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Although many developers perceived the first half of the year as unfavourable, their views have slightly changed for the better for the second half, according to Real Estate & Housing Developers’ Association (Rehda) Malaysia.

The somewhat renewed interest in the property industry stems predominantly from the declining daily Covid-19 numbers and the rollout of Covid-19 National Immunisation Programme which is expected to spur consumer sentiment and economic growth, said Rehda Malaysia president Datuk Soam Heng Choon.

According to Rehda’s “Property industry survey 2H2020 and market outlook (1H2021 and 2H2021)”, over 40% of the respondents are pessimistic against the domestic economic environment (50%), organisation’s business prospect (41%) and consumer’s purchasing power (46%) in the first half of 2021.

However, the percentage of respondents who are pessimistic towards 2H2021 have reduced significantly.

Following the near completion of 3 Residence condominium at Sungai Pinang, Jelutong Development Sdn. Bhd. (a subsidiary of IJM Land) has recently proposed yet another commercial property development in the same vicinity. It will be located right next to 3 Residence, opposite Wesley Methodist International School. Only a short walking distance to the seafront promenade of Karpal Singh Drive.

The proposed development will consist of two 20-storey and 40-storey office towers with 8 levels of car parking podium. The 40-storey tower will feature 298 units of office suites, whereas the details of the 20-storey tower are yet to be known.

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

Project Name : (to be confirmed)
Location : Sungai Pinang, George Town
Property Type : Commercial
Total Units: (to be confirmed)
Built-up Area: (to be confirmed)
Indicative Price: (to be confirmed)
Developer : Jelutong Development Sdn. Bhd. (IJM Land)

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.

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The number of unsold properties has seen a respite amid the government’s Home Ownership Campaign (HOC) except for the commercial market, which remains worrisome amid the new norms, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) Governor Datuk Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus said.

“The amount of unsold properties is still very high. It is about 170,000 units but it has been coming down but the level is still very high. The HOC that the government has introduced last year has helped clear some of these unsold units.

“But in terms of unsold properties, we are worried about commercial properties because even before the pandemic we had a very high supply office space and shopping complex.

“With the pandemic and greater online sales, more work from home arrangements, the need for office space and physical premises will come down and the demand will not be as high as before,” she told an editors’ briefing session on Tuesday.

So, in terms of unsold properties, BNM is much more worried of the unsold commercial space because the excess capacity in the market would be made much worse under the new normal. “Luckily, the bank’s exposure to this segment is very small. It accounts to 3.2 per cent of the total loans,” she said.

Nevertheless, the central bank said in its Financial Stability Review Second Half of 2020 that the softer housing market conditions prompted developers to adjust supply towards more affordable housing segments.

“While overall launches declined significantly across all price segments in the first three quarters of 2020 (24,853 units; 1Q-3Q 2019: 60,955), the decline has been notably sharper for properties priced above RM500,000.

“As a result, the share of newly- launched properties in this segment fell to 20.5 per cent of overall new launches (1Q-3Q 2019: 31.8 per cent). This is a welcomed adjustment and will help reduce demand-supply mismatches that had worsened housing affordability and increased risks of price corrections in the past,” it said.

It added that the low interest rate environment also encouraged purchases for both own occupancy and investment purposes.

Demand for financing correspondingly rose in line with market activity, with housing loan application growth picking up across most price segments except for houses priced below RM300,000.

Risks to banks, however, remain well-contained, with the current impairment ratio and share of borrowers in negative equity for household investors at only 0.9 per cent and 1.3 per cent, respectively.

The average loan-to-value ratio of outstanding housing loans remained below 60 per cent, substantially mitigating the risk of more borrowers falling into negative equity, as well as limiting the potential losses to banks.

Source: Bernama

Don’t miss your chance to meet GEM Residences at Queensbay Mall and grab shopping vouchers worth RM200 from All Season’s Place upon signing of SPA!

Date: 01 – 04 April 2021
Time: 10:30am – 10:30pm
Venue: Lower Ground, in front of Dave’s Deli

Unsold properties continue to remain at an elevated level, driven by serviced apartments, small office home office (SOHO) units, and houses priced above RM500,000 in less popular locations, said Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).

The housing market had hit a historical low in terms of activity in the second quarter of 2020 (2Q20), according to BNM’s Financial Statement Review 2020.

However, the housing market had since slightly rebounded in the third quarter, amid the low interest rate environment and ongoing measures to support demand.

“The low interest rate environment also encouraged purchases for both own occupancy and investment purposes.