Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin plans on taking Malaysia’s Home Ownership Campaign (HOC) to Hong Kong and China.

Speaking to a press conference at the outskirts of the 2019 Smart Cities Asia Annual Conference and Exhibition, she explained that properties in Malaysia are far cheaper than those found in Hong Kong.

At the same time, she believes this will go some way to addressing the issue of expensive, overhung properties.

“I was thinking of our unsold units which is about RM100 billion worth of the higher market, I’m not talking about the lower market, so I was thinking about organising this HOC campaign in China or in Hong Kong where we can attract these people to come and buy homes here,” she said.

Over a five-year period between 2014 and the end of 2018, the number of unsold, completed residential units grew from 11,816 to more than 45,000 by the end of 2018, including serviced apartments and small offices home offices (SoHos).

In ringgit value, the rise is even greater. The value of residential overhang snowballed by a massive 635 per cent, according to the National Property Information Centre (Napic) records.

Despite her plans to promote Malaysia’s more expensive properties, Zuraida pointed out that they are still cheaper compared to property prices in Hong Kong.

“In fact, it’s cheaper to buy homes here instead of there and to fly, with the price of travelling making it cheaper to have homes in Malaysia than in Hong Kong. I went to one unit of flat there at 250 square feet; it cost RM3 million. Even a minister can’t afford a home there,” said Zuraida.

At the moment, the federal minister wants to take her proposal to the Cabinet and have it discussed because she wants to promote the plan under the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme.

She plans on roping in Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi as MM2H is under his purview.

However, she confirmed that currently, local developers are already making sales pitches in Hong Kong and China.

Source: MalayMail.com

Iconic Worldwide Bhd’s maiden property project Iconic Point has been 100 per cent taken up during its two-day soft launch at its sales gallery in D’Piazza Mall, Penang last weekend.

The company said Iconic Point is expected to become one of the key commercial centre and landmark in the Simpang Ampat township – a true game-changer for mainland Penang’s dining and entertainment scene. The freehold development will be completed by the first quarter of year 2022.

Iconic Point is a joint venture between Iconic Maison Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Iconic Worldwide, and Iconic Development Sdn Bhd.

“This is the first time Simpang Ampat has seen such a development, with semi-detached & detached shop offices with individual shared lift concept, and the price we have set is very close to what we offered for Icon City when it was launched seven years ago,” said Iconic Worldwide Bhd managing director Datuk Tan Kean Tet in a recent statement.

Strategically located near the junction of Jalan Permatang Tinggi and Jalan Bukit Tambun, just off the North-South Expressway, Iconic Point will enjoy great visibility to thousands of motorists passing by daily. The development is also a stone’s throw away from the nearby KTM station, and in close proximity to mature residential neighbourhoods.

Sprawling across 8.7 acres, Iconic Point will feature 49 units of modern semi-detached & detached shop offices with individual shared lift.

There will also be three drive-thru food and beverages outlets with tenants such as Starbucks.

An elegant 4-storey boutique hotel sits at the end of the Iconic Point belt, providing visitors a place to rest their weary body while still remaining in close proximity to essential service outlets and loved ones, perfectly encapsulating the definition of an integrated lifestyle hub.

The 49 units of modern three-storey shop offices maximise convenience and efficiency by incorporating specially-designed shared lifts. Its commodious layouts make units flexibly suited to a vast spectrum of business – from retailed store, cafes, restaurants and pubs, to beauty salons, boutiques and more.

Source: NST Online

Many of you must be wondering where will be the next affordable housing located? Can the government control or influence the developer’s decision?  Listen to the sharing from our Chief Minister on the challenges in approving affordable housing by developers.

FIND OUT MORE:
Penang CM speaks to Penang Property Talk on Vision 2030

Following S P Setia’s mega township development (Setia Fontaines) at Bertam,  more developers are now taking advantage of the spillover effect by proposing affordable landed homes within the vicinity.

Here is yet another proposed residential development at Tasek Gelugor by Pavilion Everise Sdn. Bhd. (a subsidiary of GSD Land). It is located along Jalan Kubang Menerong, just a stone’s throw away from Setia Fontaines and Bandar Putra Bertam.

This housing scheme comprises mostly single-storey landed houses, some of which are categorized under low-cost housing.

Phase 1

• 2-storey terrace (23 units)
• 1-storey terrace (304 units)
• 1-storey low-cost house (104 units)

Phase 2

• 2-storey shop office (49 units)

Phase 3

• 2-storey terrace (16 units)
• 1-storey terrace (209 units)
• 1-storey low-cost house (63 units)

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

Project Name: (to be confirmed)
Location: Tasek Gelugor
Property Type: Terrace & low-cost house
Tenure: (to be confirmed)
Total Units: 338
Indicative Price: RM42,000 (low-cost)
Developer: Pavilion Everise Sdn. Bhd. (GSD Land)

Location Map:

Vocal pressure group CAP has warned that a promotion drive by local developers to attract Hong Kong investors to buy properties in Malaysia in the wake of the political crisis in the island city could push house prices beyond the reach of ordinary citizens.

“Encouraging foreigners to acquire properties here have undesired impacts such as causing property prices to skyrocket because of demand, aggravating the current shortage of land, and causing an increase in the cost of living,” the Consumers Association of Penang said in a statement, amid reports of Malaysian developers planning a promotion drive in land-strapped Hong Kong.

CAP president Mohideen Abdul Kader said the floor price set in Penang, Selangor and Johor for foreign property buyers will not discourage them.

In Selangor and Johor, the bare minimum price for foreigners to buy residential units is RM2 million. In Penang, foreigners are barred from buying landed houses less than RM3 million and high-rise units less than RM1 million.

Mohideen said the prices were still affordable for foreigners especially in Hong Kong, where the average price of a home is more than US$1.2 million, according to a global real estate report released this year.

“For those with US dollars or Singapore dollars to spare, our RM3 million is equivalent to US$718,787 or S$995,405 respectively. With RM3 million, a Hong Kong resident is able to buy an almost 2,000 sq ft luxurious bungalow in Tanjung Bungah and that is almost 11 times the size of Hong Kong’s 178 sq ft micro-home,” he said in a statement.

Last month, FMT reported that wealthy property buyers from Hong Kong were looking to Malaysia as a possible second home as the special administrative region of China struggles with widespread protests.

The report said Malaysian property agents and developers had been collaborating with agents in Hong Kong for data on buyers there.

“In the next one to two months, many developers are expected to go to Hong Kong to sell Malaysian properties,” Toh Chin Leong, the chairman of the Penang chapter of the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (Rehda), had told FMT.

Mohideen said the move could make Penang “another Hong Kong”, with the poor being forced to live in slums and small flats.

“Are we having a fire-sale?” he asked.

He said Putrajaya should focus on the development of rent-to-own flats as well as affordable housing “instead of pandering to developers wanting to build luxurious houses and condominiums that few locals can afford”.

“Could the current property overhang be caused by developers’ over optimism about the housing market without looking at the economic reality and the inability of potential house buyers to obtain a bank loan?”

Mohideen said when George Town was declared a Unesco World Heritage site in 2008, Penang property prices skyrocketed as Singaporeans went on a “shopping spree for pre-war houses”

“As a result the prices of houses in the inner city of George Town soared beyond the affordability of most locals to rent or buy,” he added.

Source: FreeMalaysiaToday.com