Established as an entrepôt in 1786 by the East India Company’s Francis Light, George Town was the first British settlement in Southeast Asia. Today, it is the capital of Penang.

The city of George Town includes the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone, a high-tech manufacturing hub called the “Silicon Valley of the East”.

The historical core of George Town was declared a Unesco World Heritage site in 2008.

Penang International Airport links George Town with several major cities in the region while a ferry service, the Penang Bridge and the Second Penang Bridge connect the city with the rest of Peninsular Malaysia.

George Town’s Swettenham Pier has emerged as the busiest port of call in Malaysia for cruise ships.

Analysis by Property Advisor shows that interest in high-rise properties in George Town has been on the decline as the median price and transaction volume have dropped continually since 2018.

In the first half of 2019 (1H2019), transaction volume dropped 41% year on year while the median price plunged 61%.

This year, transaction volume and median price dipped 10% and 5% respectively.

Landed properties were trending upward last year, compared with 2018, as the transaction volume increased 7% in 1H2019. The median price followed suit with a 9% increase. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, transactions dropped 40% in 1H2020 with a drop of 19% in median price.

Despite the decrease in transactions, median prices in George Town remained steady in 1H2020, and even skyrocketed in the first-home buyer (FHB) market.

After a median price drop of 53% from 1H2018 to 1H2019, the price shot up by a whopping 118% in 1H2020. The investors’ market saw a 67% plunge in 1H2019 but remained unchanged in 1H2020.

FHB transactions were down 45% in 1H2019 and fell a further 67% in 1H2020. Investor transactions dropped about 35% in 1H2019 and 1H2020 compared with the year prior.

What does the expert say?

Savills Malaysia director of research and consultancy Amy Wong told Property Advisor that George Town is well established and has easy access to various facilities and amenities.

“Being a Unesco World Heritage site, development and planning in George Town have to balance between progress and heritage, in adherence to its Special Area Plan, which was gazetted in 2016.

“As such, increasing the quality of life and standard of living in George Town is best embraced by positioning it as a smart city and riding the wave of digitalisation that is trending globally,” she said.

Wong said the state government has rolled out a few initiatives to improve connectivity within the state, such as the Penang Connectivity Master Plan and the recent collaboration between Penang Island City Council and IBM Malaysia Sdn Bhd.

Other than that, she said developers might leverage growing digitalisation needs by offering future-proofed products or by integrating solutions with the state government’s smart city initiatives.

Impact of Covid-19 on George Town’s property market

The property market’s performance this year has generally been similar across the key states in the country, said Wong. “As the country recorded a 28% decrease in the volume of transactions and 32% in value, Penang saw a 29% reduction in transactions and 20% in value.

“The direct impact is the economic uncertainty for businesses. Most corporations and small and medium enterprises are working hard to keep their businesses afloat and protecting jobs while the government is paving the way for an economic recovery (as proposed in Budget 2021).”

She said consumers tend to be more careful of their spending now, given that everyone is entering into another phase of the Conditional Movement Control Order and this is likely to be an on-off arrangement until vaccinations are available.

For the office segment, Wong said that although most companies have adopted flexible work arrangements, there have been few changes in terms of space requirements at the moment given that business operations need to adhere to physical distancing rules.

Nevertheless, she hopes George Town will move forward with the construction of public transport, which will significantly enhance accessibility and connectivity on Penang Island – and hopefully free up congested roads.

Source: FreeMalaysiaToday.com

Yet another development proposed by Benway Development Sdn. Bhd. Southern Seberang Perai. Located on a 1.34-acre land along Jalan Sri Tambun 1, about 500 meters away from Bukit Tambun Toll Plaza. It is surrounded by matured neighbouhood with an abundance of amenities nearby which include public school (SJKC Keng Koon), food courts, financial institution, market and eateries.

This development will see the construction of a 16-storey condominium, featuring 80 units of residential units with four levels of car parking podium. Resident facilities will be located at level 2.

The project is still pending approval. More details will be available upon official launch

Project Name: (to be confirmed)
Location: Simpang Ampat
Property Type : Condominium
Total Units : 80
Land Tenure : Freehold
Indicative Price : (to be confirmed)
Developer: Benway Development Sdn. Bhd.

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.

About The Amarene

Part of Ideal Vision Park development by Ideal Homes in Bayan Lepas, Penang. This development is strategically located along Jalan Tun Dr. Awang, adjacent to Tree Sparina condominium. It is just a mere minutes drive to Straits International School and Penang International Airport. Featuring a 35-storey condominium that offers 410 residential units with built-up size ranges from 1,100 sq.ft to 1,200 sq.ft.

Find out more about The Amarene

The Mengkuang Dam in Bukit Mertajam, which was closed since 2011 to make way for its expansion project, has been reopened to visitors for recreational activities yesterday.

With its reopening to the public after closing for almost a decade, Buletin Mutiara spoke to a few people when conducting checks at the dam, located at central Seberang Perai.

According to Sgt Mohd Hafiz Md Isa, who is an auxiliary policeman with the Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP), more than 1,000 visitors were recorded when the dam officially reopened yesterday.

“Perhaps, this dam is attracting a lot of people because it is located close to the border between Kedah and Penang.

“You can see that almost 700 visitors have already been recorded up to 9.30am as of now. I’m expecting the number to rise to 1,500 in the evening,” he said when met by Buletin Mutiara.

However, he said, only 350 visitors were allowed to enter as of now due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We will surely control the number of visitors here to prevent another Covid-19 cluster from emerging.

“We will also ensure everyone is following the standard operating procedures (SOPs) before entering,” he added.

Buletin Mutiara approached a few visitors for their views.

Nadirah Mahamad, 25, along with her friend Nor Effareena Fasha Zulkifle, 25, were seen enjoying the scenic view.

“We really like the view of the hills from here. It’s breathtaking!

“We hope the authorities can provide facilities such as washrooms for the public in the near future,” they said. Both of them hail from Nibong Tebal.\\

A senior citizen, Ishak Saad, 69, pointed out it was an ideal place for people to relax and unwind themselves.

He said the local council can consider planting more trees to allow visitors to seek shelter from the scorching hot sun.

“The place is good, compared to before the expansion project took place. It is spacious and suitable for people to enjoy a brisk walk or even jog.

“However, it is very hot here as not a single tree can be found here. I foresee it will be hotter and humid during noon time,” said Ishak.

Mohd Asri Rozali, 30, welcomed the reopening of the dam to the public.

“I always come here before the dam was closed for expansion works.

“It’s a wonderful place here,” he said.

The dam is open from 7am to 7pm.

Source: Buletin Mutiara

The property market remains soft this year.

This is despite the cautious optimism towards the nation’s projected gradual economic recovery, with the resumption of market activity under the recovery movement control order and the proposed measures under the National Economic Recovery Plan (Penjana).

The pace of improvement will be dependent on both domestic and external factors such as political stability, global oil and commodity prices, as well as further developments related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the National Property Information Centre (NAPIC), the property market’s performance recorded a sharp decline in the first half (1H) of 2020, in consonance with the Malaysian economic performance, which contracted by 17.1% in the second quarter (Q2) of 2020. (Q1 2020 was at 0.7%).

However, Malaysia’s Gross Domestic Product in Q3 2020 decreased at a slower pace of 2.7% from the double-digit decline of 17.1% in the Q2 2020.

For the 1H 2020, the property sector recorded 115,476 transactions worth RM46.94 billion, a decrease by 27.9% in volume and 31.5% in value compared with 1H 2019, which recorded 160,165 transactions worth RM68.53 billion.

While in Q3 2020, NAPIC said the volume of transactions and yearly change recorded an improvement with 89,245 units from 83,085 units in Q3 2019, with 7.4% from 5.5% in the same quarter last year, respectively.

This was led by the residential sub-sector, followed by agriculture, development land and others, commercial and industrial.

Transaction value in total for Q3 2020, however, declined to -2.4% from 4.6% year-on-year with RM33.78 billion from RM34.62 billion previously.

To encourage homeownership, the government has reintroduced the Home Ownership Campaign (HOC) under Penjana, which will attract more first-time buyers into the market in the 2H 2020, said market players.

They said the move would make it easy for buyers to get into the property market and would alleviate the current oversupply of unsold properties in the market.

Under the HOC, stamp duty exemption would be given on the instruments of transfer and loan agreement for the purchase of residential homes priced between RM300,000 and RM2.5 million subject to the developer providing at least a 10% discount.

The exemption on the instrument of transfer is limited to the first RM1 million of the housing price while full stamp duty exemption is given on loan agreement effective for sale and purchase agreements inked between June 1, 2020 and May 31, 2021.

In short, this would allow a much lower payment or even no stamp duty at all for property purchase.

Besides, Bank Negara Malaysia’s decision to maintain the overnight policy rate at 1.75% in September as global economy continued to improve, coupled with strong policy support, is also an attraction for house seekers, as a low interest rate would give a head start in interest rate savings.

Backed by these efforts, the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia is cautiously optimistic about the outlook for the property sector, and hopes for a better improvement in the 1H 2021, provided there is no new community transmissions of Covid-19 in the country.

On another note, the property market has experienced a correction in terms of pricing with more affordable housing launched in the 1H 2020.

According to NAPIC director Aina Edayu Ahmad, half of the new launches in 1H 2020 comprised houses priced at RM300,000 and below (6,657 units), while the RM300,001-RM500,000 range of houses accounted for 28.9% (4,476 units) and houses priced over RM500,000 accounted for 21.1% (2,161 units).

In Q3 2020, NAPIC said new launches in the residential sub-sector recorded 6,087 units in volume, which include 2,960 units of high-rise properties and 3,127 units of landed properties.

Prices ranging below RM300,000 in Q3 2020 made up 50.5% (3,073 units), while the prices for the RM300,001-RM500,000 range 24.7% (1,505 units), and those above the RM500,001 range comprised 24.8% (1,509 units).

“So, we see that the market has done its own correction. In the past years, we have seen more new launches in the higher range but now we are seeing more new launches in the range of RM300,000 and below,” she said during the 13th Malaysian Property Summit in October.

In terms of pricing, she said properties priced RM300,000 and below in the residential segment are still capturing most of the market demand, which is why property developers should focus on having more affordable houses in this price range.

Aside from this, as the property market is still dealing with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Q3 2020, asking prices across Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang and Johor have moved in a downward trend, based on PropertyGuru Malaysia’s Property Market Index.

The property site said overall asking prices for property in Malaysia dropped by 1.34% this quarter; in contrast to the 0.38% increase registered in Q2 2020 and 0.63% increase in Q1 2020.

On a different note, to resolve the issue of unsold completed residential units and ensure a more organised property development in the country, the Housing and Local Government Ministry is developing the Housing Integrated Data System, which is expected to be ready next year.

Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin has also said that the ministry has proposed a “vacancy tax” to be introduced and imposed next year, to developers who fail to clear their outstanding residential stock.

She said based NAPIC’s record, a total of 31,661 houses worth RM20.03 billion were unsold in the first quarter of this year compared with 30,664 units amounting to RM18.82 billion in 2H 2019.

Source: Bernama