The movement control order will be extended in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Johor, and Penang from Feb 19 until March 4, says Datuk Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

The 10km radius travel limit within the same district has been lifted for all states, regardless of whether the states are under the movement control order (MCO), the conditional MCO, or the recovery MCO.

However, inter-district and interstate travel restrictions are still in place, said Ismail Sabri at a press conference on Tuesday (Feb 16).

A small landed residential development by Uniacres Development Sdn. Bhd. at Balik Pulau. Located along Lorong Sungai Pinang 5, this is also known as the second phase of Symphony Swiss housing scheme which was completed in 2012. This development is just a stone’s throw away from Balik Pulau town centre, about 20 minutes’ drive to Bayan Lepas. It is surrounded by amenities such as school, wet market, banks and hospital.

This project comprises a mix of single and double-storey terrace houses, with 4 different design types. Indicative price starts from RM450,000 onwards. This is probably one of the cheapest new landed property available in Penang Island.

Project Name: (to be confirmed)
Location: Balik Pulau
Property Type : Terrace house
Land Area: (to be confirmed)
Built-up Area: (to be confirmed)
Total Units: 4 (2-storey), 13 (1-storey)
Tenure: Freehold
Indicative Price: RM450,000 onwards
Developer: Uniacres Development Sdn. Bhd.

Location Map:

File Picture: Newly completed Suasana @ Utropolis

The Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT) has agreed to give consideration for the special approval of moving in and out within the strata scheme during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period.

The KPKT, in a statement yesterday, said the application for special approval, however, only applied to those who are in an urgent situation.

“In this regard, individuals and parties involved can submit a written application to the KPKT to apply for this special approval,“ it said.

According to the KPKT, the stipulated condition is to submit a rental agreement document that has been terminated or newly-signed or a sale and purchase transaction for a new house or confirmation of moving out of the house by the owner.

Those concerned also need to get approval from the police to cross districts or states; the transfer must have recommendations from the management body of the strata scheme involved; and are non-symptomatic of Covid-19.

The KPKT said the movers involved must be certified healthy, be Covid-19 negative and not have close contacts with any Covid-19 patients as well as declare a specific transfer date and time.

“The Ministry shall give due consideration to this special approval application if it meets all the stipulated conditions,“ it said.

Source: Bernama

The Penang property market is expected to remain resilient despite the crippling effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Property consultant firm Raine & Horne International Zaki + Partners Sdn Bhd foresees the 2021 market outlook to fare better.

This is due to stricter physical-distancing practices, which will entice businesses to progress on their digital applications and boost online property transactions above 2020 levels.

Its senior partner, Michael Geh Thuan Peng, said that residential properties in hotspots, along with transport hubs, will likely maintain their value.

“We do not foresee the widespread auction of homes despite the downtrends,” he said.

Geh urged budding investors not to be put off by negativity, made worse by poor market sentiments due to the virus-hit economy.

The first half of 2020 saw a 30% decline in the number of residential property transactions in Malaysia.

The number of transactions dropped from 168,482 units worth RM72.88 billion in the second half of 2019 to 115,476 units worth RM46.94 billion in the first half of 2020 – the lowest number recorded in a half-year between 2014 and 2020.

The number of transactions in the primary market was at an all-time low in the first half of 2020, with 14,789 transactions valued at RM5.59 billion compared with 20,300 transactions valued at RM8.07 billion in the second half of 2019.

Meanwhile, the number of transactions in the commercial sector for the first half of 2020 dropped to only 8,118 units valued at RM8.51 billion, almost 35% of the transactions in the second half of 2019.

Only 1,980 transactions valued at RM5.41 billion were recorded for industrial properties in the first half of 2020, a decline of 40% compared with 3,123 transactions valued at RM7.83 billion in the second half of 2019.

But not all’s gloomy, as Geh expects last year’s third and fourth quarter figures (Q3 and Q4) to be on an upward trend.

What contributed to this bullish outlook was the migration of investors and real estate agents onto online platforms in order to conduct their transactions and viewing of new innovative start-ups.

“There is a change in preference from high to low-density living; thus, suburban and semi-rural settings are trendy among investors and homebuyers in the current climate,” he said.

Geh pointed out that among the lessons learnt from the pandemic include the importance of having a long-term economic recovery plan to ensure sustainable growth and increase investor confidence.

He also said that transaction numbers did not depend only on the primary property market, but also the secondary market, where its ratio to the primary market is typically around 80:20.

“In other words, most property transactions are all from the secondary market. This is why when we want to look at the property market, we cannot just rely on overhang numbers – because overhang numbers are for completed properties which are still unsold and not classified as part of the secondary market.

“If we look at the latest numbers from 2018 and 2019, we see a pattern. Q3 an Q4 transactions usually rise, while the Q1 and Q2 transactions are usually on a downtrend.”

Hence, Geh said that the property market would recover and consolidate in view of its importance to the general economy, adding that a thriving property sector would contribute to domestic consumption.

Source: TheVibes.com

The Penang government has received applications from several hotels that are interested to be converted into COVID-19 low-risk quarantine and treatment centres.

State Tourism and Creative Economy Committee chairman, Yeoh Soon Hin said the global spread of the virus had impacted the tourism sector, which saw the hotel industry with huge operating costs struggling to maintain their operations.

“Other countries such as Thailand have implemented a similar measure by converting hotels into low-risk centres to ease the current capacity shortage while also keeping the hotels’ operations going.

“The state government has relayed this to the Penang National Security Council and Health Department, and is currently awaiting updates from the relevant authorities,“ he said in a statement, here, today.

Yeoh also said that hotels interested to become temporary accommodation for workers could also apply to the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC).

“This initiative is to break the chain of virus transmission at the workplaces, especially in the workers’ dormitories, while also assisting the hotels that are severely impacted by the pandemic.” he added.

Yeoh, however, reminded that these hotels would be required to comply with the Workers’ Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities Act 1990 (Act 446).

“Interested hotels which are registered with MOTAC can email to inisiatifhotel@motac.gov.my while hotels not registered with MOTAC can visit www.spip.gov.my to register,“ he added.

Source: Bernama