Sanctuary Suria, the 6th phase of residential development at Permatang Sanctuary by IJM in Alma, Bukit Mertajam. Located along Lorong Santuari 25 & 27, adjacent to Sanctuary Court. It is only a short drive to an abundance of amenities namely AEON Mall, Tesco Hypermarket, eateries, schools and banks. Neighbouring communities include Taman Impian Ria, Jesselton Hills, The Glades.

This development will offer 20 units of 2-storey semi-detached houses, with two different built-up sizes to choose from. The indicative price starts from RM725,000 onwards.

The project is still in its planning stage. More details to be available upon official launch.

Project Name: (to be confirmed)
Location : Alma, Bukit Mertajam
Property Type : Semi-detached house
Total Units : 20
Built-up Size: 22′ x 45′, 24′ x 41′
Land Tenure : Freehold
Indicative Price : RM725,000 onwards
Developer: Manda’rina Sdn. Bhd. (IJM Land)

SITE PROGRESS

SITE PROGRESS: Sanctuary Suria (Apr 2025)

SITE PROGRESS: Sanctuary Suria (Oct 2024)

SITE PROGRESS: Sanctuary Suria (Jun 2024)

SITE PROGRESS: Sanctuary Suria (Mar 2024)

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.

Is the country’s residential overhang the result of inadequate project planning and research by property developers?

“Some properties are just not cleverly developed,” said Chan Ai Cheng, president of the Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA).

She claimed that this resulted in low demand for such properties and had nothing to do with the state of the market.

“We need to caution buyers not to be overly alarmed by the rise in the overhang numbers as this may not be a reflection of how the property market is doing,” she said in a statement recently.

According to the MIEA’s most recent property market report, 43,860 new residential homes were launched in 2021. There were 31,678 landed properties (43.3 per cent) and 13,182 high-rises (24.9 per cent).

However, just 39.3 per cent of the units were sold, resulting in a 36,863-unit overhang, the biggest in the last five years, Chan said.

This circumstance, she said, should concern developers since it could disrupt their cash flow.

According to her, the overhang is mostly due to a lack of research, which has resulted in a poor understanding of supply and demand, as well as a mismatch in the sort of property price range that purchasers are looking for in specific places.

Chan proposed that the local authorities place a hold on similar developments near high overhang units for a period of time to allow the market to absorb the units or to re-evaluate the development composition before approving it.

“We feel it is time for the government, through the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, to intervene by adopting stricter guidelines or standard of procedures towards building approvals at the state level to provide check and balance and not to waste resources which may run into billions,” she said.

Meanwhile, the MIEA predicts that the real estate market will strengthen this year.

According to Chan, from 2020 to 2021, there was a robust recovery, signalling a return of consumer confidence.

She said that most importantly, the house price index had increased significantly from RM295,000 in 2020 to RM320,000 last year.

The property market report by MIEA showed that the number of transactions in 2021 increased by 1.5 percent to 300,497 units worth RM144.87 billion, a 21.7 percent increase over the same period last year.

“The percentage increase of 1.5 per cent may seem small, but it’s important as it signifies recovery. The last quarter of 2021 saw a sparked increase in the volume of transactions amounting to 99,462 units, which we believe could be largely due to the Home Ownership Campaign incentives which ended in December 2021,” she said.

With 198,812 transactions worth RM76.9 billion, the residential sector was the most active, accounting for 66.2 per cent of all the transactions.

Agriculture accounted for 18.9 per cent of transactions, while the business sector accounted for 7.5 per cent.

Selangor (61,507), Perak (36,893), Johor (36,145), and Kedah (25,077) were the states that contributed more than half of the total transactions, according to Chan.

Source: NST Online

A strong recovery in 2021 from 2020 has signalled a return of consumer confidence and an improved property market this year, said the Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA).

In a statement today, MIEA president Chan Ai Cheng said that more importantly, the public must take heed of the fact that the house price index has seen a significant increase to RM320,000 from RM295,000 in 2020.

According to MIEA’s latest property market report, the volume of transactions for 2021 rose by 1.5 per cent to 300,497 units with a value of RM144.87 billion, an increase of 21.7 per cent over the same period last year, she said.

“The percentage increase may seem small but it signifies recovery.

“The last quarter of 2021 had seen a sparked increase in the volume of transactions amounting to 99,462 units, which we believe could be largely due to the Home Ownership Campaign (HOC) incentives which ended in December 2021,” she noted.

As in previous years, Chan shared that the residential sector was the strongest, contributing 66.2 per cent with 198,812 transactions with a value of RM76.9 billion, while the agriculture sector recorded 18.9 per cent and the commercial sector contributed 7.5 per cent of transactions.

The following states contributed in excess of 50 per cent of the total transactions, namely Selangor (61,507), Perak (36,893), Johor (36,145) and Kedah (25,077), she said.

The report also highlighted that a total of 43,860 new residential properties were launched in 2021, comprising 31,678 (43.3 per cent) landed properties and 13,182 (25.9 per cent) high-rises.

However, it noted that only 39.3 per cent of the units were sold, resulting in an overhang of 36,863 units, which was the highest in the last five years.

The report also said that this scenario would concern developers as this could affect their cash flow.

“We need to caution buyers not to be overly alarmed by the rise in the overhang numbers as this may not be a reflection of how the property market is doing.

“Some properties are just not cleverly developed, hence the poor demand but this has nothing to do with whether the market is doing well or not,” Chan explained.

She said MIEA views the overhang as largely due to the lack of research resulting in a poor understanding of supply versus demand as well as a mismatch in the type of property price range that buyers are seeking in specific locations, among others.

Chan suggested that the local authorities should perhaps put a pause on similar developments in the vicinity of high overhang units to allow time for the market to absorb the units or to relook into the development composition before approvals are given to proceed.

“We feel it is time for the government, through the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, to intervene by adopting stricter guidelines or standard of procedures towards building approvals at the state level to provide check and balance and not to waste resources which may run into billions,” she said.

She also urged developers who are struggling with overhang units to work with real estate agencies to help ease the sale of these units, especially small developers who normally use their own in-house sales team to market.

“Appointing estate agents to help is a logical choice as they are trained and have the relevant experience.

“Be sure to only appoint those who are registered with the Board of Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and Property Managers Malaysia (BOVAEP),” Chan added.

Source: Bernama

If there is to be a tunnel under the sea between the Penang island and the mainland, it needs to be at least 23m beneath the seabed – almost equal to the height of a seven-storey building.

This is among the critical technical considerations to ensure the port’s growth if the tunnel is built.

The Penang Port Commission (PPC) and Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB) had sent to the state government yesterday a list for the state must consider if it wants to go ahead with the tunnel.

PPC chairman Datuk Tan Teik Cheng said the suggested tunnel depth was vital to cater to the future deepening of Penang’s channel to let larger ships sail into the harbour.It was earlier reported that the plan was to bore the tunnel at a depth of 11m to 13m under the seabed.Tan said while PPC and PPSB welcomed the state’s intention to give Penang a third link between the island and the mainland, it was vital to factor in the future expansion of Penang Port’s services.

“We have always stressed that ships entering the harbour from the northern channel, especially large ones with a draft of 16m, need a minimum depth of 23m,” he said.

The width of the northern channel must also be maintained at 2.2km to ensure the safe movement of large vessels, he added.

“We have sent a written review stating our concerns on these and other issues on the undersea tunnel project to the state government on Wednesday,” Tan told a press conference at the PPC office at Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal yesterday.He said PPC had also asked the state to review the construction of an artificial island near the mainland end of the proposed tunnel, in Butterworth’s Bagan Ajam.

“The construction of the island should be nearer to shore to prevent disruptions to North Butterworth Container Terminal’s (NBCT) activities. It may also be an obstacle to the future development of the container terminal,” he added.

PPC, on Feb 20, 2020, had approved plans to expand the NBCT, including the reclamation of 217ha and lengthening of the docks by 1.5km.Tan said PPC and PPSB found that the port’s expansion had to go northwards because at the southern side of Penang lies Penang Water Supply Corp’s twin submarine pipeline and the cargo operations of Shell and Petron terminals.“We have been reviewing the undersea tunnel project since 2019 and sent a report to the state economic planning unit on May 20, 2020, with several suggestions on how it could be done,” said Tan.

“There is no change in our stand. We welcome the effort but the future of Penang Port must be considered for the sake of the state.”

The controversial 6.5km undersea tunnel and three main roads were among several projects forming part of Penang’s Transport Master Plan.It was reported on March 11 that no decision had been made on the construction of the tunnel.

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow had said the project’s concession company had presented its findings on the project feasibility study to the state exco last month.

He said the state had requested a written review from PPC and PPSB.

Source: TheStar.com.my

A proposed eco-tourism hub by Penang Development Corporation at Batu Kawan. It will be located on 46.77 hectares of land in the northern part of Bandar Cassia – The largest integrated township in northern Malaysia.

This project was showcased as Penang’s future eco-tourism hub during the recent Expo 2020 Dubai.

Proposed location:

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.