The first hearing session of the new 2020 assessment rate objections for both councils in Penang will be held starting tomorrow (29 October 2019).

State Housing, Town, Country Planning and Local Government Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said the hearing of the objections would be held by the assessment appeal task force team at selected locations under the administration of the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) and Seberang Perai City Council (MBSP).

“Every property owner who has filed a protest (against the new 2020 assessment rate) will be invited by a notice to attend the hearing sessions,” he told during a media conference yesterday morning.

Jagdeep also said that MBPP had received a total 54,459 objections or 16.88% out of over 322,000 ratepayers while MBSP had received a total 40,666 objections or 12.42% out of about 327,000 ratepayers.

“Objections from 60 ratepayers will be heard at City Hall while 289 ratepayers will be heard at the Bertam Sports Complex,” he said in a press conference this morning.

Subsequently, hearing will be held continuously until March 2020.

It is understood that only property owners who have made objections during the set period will be invited to attend the session.

For those who are unable to attend, may delegate by letter of authority to a representative. Failure to do so will result in the representative being denied representation in the interests of the dissent.

The sessions will be held at several locations as stated in the hearing notice. These include:

Penang Island City Council

• City Hall, Jalan Padang Kota Lama
• Bilik Perdana, KOMTAR
• Balik Pulau Sports Complex

Seberang Perai City Council

• MBSP Sports Complex, Bertam
• MBSP Branch Office, Jalan Betek
• Sony Complex
• MBSP Jawi Branch Office

Fraser Commercial Center, an upcoming commercial development by Frasers Sunrise Sdn. Bhd. at Alma, Bukit Mertajam. Located off Jalan Rozhan, next to Santuari Commercial Centre by Airmas Group. AEON Mall and Tesco hypermarket is only 5 minutes drive away.

This development comprises a 4-storey commercial building and 38 units of 3-storey semi-detached shop offices.

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

Project Name : Fraser Commercial Center (to be confirmed)
Location : Alma, Bukit Mertajam
Property Type : Commercial
Built-up Size: (to be confirmed)
Land Area: (to be confirmed)
Total Unit: 39
Indicative Price : (to be confirmed)
Developer : Frasers Sunrise Sdn. Bhd. (Starise Group)

Location Map:

Unaffordable housing remains unresolved, and the younger generation might need to lower their expectations and consider renting instead, industry experts said.

The housing problem is centred on soaring prices of properties that are incompatible with people’s income, thus diluting affordability.

National House Buyers Association honorary secretary-general Datuk Chang Kim Loong said aspiring homebuyers should continue renting until they were financially ready to buy homes.

“Buying a house is not as easy as it was 10 years ago. Due to the rising cost of living and escalating house prices, it has become more challenging for the current generation to buy their first home.

“A property is often seen as more than just a roof over your head, especially in the Asian context where properties are seen as long-term security, more so during one’s golden years.

“Acquiring a property will be the single biggest purchase and financial commitment that an average person will make in his lifetime, hence careful thought and planning must be done and it should not be made on impulse or trend.”

He reiterated the importance of being practical, including conducting a detailed calculation on one’s financial viability.

“When homebuyers take a loan that they can’t afford, this will mean that they will have to cut back on other areas. This will leave them having little to no savings for emergencies.”

He said there was no shame in renting a home.

“As the economy is slow, it remains a tenants’ market and those who are renting should search for the best deal and rent a property that they can afford, and yet still be able to save for a house purchase. If need be, they should rent a room instead of an apartment to save cost.”

He was commenting on a statement by a Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) official on Thursday that houses in Malaysia were considered “seriously unaffordable” by international standards.

Financial Surveillance Department director Qaiser Iskandar Anwarudin said 80 per cent of housing loan rejections was because the house was priced more than three times of the applicant’s annual income ratio.

Other reasons were high debt commitments, poor financial track record and documentation gaps.

However, there are initiatives to facilitate homeownership, especially for the Bottom 40 low-income (B40) and Middle 40 (M40) middle-income households, including guarantee schemes.

Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents president Lim Boon Ping said the government would need to be more conscious when issuing such statements as it might convey the wrong message.

“The BNM official’s statement is dangerous and can send a wrong message to the people. The formula being used to set a basis that our houses are ‘seriously unaffordable’ is flawed.”

Lim questioned the use of housing as a variable, and salary as a constant figure to define affordability.

“The salary I received when I joined the workforce more than 30 years ago, and the wages offered today are not much different.

“However, property prices increases at an average of between three per cent and five per cent annually, due to scarcity of land.”

He said it was common knowledge that banks would take into account one’s salary before offering an affordable loan.

“As long as you are not paying more than 30 per cent of your monthly wages for a housing loan instalment, I don’t think it is fair to sum up that we have ‘seriously unaffordable’ homes.”

Source: NST Online

Houses in Malaysia are considered “seriously unaffordable” by international standards, a Bank Negara Malaysia official said.

According to the median multiple methodology developed by Demographia International and recommended by the World Bank, United Nations and Harvard University, a house is deemed affordable if it is priced not more than three times the annual household income, said BNM’s Financial Surveillance Department director Qaiser Iskandar Anwarudin.

“The affordability in Malaysia has deteriorated with the median multiple affordability (the ratio of house price to households’ annual income) rising to 4.8 times in 2016 from 3.9 times in 2012,” he told reporters during a briefing here today.

He said most Malaysians could not afford to buy newly-launched houses with the average price standing at RM417,262 while the maximum affordable house price nationwide was at RM282,000.

Qaiser said 73% of unsold properties in Malaysia were not affordable, with Johor recording the highest number of unsold houses followed by Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Perak and Penang.

However, he said the property market situation in the country had improved with house prices going down at a moderate pace.

He said new launches were targeting affordable houses, compared to the situation in the past.

Meanwhile, he said as of June this year, the housing loan approval rate stood at 74.6% while in the segment for houses below RM300,000, the approval rate was around 70%.

He said almost half of the loans approved this year were for first-home buyers.

Qaiser said 80% of the housing loan rejection was because the house was priced more than three times the applicant’s annual income ratio.

Other reasons were that the applicants were already highly indebted, had a poor financial track record or had incomplete documents, he added.

Nevertheless, he said there were various initiatives to facilitate homeownership, especially for the B40 (lower-income) and M40 (middle-income) household segments, including schemes such as Skim Rumah Pertamaku and Skim Jaminan Kredit Perumahan; monthly repayment assistance such as Skim Perumahan Belia; and the rent-to-own scheme announced in the 2020 Budget.

He said BNM itself had launched the Fund for Affordable Homes early this year with a RM1 billion allocation for two years to facilitate homeownership for B40 households.

The fund, he said, had enabled more than 1,100 households to own a home with a total asset value of RM180 million.

Source: Bernama

About Sanctuary Ridge

The 4th phase of residential development at Permatang Sanctuary by IJM in Alma, Bukit Mertajam. Strategically located within an established neighbourhood, about 15-minute drive from Juru Auto-City and Penang Second Bridge. It is about 2km away from AEON Mall and Tesco Hypermarket.

Find out more about Sanctuary Ridge