All new applications for the Malaysia My Second Home Programme (MM2H) will be handled and processed by the Immigration Department (JIM) beginning October, after all the related legal processes are completed.

The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) in a statement said in the transition process, the ministry through the MM2H Centre would handle matters related to the existing participants until Sept 15 this year.

“When this period is over, the processing of existing applications and logistics matters will be taken over completely by JIM,” read the statement.

MOTAC will continue to play its role in promoting MM2H through Tourism Malaysia’s involvement and introducing the country as a long-term stay destination especially for retirees and high-income personalities, it added.

The ministry will also continue to support the MM2H programme to help the country’s economic growth as well as promote Malaysia at the international stage.

For further inquiries visit www.imi.gov.my or call 03-88801555/1556.

Source: Bernama

RITZE Perdana, a residential development scheme by Great Marvel Sdn. Bhd. at Simpang Ampat. Located along Jalan Perdana, also known as the phase 2C of  Taman Perdana. It is just a stone’s throw away from Simpang Ampat Small Medium Industrial Park, about 10 minutes drive from Bukit Tambun Toll Plaza. Surrounding amenities include GEMS International Schools, Pearl City Mall, banks, market, eateries, and a few other public schools.

This development will feature 44 units of 3-storey terrace houses with a standard built-up size of 1,805 sq.ft. Each unit comes with a parking space for up to 4 cars.

Project Name : RITZE Perdana @ Taman Perdana
Location : Simpang Ampat
Property Type : Terrace
Tenure : Freehold
Land Area: 1,540 sq.ft onwards
Built-up Area: 1,805 sq.ft.
Total Units : 44
Indicative Price: RM499,000 onwards
Developer : Great Marvel Sdn. Bhd.

Aerial view of Teluk Kumbar

A major flood mitigation project (RTB) is under construction in the southwest district of Penang island where it flooded last week on Wednesday.

State infrastructure committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari said the Teluk Kumbar RTB was expected to be completed by end of this year.

Two more projects in the pipeline in the district are the Teluk Bahang RTB and Pondok Upeh RTB, with both at the conceptual report stage.

“Both projects are expected to be tendered out by the third quarter of next year,” he said in a phone interview.

The southwest district Drainage and Irrigation Department (JPS) is in the process of tendering out a revised Drainage Master Plan for the district.

“As for south Seberang Prai, the Sungai Kechil RTB is currently in the conceptual stage and expected to be tendered out by the third quarter of next year.

“The state government through JPS has recently completed Parit Four and Five RTBs in central Seberang Prai.

“The Mak Mandin RTB in north Seberang Prai and the Sungai Nipah RTB on the island’s southwest district in Balik Pulau are expected to be completed soon.

“These projects are all major and are part of the RM150mil high impact projects that began in 2018,” he said.

Zairil also said that the state government procured three new mobile pumps last year, on top of the existing 12 mobile pumps which could be mobilised to reduce flash floods in the state.

“The state government via JPS is constantly upgrading waterways throughout the year especially before raining periods by de-silting, removal of aquatic plants, rubbish and blockage to ensure that water can flow,” he said.

Penang Hill Corporation (PHC) general manager Cheok Lay Leng said there were no major concerns of landslides at Penang Hill so far.

“Some of our staff members are tasked to monitor areas prone to landslides on the hill each day.

“We trimmed a few trees and branches as they fell after strong winds.

“We have been on full alert whenever there is heavy rain or wind, and are preparing our teams.

“We will monitor the wind speed and rainfall on the field every day.

“Every day, our teams will go around the hills to monitor the hotspots for landslides.

“If they come across fallen tree branches, they will attend to them immediately,” he said, adding that there were a few fallen trees but no landslides were reported at Penang Hill.

Since the area covering Penang Hill is big, Cheok said they sometimes had to rely on feedback from the public about fallen trees or soil erosion.

“If there is any report from hikers and residents, we will check the area around popular hiking trails and along the Jeep track, main roads, walking paths and railway tracks.

“Thankfully, there are no major landslides reported but there was soil erosion in some areas and we took quick action to clear them.

“Over the past one month, we have experienced around 12 incidents of fallen trees and branches,” he said.

Cheok advised hikers to be extra cautious and refrain from hiking during bad weather for their safety.

A Penang Island City Council spokesman said so far, there were landslides and slope failures reported at three locations in Balik Pulau.

“Due to the heavy storms, there were fallen and uprooted trees at five locations on the island which are at Jalan Utama, Jalan Bukit Salbiah, Jalan P. Ramlee in the northeast district; Jalan Teluk Kumbar and Jalan Pasir Panjang in the southwest district.

“Luckily, there were no casualties reported.

“MBPP has been monitoring high risk and hazardous hillslope areas by using drones or hiking physically and we have plotted a hazard and risk map for long-term monitoring.

“We take seriously the complaints by the public and NGOs through our WhatsApp hotline and take immediate action all the time,” she said.

Source: TheStar.com.my

About The Zen

A mixed development by Asia Green at Bayan Mutiara. It is located next to Tun Dr. Lim Chong Eu Expressway, just a short drive away from the ongoing Penang World City township development by Tropicana Ivory. This development comprises a 46-storey skyscraper with two residential towers, and shop offices located at lower level. The residential component will feature 1,200 affordable units and 730 bigger open market units.

Find out more about The Zen development

Although the subsale residential segment has always been strong, accounting for 80% to 85% of total transactions in the property market, buyers of subsale units are not ready to pay the asking price of the property owner, as the average selling price in subsale residential is 20% lower than the asking price.

iProperty.com.my general manager for customer data solutions and quality Premendran Pathmanathan (pix) said the difference between the asking price and the actual transacted price is 20% to 25%, depending on the location of the subsale property.

“The asking price of high-rise units has begun to drop as there is too much supply out there and owners cannot command prices in the high-rise subsale residential market. Terrace houses do not experience a drop in asking price as they continue to command prices,“ he told reporters at the virtual presentation of the biannual iProperty.com.my H1 2021 Portal Demand Analytics (Subsale Market) on Tuesday.

iProperty.com.my revealed that demand for Malaysian subsale residential properties on its website has shown positive growth in H1 2021. Both unique visits and property listing supply comprising terrace houses, condominiums, serviced residences, and apartments have increased 19.2%, a turnaround from a 2.5% decline in traffic in H1 2020.

“It is encouraging to see recovery for the subsale residential market in H1 2021. The Covid-19 pandemic did not adversely affect this segment as it did in H1 2020, where the demand figure dropped into the negative region. One of the critical factors driving demand recovery in H1 2021 was that property seekers have warmed up to the idea of conducting property searches online as well as browsing for property and following up with property agents online. This has been accepted as the new normal.

“The Home Ownership Campaign (HOC) extended until December serves as a motivation too. The various HOC property deals have a spillover effect on the subsale residential segment as property seekers who are conducting due diligence will continue to browse subsale homes in the same area to compare property prices,“ he said.

The property portal said home loan applications saw an increase as well as demand for all property types.

Based on Bank Negara Malaysia’s monthly loan application data, the value of home loan applications grew 86% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM179.4 billion in H1 2021 from RM96.4 billion in H1 2020. The value of loans approved increased by 92.6% y-o-y in the same period. With the Overnight Policy Rate at a record low of 1.75%, many consumers are searching for property bargains in a low interest rate environment.

Interest in terrace houses remains the highest in Malaysia with a 29% y-o-y increase, and this has allowed sellers to maintain their high asking prices, with an increase of 1.6%. Demand for condominiums, apartments and serviced residences is positive albeit lower, with a 5.2%, 11.7%, and 6.8% y-o-y increase, respectively. However, the asking prices of high-rise homes in all major states have dropped due to a high number of unsold units and as a means for sellers to attract buyers.

Premendran said the upward trend of approved home loan applications is promising which shows financially-abled Malaysians are still interested in purchasing homes either for their own stay or for investment purposes.

“However, positive figures aside, aspiring homeowners should plan before committing to long-term borrowing, as interest rates might not stay low for long. A return to pre-pandemic interest rates could result in higher monthly repayments in the future. As our country ramps up its vaccination programme and moves towards herd immunity, we hope the economy and by extension, the property market will continue to recover in the second half of the year,“ he said.

Compared to H1 2020, Penang’s subsale residential property demand growth has recovered from 6.5% decline to 23% growth on-year due to interest in industrial areas such as Batu Kawan and Bayan Lepas, which host many technology manufacturing companies.

On the mainland, lower-priced landed properties commanded higher asking prices between RM300,000 and RM500,000. These areas include Juru, Nibong Tebal, and Seberang Jaya.

Source: TheSunDaily.my