The Penang government will not extend the deadline for ratepayers to submit their appeals or objections against reviews of their property assessment rates, said state exco Jagdeep Singh Deo.

The local government, housing and town and country planning committee chairman said ratepayers must submit their objections and appeals by October 14.

“The notice of the review was sent out some time ago so they had enough time to submit their appeals, it was a simple process,” he said.

He said the notice came with a section for ratepayers to fill in their objections that they could then submit to their respective city councils.

“After they submit their appeals, the city councils will process it and then call them in for hearing on their appeals so they will need to present their grounds for their appeal then,” he said.

Both the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) and Seberang Perai City Council (MBSP) notified ratepayers in the state of a review of property assessment rates for 2020 about two weeks ago.

In the review, the annual value of properties have been updated so the assessment rates were reduced to mitigate the impact of higher annual value.

Jagdeep, in announcing the review, said both councils have not reviewed the rate and annual value of properties for 15 years.

The review caused an uproar as ratepayers claimed the amount they had to pay had increased between 60 to 98 per cent.

In a bid to explain the calculations behind the review of the annual value for properties, MBPP will set up information booths at nine locations for the next three weekends.

There will be booths at Gurney Paragon, Queensbay Mall, Tesco Jelutong and Balik Pulau Market on September 28, October 5 and October 12 from 11am to 9pm.

There will be booths at Gurney Plaza, Tesco Tanjung Tokong, Sunshine Square Bayan Baru, Sunshine Farlim and Balik Pulau Market on September 29, October 6 and October 13 from 11am to 9pm. The booth at the Balik Pulau Market will be open from 7.30am to 1pm.

Jagdeep said MBSP will also set up information booths on the mainland to assist ratepayers in Seberang Perai.

Source: MalayMail.com

About Residensi Permatang Pauh

Affordable housing undertaken by Excel Focus Properties Sdn. Bhd. It is strategically located within the established township of Permatang Pauh, only about 500 meters away from Butterworth-Kulim Expressway. Neighboring communities include Taman Naluri, Taman Naluri Ria and Taman Janggus Jaya.

Find out more about Residensi Permatang Pauh

The Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia (Rehda) says foreign buyers are attracted to a different category of properties, and that their presence will not have an impact on the property market targeted by locals.

Rehda also welcomed Putrajaya’s plan to promote its Home Ownership Campaign (HOC) to foreigners, adding that it was nothing unusual.

“They have a product which is above a million (ringgit) that they want to dispose of, which our local people cannot afford to buy.

“Rest assured it will not contradict our aim of selling affordable housing only to Malaysians,” Rehda president Soam Heng Choon said after a briefing on the property industry outlook today.

Soam said the now-defunct Malaysia Property Incorporated had previously promoted high-end properties to foreign buyers.

He said properties which have been left unsold for a long time can be offered to foreigners.

“Governments in other countries also look at selling high-end properties to foreigners,” he said.

Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin was recently criticised over her announcement of a HOC targeting foreign buyers.

Zuraida later clarified that only houses above RM1 million would be part of such a campaign.

Meanwhile, Soam revealed that 19,784 units worth RM14.65 billion have been sold by Rehda members under the HOC.

He also rejected a claim by the House Buyers Association that the glut in high-end properties was due to developers not building what ordinary buyers want.

“Which businessman would come up with a product that no consumers want?” Soam asked.

Source: FreeMalaysiaToday.com

About Queens Residences

Luxury waterfront development by Ideal Property Group at Bayan Bay with gross development value (GDV) of RM600mil. This development is located in front of BayStar Condominium, just stone’s throw away from Queensbay Mall.

Find out more about Queens Residences

According to data from National Property Information Centre (NAPIC), Malaysia property market transactions for 1H2019 have rebounded for the first time since the market dipped in 1H 2015, indicating a resilient market outlook.

Based on the latest data from NAPIC, property transaction in 1H 2019 has surged 6.9% year-on-year to 160,172 transactions as compared to 149,862 in 1H 2018. The report stated that the Malaysian property market is expected to remain resilient in the coming haIf-year, underpinned by the strong GDP growth in the second quarter at 4.9% and several government-driven initiatives to further support the market activities in the housing sector.

Affordable housing and finding the right solutions to the property overhang continue to be the main agenda of the government.

The National Housing Policy 2.0 (2018 2025) and the incentives introduced in HOC 2019, which has been extended to Dec 31, 2019 are expected to help improve homeownership among Malaysians and the residential overhang situation in the coming half-year.

In Penang, transaction data from NAPIC did not indicate any significant improvement since 2015. However, the average transacted price has shown a gradual increase in both Island and Mainland.

With the introduction of HOC 2019, it is expected for a surge in property transactions to take place in 2H 2019.