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The unreleased Bumiputera lots contribute to about 40% to 50% of the country’s overhang numbers, according to Real Estate & Housing Developers’ Association (Rehda) Malaysia president Datuk Soam Heng Choon.

Many completed houses in certain states were unsold because the state governments do not want to release the Bumiputera lots.

“For example, Johor has a 40% Bumiputera quota. Assuming the developer sold 10% of the quota, it still has 30% unsold, and the overhang units get accumulated over time,” he said at the Home Ownership Campaign—Malaysia Property Expo October 2020 press conference yesterday.

The National Property Information Centre’s (Napic) Property Market Status Report for the first half of 2020 (1H20) showed there were 31,661 overhang residential units worth RM20.03 billion, an increase by 3.3% in volume and 6.4% in value from the 30,664 units worth RM18.82 billion recorded in 2H19.

Johor retained the highest number and value of residential overhang in the country with 6,166 units worth RM4.74 billion, accounting to 19.5% and 23.7% respectively of the national total in the period.

It also maintained its reign as the highest serviced apartment overhang state in 1H20 with 73.7% share in volume (15,986 units) and 76.7% share in value (RM14.67 billion), with almost all of these overhang units were in Johor Baru district.

The overhang in the serviced apartment subsector continues to rise and form the bulk of commercial property overhang, recording a total of 21,683 units valued at RM18.64 billion, up by 26.5% in volume and 24% in value against 17,142 units worth RM15.04 billion recorded in the June to December 2019 period.

“Everybody needs to play their roles in trying to resolve this issue. The state government controls the release of unsold Bumi lots, so the state government needs to come in and help the situation. As for government agencies, please don’t build houses in lousy locations,” Soam said.

He added that the divergence between location, type of property and prices contribute to the high overhang number as well.

He said the right product with the right pricing but built at a wrong location could not attract buyers.

Likewise, a wrong product and pricing at the right location would contribute to the mismatch in demand and supply.

By type, Napic said, condominium/apartment formed 51.4% (16,274 units) of the national’s overhang, followed by terraced (29% at 9,187 units) in 1H20.

By price, property between RM200,000 and RM300,000 (6,151 units) formed 19.4% of the unsold units, those priced in the RM300,000-RM400,000 range (4,128 units) accounted for 13% of the unsold stock and units priced above RM1 million (3,966 units) formed 12.5% of the total residential overhang in the period.

Source: TheMalaysiaReserve.com

The second phase of The Light Waterfront project, The Light City held its groundbreaking ceremony, officiated by the Mr. Ong Teng Cheng, Managing Director of IJM Construction Sdn Bhd, and Dato’ Toh Chin Leong, Senior General Manager (Northern Region) of IJM Land Berhad and Director of IJM Perennial Development Sdn Bhd, at Gelugor, Penang yesterday morning.

The Light City is an integrated development situated about 1km from Penang Bridge and about 12km from the Second Penang Bridge, linking Penang Island to the mainland. The integrated development is also about 5 km from Penang’s capital, George Town, 16 km from the Penang International Airport, and is easily accessible via the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway and a planned Light Rail Transit system. It consists of The Waterfront Shoppes (TWS) – a retail mall with over 1.5mil in GFA, the largest convention centre in Penang – Penang Waterfront Convention Centre (PWCC), luxurious international hotels and office towers, and residential condominiums – Mezzo and Essence.

Find out more about The Light City

PROJECT LOCATION

An upcoming mixed development by Znen Landmark Development Sdn. Bhd. at Bandar Perda commercial district in Bukit Mertajam. Located near Jalan Perda Utama roundabout, just a stone’s throw away from KPJ Penang Specialist Hospital and Seberang Perai City Council. Neighboring communities include BM City Mall and Metropol, which is still under construction.

This development comprises a 46-storey commercial building, featuring 401 units of serviced residences with rooftop facilities and 7 levels of carpark. There will also be 19 units of shop offices located at the ground level.

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

Project Name: (to be confirmed)
Location : Bukit Mertajam, Penang
Property Type : Mixed development
Total Units: 401 (serviced residence)
Built-up Area: (to be confirmed)
Indicative Price: (to be confirmed)
Developer: Znen Landmark Development Sdn. Bhd.
Last Updated: March 2021

Location Map:

George Town, the capital city of Penang, has been awarded the Gold Medal for the fourth edition of Sustainable Cities Organisation Awards (WeGO Awards) under the Mobility category.

State Housing, Local Government and Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo today said this was the first time Penang Island City Council (MBPP) participated in the WeGO Awards, competing against other local government cities worldwide.

He said that MBPP submitted the state’s projects as their applications for the WeGO Awards under two categories: Mobility and Sustainable City.

“On Sept 8, both submissions advanced to the finals and later on Sept 29, it was announced that the MBPP’s submission for Mobility category wins the gold medal,” he told a press conference here.

He said the winning submission was the city’s Green Connectivity concept, which consists of various projects such as dedicated bicycle lanes, Business Improvement District Programme and the Penang Smart Parking initiatives.

“We will continue our efforts in making Penang a clean, green, smart and family-oriented state that will inspire the nation,” he added.

Established in 2011, the WeGO Awards is a triennial competition that recognises and promotes smart initiatives that use Information Communication and Technology (ICT) to improve the quality of life of citizens.

The WeGO Awards consists of six different categories, namely Efficient Government, Emerging Technology, Mobility, Open and Inclusive City, Safe City and Sustainable City.

The fourth edition of the WeGO Awards ceremony would take place at the fifth WeGO General Assembly in Makati City, Philippines, but in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ceremony would be postponed until further notice.

Source: Bernama

What is WeGo Awards?

Established in 2011, the WeGO Awards is WeGO’s triennial competition that recognizes and promotes smart initiatives that use ICT to improve the quality of life of citizens.

WeGO has more than 200 members around the world and serves as their international platform to improve the quality of life, innovate in the delivery of public services, and strengthen regional competitiveness.

Developers are scratching their heads as to why the most affordable units priced RM300,000 and below form the largest segment of total unsold residential units.

Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (Rehda) Malaysia vice-president Zulkifly Garib (pic) said: “The overhang is an accumulation of many years. We need to understand the kind of products that comprise the overhang.

He said developers have sought the Valuation and Property Services Department and the Selangor Housing and Property Board to understand the residential overhang better.

“We want to dissect the figure to better understand the situation, ” he said.

Zulkifly said besides Rehda Selangor, other state Rehda offices have also sought to understand the situation.

Rehda Malaysia president Datuk Soam Heng Choon said some issues afflicting developers are due to the pandemic, and some are not.

The latest National Property Information Centre results showed the housing overhang resembles a triangle, with units priced RM300,000 and below occupying the bottom of the triangle, accounting for 31.7% of the total residential overhang, excluding serviced apartments and SoHos.

Next comes the RM300,001 to RM500,000 segment at 25.3%, followed by RM500,001 to RM1mil segment at 27.6%, while units priced RM1mil and above formed 12.5%.

Soam was speaking to the media about this weekend’s Malaysia Property Expo (Mapex). About 25 developers are participating in Mapex 2020, which will run from Oct 2 to 4 at the Mid-Valley Exhibition Centre in Kuala Lumpur.

About 8,000 units, valued at about RM12.83bil, will be offered for sale. Soam said this is based on information from 42% of participating developers. Financial institutions and government agencies will be among the exhibitors.

On the property market sentiment today, Soam said the coming months would “definitely” see a pick-up in sales.

Despite the conclusion of the moratorium, incentives are being given on “a targeted basis”, so barring a second wave of the coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic, he is “cautiously optimistic.”

The low interest rates will also help.

“We hope things will pick up in the first half of next year. Last year, we did RM37bil sales and have 57,000 transactions, which is unusually high. With the incentives in place, we should do well, ” Soam said.

Source: TheStar.com.my