About Utropolis @ Batu Kawan

A mixed commercial development by Paramount Property in Batu Kawan, Penang. Strategically located next to UOW Malaysia KDU Penang University College, just a stone’s throw away from IKEA furniture store. There is also a proposed linkage to the Design Village Outlet Mall.

Find out more about Utropolis @ Batu Kawan:

• Phase 1 – Sensasi Commercial & Residential Suites (Completed)
• Phase 2 – Suasana Residential Suites (On-going)
• Phase 3 – Sinaran Avenue & Sinaran Residences (New launch)

Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow today said the state will sign a major agreement next month to realise its 1,821ha three-island project (Penang South Islands), which forms an important part of the RM46 billion Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP).

He said once the agreement was signed, the project’s delivery partner, SRS Consortium Sdn Bhd, would come up with a detailed design and plan for the PTMP, which includes reclamation, rail, roads and other associated works.

Besides the detailed design, once the agreement is signed, tenders will be called and the contractors will be hired later.

Chow said this agreement can be only signed once all relevant approvals are obtained.

In the meantime, he said the state government would now await a RM10 billion sukuk bond to be issued and a federal government guarantee for the bonds.

“Depending on the financial arrangement and the bond guaranteed by the government, we will decide what to start off with first,” he said at a press conference in Komtar today.

Chow said the top priority was the three-island project, now dubbed Penang South Islands (PSI), followed by the Bayan Lepas Light Rail Transit (LRT) and the Pan Island Link 1 (PIL1) highway.

The 30km LRT line will cost about RM8 billion and will begin in June next year. It will take five years to complete.

The 20km PIL 1 highway will cost about RM7.5 billion.

Chow also revealed that 27 groups had been shortlisted for the PSI master plan competition. A total of 124 consortiums had earlier indicated their interest, he said.

Two-thirds of those shortlisted are foreigners.

The competition is co-organised by the northern chapter of the Malaysia Institute of Architects. Winners will be announced next April.

He said an honorarium of US$125,000 (RM520,000) will be paid to each of the five shortlisted groups. The state government has set aside RM5 million for this purpose, along with the cost of organising the competition.

The PSI is the Penang government’s RM46 billion project to reclaim three islands and later sell them to the highest bidder to build highways, the LRT line and other modes of transport.

The project will be undertaken by SRS Consortium Sdn Bhd, a joint venture between Gamuda Bhd and Penang real estate development firms Loh Phoy Yen Holdings Sdn Bhd and Ideal Property Development Sdn Bhd.

The Edge Markets recently quoted Gamuda Bhd managing director Lin Yun Ling as saying that the first package of the Bayan Lepas LRT would be awarded by mid-2020.

Source: Free Malaysia Today

Gamuda Bhd is likely to sign the Project Delivery Partner (PDP) agreement for Penang Transport Master Plan in the ‘next few weeks’, and the first package of Light Rail Transit (LRT) would be awarded by mid-2020, according to managing director Datuk Lin Yun Ling.

“Once the PDP agreement is signed, the design works will start, from LRT to the first (man-made) island, or what we call Island A, and Pan Island Link, and reclamation work for South Island will all move. We expect by middle of 2020, the first package of LRT will be awarded,” he told reporters at a press conference, after the group’s annual general meeting today.

Source: EdgeProp.my

by Anders Ong

Sometimes some people earn more in property investment and sometimes some people just making lost in the market. Some are pure experts and some are pure luck if we had bought properties during the boom time every single person can also be an expert and boast about it. But, the era had past or do it really past forever?

We might know some of our friends whom had earned millions and we might have friends whom are saying property investment isn’t profitable. This goes to the simple theory of Property Cycle, it is the periodical and sequential cycle of property where there price goes up and goes down; in a nutshell, TIMING. Property cycle happens due to the economic principles of Supply and Demand influenced by the political, demographic, economic and social economic factors. The demand of property will always increase in the current era due to the growth of population and limited supply of land for property development.

The property cycle happens from time to time but it does take quite a long time to complete a perfect cycle which can range up to 10 – 30 years in some countries and this is the reason no one ever notices it or forgot as it took quite a time and an amateur investor could turn into professional investor for such a long period of investing.

The First recorded studying of property cycles was Homer Hoyt in 100 Years of Real Estate Values in Chicago and popularised by the 18 Years property cycle developed by Economist Fred Harrison, they are the first few people to identify the existence of property cycle. Fred concluded that the length of a full property cycle averages out to 18 years at max and divided into 4 distinctive stages.

Basically, there are TWO trend and FOUR stages of property cycles:-

Up – Cycles Trend

#1. RECOVERY of Market – During this stage, the market is gaining more confidence in the property buyer market. Rental rates started to rise, time took to sell off a property reduced, property price and property value increase. Banks are hungry and ease their lending criteria and approve more credits.

#2. Mid Cycle Dip – Once the market started to recover there will be a small mid-cycle dip as some earlier investor take profit before the explosive phase of the market

#3. EXPLOSIVE of Market – Bank interest is low and easier for approval, buyer sentiment increase, media perception are positive, property price increase at a more rapid rate and rental continue to increase. Property will be sold above their market value and vendor keep on increasing their prices for more profits. Every explosive stage also brings in more new young generations of investors into the market due to greed-driven by seminars and property guru. Many people will borrow against their increased house value and buying consumer products. Even seasoned property investors will also be driven as they worried they will missing out the boat. (Seller Market)

#4. Cycle Peak – This is the final few years of the explosive phase, where price had to reach the peak of the property cycle which the economist Fred Harrison named it as the “Winners’ Curse”. It is definitely not lucky to buy the highest priced property during the peak as the next phase of the cycle will be a downturn phase. Most property bought at this peak will be valued lower or worth less than the price paid later on. This happens due to property prices risen too quickly or unaffordable to the market, high growth of liability and credit due to heavy borrowing, overconfident of developers in sales and led to oversupply, and more speculators whom are looking for a quick property flip of fortune.

Down – Cycles Trend

#5. RECESSION of Market – Market stage is characterized by oversupply, decreasing growth, price plummet, more seller and fewer buyers, harder to get loan, home harder to sell, past buyers over-leveraged, increased vacancies, increase auction market, reduced cash flow or rental, and bad media perception with daily dose of oversupply and auction news. This is also the result of a rapid supply of developers’ stocks and sellers in the boom phase. Property prices could stagnate or even drop due to purchases at the boom period which people could not afford so they had to sell at depressed prices. (Buyer Market)

#6. Cycle Bottom – This stage of property cycle reflects the lowest stage of the cycle where most property prices are low, stagnant and rock bottomed but no one is buying due to the negative sentiment, oversupply and loss of money from sales during the recession.

#7. STABILIZE of Market – Falling bank interest rate and Bank Negara Over Night Policy (OPR) rates, ease of lending rules and policy, prices may remain flat and move up slowly. There are more and more government initiatives and interventions on the property market to encourage take up rate, economy and homeownership.

Summarization on investing through the property cycles timing:

• Recovery phase prices usually start higher than the last recovery prices.
• The property cycle has different time variance in different country.
• It is normal for property prices to go through the up and down.
• Buy at the bottom of the cycle and sell at the top of the cycle.
• Do not over leverage at the peak point of property cycle.
• Do not panic sell when price are dropping.
• Be a seller when everyone is buying
• Be a buyer when everyone is selling
• Do not mislead by the media.

In a nutshell, understanding of the periodical property cycle can make us a better investor and have more understanding of current property market health by looking at market signals. There would be nothing to be worried of during market recession and there would be nothing to be excited during the market explosive.

Anders Ong – Speaker, Property Consultant, Young Property Investor and Author of Back To Property Investment To Create Wealth

Hong Kong house buyers are looking around in Penang.

“Hong Kong people buying properties in Penang is not something new. But the number has definitely accelerated now,” said International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI) Malaysia president Michael Geh.

“For the past five years, there had been quite a number of retired bankers and semi-retired professionals who came and stayed in Penang,” he said.

These Hong Kong residents, he added, would opt for properties priced between RM1mil and RM2.5mil.

Geh said Penang had always been popular for Hong Kongers as it is just a two-and-a-half-hour flight away. “There are daily flights from Penang to Hong Kong and vice versa. They can even plan for a ‘one-day trip’ if they want, as it is very convenient to travel between both places.”

He also said the cost of living in Penang is lower.

On Tuesday, the South China Morning Post reported from a survey that showed “Hong Kong has lost its preferred status among the world’s expats” due to soaring flat prices, high cost of living and long working hours, before the protests began.

The survey by InterNations ranked Taipei as the best city for expats, followed by Kuala Lumpur and Ho Chi Minh City.

Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda) Penang chairman Datuk Toh Chin Leong said the “unbeatable” property prices here was also one of the main draws for Hong Kongers.

“Landed properties in Hong Kong cost around RM10mil. Just consider the amount of money they can save if they buy a property in Penang,” he said.

With RM10mil, he said a buyer could get a luxury unit for RM2mil here and keep the balance of RM8mil in fixed deposit.

“Buying properties in Penang is a retirement plan for them to live comfortably for the rest of their lives.

“Another draw to our island is the presence of international schools, the delicious food and sandy beaches which are quite similar to Hong Kong.

Even for the less well-off, Toh said prices here were still unmatched for those wishing to take up the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) plan.

Several Hong Kong stars are already accepted by the locals here as “semi-Penangites”.

According to China Press, they included TVB actors Hugo Ng, Dickson Lee and Philip Keung.

Ng, 60, recently moved to Penang with his actress wife Lily Chung, 55. Apparently, Chung was not too fond of the cooler temperatures in Hong Kong.

The couple rented a 4,000 sq ft condominium unit in Tanjung Bungah overlooking the sea. They would return to Hong Kong for work occasionally.

“The monthly rent here is RM8,500. In Hong Kong, with the same rent, I would only get a house that is 400 sq ft,” he was quoted as saying.

And he liked the food as well.

“My wife loves nasi lemak. She loves roti canai, too, and can eat that for breakfast and dinner. I prefer half-boiled eggs with toast and kopi-O,” he said.

However, he made clear that his decision to relocate to Penang had nothing to do with what was happening in Hong Kong, saying that it was purely a coincidence.

As for Lee, he decided to move to Penang after coming here for a holiday last year.

According to the China Press report, Lee had hurt his legs in an accident last year and decided to visit Penang with his wife while recuperating.

“I had not been to Penang before this and once I set foot on the island, I fell in love with it. The lifestyle here is simple and it’s like Hong Kong in the 70s and 80s.”

“I applied for MM2H and moved here in October last year,” he added.

“The people here are very nice and helpful. I enjoy the simple life here.”

Source: TheStar.com.my