Penang has spent more than RM256mil on maintenance projects involving public housing, local government housing and eligible private housing schemes since 2008.

State housing committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said the amount includes public housing maintenance scheme (RM195mil), state’s Housing Maintenance Maximum 80% Fund (TPM80PP) (RM35mil) and also the maintenance schemes under both local councils (RM25mil) as of September this year.

“Under TPM80PP, the state government has spent RM35.36mil covering 240 applications involving 393 projects.

“The highest scope of work is upgrading or replacing elevators, which accounted to 215 projects, ” he said at a press conference at Mutiara Heights Apartments in Jelutong on Sunday.

Jagdeep added that the state had approved applications for the upgrading of 10 lifts costing RM310,000 at Mutiara Heights Apartments.

“Under the TPM80PP, the joint management body will have to fork out 20% of the project costs to qualify for the 80% state subsidy.

“The JMB will fork out RM62,000 and the state will provide RM248,000.

“The project began last month and is expected to be completed by Feb 8, ” he said.

Mutiara Heights Apartments has two blocks with 1,075 units and was built 16 years ago.

There are 10 lifts and four of them are faulty most of the time.

Meanwhile, Jagdeep also said that the state government is considering increasing the number of affordable housing schemes in view of the current unhealthy economic situation brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Due to the movement control order, the economy is affected and so has people’s buying power.

“The state government’s target is to provide 180,000 affordable housing units by 2030.

“I have discussed matters with the Chief Minister and we are still in the planning stage.

“We will make an announcement soon, ” he said.

Also at the press conference were Jelutong MP RSN Rayer, Sungai Pinang assemblyman Lim Siew Khim, resident association chairman Muhd Arshad Abdul Rahman and IM Global Property Consultants Sdn Bhd property manager (northern region) Khairuddin Ahmad Khalil.

Source: TheStar.com.my

Suasana @ Utropolis, Batu Kawan

Property developer Paramount Corporation Bhd (PCB) remained bullish on the prospects for the second half of the year despite a rocky first half due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the Movement Control Order (MCO).

“In a nutshell, for the first six months of the year, it’s a washout. But the good news is, as of Aug 31, we recorded sales of RM370 million and a high booking of RM490 million.

“Hence, we are quite surprised by the demand. Mainly, this is thanks to sales agents who are hard at work generating sales even during the MCO,” said PCB CEO Jeffrey Chew at a media briefing today.

He also highlighted that the current low interest rates are a major deciding factor for the homebuyers.

For the 2H2020, Paramount is looking at RM640 million worth of residential property launches (121% higher than 1H2020) that include Greenwoods Salak Tinggi, Sepang; Berkeley Uptown, Klang; Sejati Lakeside, Cyberjaya and Bukit Banyan, Sungai Petani, Kedah.

For 4Q2020, the developer will be looking to launch the new Arinna high-rise development in Shah Alam equipped with smart features.

Future projects in the pipeline include a high rise development in the ‘Embassy Row’ off Jalan Ampang, KL; a transit oriented development in Section 14, PJ; a residential development in Damansara Jaya and the expansion of the Bukit Banyan township.

To recap, PCB had recorded RM193 million of sales for 1H2020. Majority of the sales were contributed by its landed residential developments – Sejati Lakeside (28%), Cyberjaya; Bukit Banyan (20%), Sungai Petani; Greenwood’s Salak Perdana (16%), Sepang, Selangor and Utropolis Batu Kawan (15%), Penang.

Meanwhile unbilled sales stood at RM873 million as of 2Q2020.

Profit before tax and revenue for the property division during 1H2020 stood at RM3.3 million and RM182 million respectively, down 94% and 46% year-on-year. This is attributed to lower construction activities and sales achieved due to the MCO.

Main contributors to 1H2020 revenue for the property division include Bukit Banyan (25%), Greenwoods Salak Perdana (24%) and Utropolis Batu Kawan (19%).

Average take-up rates for the properties stood at 72% for the period.

As for land acquisition, Chew noted that the current stand is Paramount will be looking at RM200 million to RM300 million of acquisition over the next six months to a year.

“We will be sticking to about RM500 million over the next five years from this year, focusing on Klang Valley and Penang,” he said.

As at June 30, 2020, Paramount had 505.1 acres of undeveloped land in the Klang Valley, Kedah and Penang.

Source: EdgeProp.my

About QuayWest Residence

Luxury residential development located next to Penang World City in Bayan Mutiara, Penang. This development comprises 1,235 condominium units in two 24-storey towers. Tower A offers 669 units with built-ups from 1,246 to 3,222 sq ft. Tower B comprises 566 units of various types, 253 units of which are categorized under affordable housing.

Find out more about QuayWest Residence

With the lifting of CMCO in early June, Google Search Trends report indicated that the search interest for property in Penang has rebounded to the pre-crisis level. Our website has recorded close to 1 million pageviews in the past 90 days (after CMCO), showing an increase of 3% traffic compared to the same period in 2019.

If you are wondering which are the most popular projects in Penang at the moment, here are the top 20 most viewed projects to date in 2020.

The list is dominated by affordable housing projects, with Cecil Residensi at the top of the list recorded more than 23,000 views in 2020. This is a state government project which has broken ground in early 2019. It will feature a 24-storey residential building, offering 348 low-medium cost units.

Ranked second is Ideal Residency affordable housing by Ideal Property Group at Bukit Gelugor. The first phase of this development comprises 1,218 affordable units with a standard built-up size of 850 sq.ft. This project is popular for its strategic location, slated to be launched soon in Q4 2020.

This is followed by Grace Harmony, Havana Beach Residences, and Affordable @ The Zen, all of which have always been popular since 2018 and 2019.

Interestingly, Residency Permai at Bukit Mertajam appeared to be the sixth in the list. This is a gated & guarded development by Tambun Indah Group, located just a stone’s throw away from the ever-bustling Jalan Song Ban Kheng.

You may find out more about the top 20 projects from the links below.

George Town

Cecil Residensi

Island Glades

Ideal Residency

Jelutong

Grace Harmony

Bayan Lepas

Havana Beach Residences

Bayan Mutiara

Affordable Housing @ The Zen

Bukit Mertajam

Residency Permai

Sungai Ara

TreeO

George Town

Sandilands Foreshore

Sungai Ara

Fairview Residence

Batu Kawan

Camdon @ Eco Horizon

Bayan Baru

Mahsuri Square

Bayan Mutiara

Affordable Housing @ QuayWest Residence

Paya Terubong

The Stone

Queensbay

Queens Residences

George Town

The Rise (Chelliah Park City)

Bukit Jambul

Terraces Condominium

Sungai Ara

Imperial Ville

Sungai Ara

Affordable @ SenzVilles

Jelutong

3 Residence Condominium

Bayan Lepas

Forest Ville

* Projects are ranked based on the pageviews recorded in Google Analytic web traffic report for PenangPropertyTalk.com.

This year’s Pesta Pulau Pinang has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Penang state financial officer Datuk Sarul Bahiyah Abu said the state executive council meeting had come to this decision on Aug 12.

“Based on COVID-19 current developments in Penang, the state executive council has decided that this year’s edition of Pesta Pulau Pinang, which was scheduled for Dec 1, be cancelled,” she said.

The festival, which has been held every December since 1970, first at the Esplanade and from 1974 onwards at the Sungai Nibong pesta site, is one of Penang’s major tourism icons.

Source: Bernama