butterworth Arena will be equipped with various types of facilities and amenities such as three ballrooms that can accommodate a total of 360 tables, a stage and four function rooms, two separate kitchens, 600 parking spaces, 400 parking lots for motorcycles and more.

The banquet hall will also play an important role in stimulating the economy and tourism activities in Seberang Perai and the surrounding areas through the organization of various programs such as conferences, exhibitions, wedding receptions and more.

Bayu Residence, a freehold strata residential development by Freehold Profile Sdn. Bhd. in the heart of Butterworth. Strategically located along Jalan Ong Yi How, right opposite SMK Bagan Jaya. It is just a mere minute drive to Mak Mandin Industrial Estate, surrounded by an abundance of essential amenities including banks, popular eateries, hypermarket, hospital, schools and more.

This development comprises 18 units of 3-storey townhouses and a 12-storey condominium with 3-level car park podiums. The condominium will offer 113 residential units with built-up size ranging from 1,618sq.ft. up to 1,825sq.ft. Facilities include a swimming pool, gymnasium, conference room, squash arena, multipurpose hall and a few others.

Project Name : Bayu Residence
Location : Butterworth
Property Type : Residential
Total Units: 113 (condo), 18 (townhouse)
Built-up Area: 1,618sq.ft., 1,722sq.ft, 1,825sq.ft. (condo)
Indicative Price: (to be confirmed)
Developer : Freehold Profile Sdn. Bhd.

Location Map:

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.

The government will assist low-income families to have their own homes through the Malaysia Housing Financing Initiative (i-Biaya) which was launched two days ago.

Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz (picture) said the government is aware that individuals with no fixed income or payslip would face difficulties in purchasing a house.

i-Biaya is a component under the Home Ownership Programme which focuses on the housing ecosystem including the provision of homes as well as other related policies.

He added that under the Skim Rumah Pertamaku, a total of 67,000 families have owned their first homes as at February.

“The scheme has helped them with total financing amounting to RM14.8 billion where more than 90% came from the bottom 40% income group (B40) while in terms of age, 92% of them are 35 years old and below.

“The scheme is expected to benefit 25,000 applicants from the B40 and middle 40% income group (M40) this year with estimated financing of RM5.9 billion,” he said during the launch of i-Biaya yesterday.

Meanwhile, in his presentation of the 92nd People’s Financial Report via Facebook live yesterday, the minister said i-Biaya was launched to facilitate the public’s process of owning a home.

“I hope with this initiative, it would enable people to own a house in line with the national housing policy which underscores affordable housing for low-income groups,” he added.

The report highlighted financial assistance for teenagers aged 18 to 20 as well as fulltime students under the Transaction Scheme Without Cash, called e-Pemula.

Under the initiative, eligible recipients within the specified group will receive RM150 in the form of e-cash. The government has allocated RM300 million for e-Pemula.

“This initiative is aimed at reducing their financial burden and encouraging cashless spending at physical stores.

“We have chosen to prioritise cashless transactions at physical stores to support local businesses because online purchase does not necessarily mean the items are bought from local sellers.

“It is our responsibility to support the local economy especially since we are rising from the fallout of Covid-19,” he said.

Claims can be made starting April 11 until June 1, 2022, and the amount can be utilised until June 10, 2022.

The ministry will also launch good governance principles for government-linked investment companies (GLICs) today.

Tengku Zafrul said the principles will be the main reference and guidelines for good governance that should be adopted by GLICs.

“The preparation of this guideline takes into account and integrates standards of practice and discussions related to public and corporate governance at the national and global level,” said the minister.

On taxes, Tengku Zafrul reminded the public that there are various tax-related initiatives that the government has in store such as the extension of tax deduction on renovations up to RM300,000 to support compliance to the standard operating procedures.

Among other tax initiatives include the postponement of instalment payments of income tax and special tax reduction on rental cuts.

Source: TheMalaysianReserve.com 

According to the Property Market Report 2021 by the National Property Information Centre (Napic), residential property overhang increased to an all-time high last year of 36,863 units worth RM22.79 billion, marking a 24.7% increase in volume and 20.5% rise in value compared with 2020.

Napic defines “overhang” as residential units that have received certificates of completion and compliance but remain unsold for more than nine months after being launched.

Selangor had the highest number and value of overhang with 6,095 units worth RM5.28 billion. This made up 16.5% in volume and 23.2% in value of the national total.

The state was followed closely by Johor (6,089 units worth RM4.72 billion), Penang (5,493 units, RM3.56 billion) and Kuala Lumpur (3,908 units, RM3.17 billion), respectively.

Condominiums and apartments made up 55.6% (20,505 units) of total overhang, followed by terraced houses (21.3%, 7,839 units).

Properties in the affordable price range of RM300,000 and below formed the majority of unsold houses (31.5%, 11,610 units). This was followed by properties priced from RM500,001 to RM1 million, comprising 30.2% and 11,139 units; and those priced from RM300,001 to RM500,000 with 25.7% and 9,461 units.

Properties priced more than RM1 million made up 12.6% (4,653 units) of residential overhang.

On a positive note, unsold units under construction improved, dropping 2.1% to 70,231 units. However, the supply of unsold properties yet to be constructed recorded a drastic increase of 69.2% to 21,960 units.

Overhang a persistent issue

While Napic’s latest report shows a five-year overview of the market status, previous findings reveal that residential overhang has been prevalent since 2003.

A market boom in the 2010s saw the overhang reduce in tandem with a reduction in supply to 11,316 units, with only 4,956 new completed units added to the existing inventory.

A contributing factor for the overhang is that the saturated market is at the limit of absorptivity, as seen in take-up rates of new launches hovering in the low 30% range since 2016.

In simple terms, the mismatch of demand and supply means there are far too many properties on the market than there are potential buyers.

A common misconception is that residential overhang is caused by a prevalence of overpriced properties catering towards foreign buyers and wealthy Malaysians. Statistics, however, prove otherwise as the bulk of the unsold properties are below the RM300,000 price point classified as “affordable” by the ministry of housing and local government.

The Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (Rehda) has previously said the overhang situation could be attributed to developers in many states being forced to build affordable housing alongside their regular units, despite a lack of demand.

This leads to excessive “affordable” properties and increases the cost of ordinary properties to subsidise the construction of these affordable homes.

Source: FreeMalaysiaToday.com