Below are Budget 2019 highlights for housing:

1. RM1.5bil to build and complete affordable homes under the People’s Housing Programme, Civil Servants Housing Project, PR1MA, and Syarikat Perumahan Nasional Bhd.

2. RM1bil fund to be set up by the Central Bank of Malaysia (BNM) for those earning under RM2,300 per month to buy affordable houses priced at RM150,000 and below. The fund will be made available for two years or until the fund is depleted through AmBank, CIMB Bank, Maybank, RHB Bank and BSN at an interest as low as 3.5%.

3. RM25mil will be allocated to Cagamas Berhad to prepare a mortgage guarantee (jaminan pajak gadai) to ensure that first time house buyers with a household income of up to RM5,000 will receive a higher financing, including for their deposit. This is expected to lower the cost between 7% and 11% for buyers, apart from the discounts given by developers.

4. Stamp duty exception for the first RM300,000 on the property transfer letter (surat cara pindah milik) and loan agreement for first time house buyers purchasing a house priced at a maximum of RM500,000 for two years until December 2020.

5. Financing under the Public Sector Home Financing Board (LPPSA) will be extended from 30 years to 35 years for first-time financing and 25 years to 30 years for second financing (pembiayaan kedua).

6. RM400 mil will be allocated to improve the living quarters of civil servants such as police and military personnel and teachers.

7. Government is suggesting on an exemption of stamp duty on property transfer letter for first house purchase for houses priced between RM300,001 and RM1mil for the period of six months starting from Jan 1, 2019. This will be part of the National House Ownership Campaign, of which developers have agreed to give a 10% discount to houses under existing projects.

8. Property crowdfunding platform will be allowed, which will be headed by the private sector. Overseen by the Securities Commission, it will allow house buyers to use peer-to-peer lending to finance their purchase.

9. Stamp duty rate for property transfers for properties priced at more than RM1mil increased from 3% to 4%.

10. For companies, non-citizens and non-PR holders, real property gains tax will be increased from 5% to 10%. For citizens and those with PR, real property gains tax will be increased form 0% to 5%.

Source: TheStar.com.my

Niche property developer Runnymede Group of Companies (Runnymede Group) has signed a landmark MOU with Ritz-Carlton, the famed luxury and lifestyle hotel and resort brand, for the management of a luxury hotel and residency units within the Runnymede Place development in Penang, Malaysia.

This nearly five-acre seafront development is located along the vibrant and historic Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah (aka Northam Road) nestled along Penang’s famous Millionaire’s Row. It is adjacent to the Citibank Building and is just a block away from the E&O Hotel in the prime business district of Georgetown.

Scheduled to open in 2026, the luxury seafront hotel will feature 133 rooms within a 48-storey tower and 18 suites for the historical 3-storey Runnymede heritage hotel building. There will also be a mixed development tower comprising luxury condominiums, an office block and retail units located next to the hotel.

Runnymede Place, with its landmark waterfront development designed by Kerry Hill Architects of Australia, is set to become an iconic landmark in Penang. The late famed architect, Kerry Hill, was personally involved with the planning and design of the entire development. Hill’s enduring architectural legacy is spread throughout Asia, Australia, Europe and China. Among Hill’s accomplishments are the Aga Khan award for the Datai Langkawi Hotel and other awards for luxury resort hotels such as the brand Aman in New Delhi, Tokyo and Shanghai, plus the Lalu Sun Moon Lake in Taiwan and the Desert Palm in Dubai. He was awarded the “Australian Institute of Architects’ Gold Medal” in 2006 and also won the “Best Housing Design” award at the World Architecture Festival in 2012 for Martin No.38, a residential project in Singapore.

Established in 1994, Runnymede Group is well-known for its diverse development portfolio in Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Western Australia. The company’s impressive track record coupled with its financial strength and management expertise has allowed it to become a key player in the highly competitive property development industry.

Runnymede Group has successfully completed several notable developments in Penang, including the KWSP building situated on a two-acre parcel next to Runnymede Place; a military complex; and luxury bungalows as well as courtyard homes as part of The Sanctuary development. It has also developed a retail centre in Kota Damansara leased on a long-term basis to GCH Retail Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of the Dairy Farm Group-UK, which is listed on both the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the Stock Exchange of Singapore.

The group’s ongoing projects include The Sanctuary’s Triuni Residences condominiums; a mixed development with service apartments in Ampang; Rossmoyne Residences private villas along the Canning River and the Margaret River Resort – both in Western Australia.

For more information on the Runnymede Group, please contact their friendly team on 03-216 44800 or 04-659 8899 or visit www.runnymede.com.my.

Garden Terraces @ Machang Bubok is a 7.2 acres residential development in Bukit Mertajam. It is located along Jalan Machang Bubok, with comprehensive amenities nearby such as schools, shops and restaurants, market and shopping malls.

This development will offer 84 units double-storey link homes with 4 bedrooms.

More details to be available upon official launch.

Project Name: Garden Terraces
Location : Machang Bubok, Bukit Mertajam
Property Type : Double-storey link homes
Built-up Size: (to be confirmed)
Total Units: 84
Indicative Price: (to be confirmed)
Developer : DNP Land

Location Map:

Mah Sing Group Berhad (Mah Sing) celebrated the opening of its Southbay Sales Gallery at Batu Maung after closing down the lobby and outdoor landscape for renovation a month ago. The opening celebration kicked off with a ribbon cutting ceremony and lion dance performance to usher in good luck and prosperity. Present during the opening celebration were Mah Sing’s Senior General Manager (Northern Region), Lai Kok Soon, Mah Sing’s Senior Manager of Sales & Marketing, Vincent Lee Mun Kheong and Mah Sing’s General Manager of Sales & Marketing, Veejaeswaren A/L Beraya.

The facelifted Southbay Sales Gallery provides a spacious layout and enhanced accessibility for Mah Sing’s customers. It serves home buyers who are interested in Mah Sing’s projects in Penang, namely M Vista, The Loft, Ferringhi Residence 2 and Legenda. The sales gallery features a modern designed lobby which showcases three large scale models of Mah Sing’s latest development in Penang and can fit up to 120 guests for events. The Group also revamped the surrounding
area, making it easier to drive into the sales gallery from Jalan Batu Maung and having a secured car park area exclusively for its customers.

“Reinvention of spaces is not just part of Mah Sing’s tagline and we practice it in everything we do. Hence, when we saw the opportunity in reinventing our layout at the sales gallery to be more efficient, we decided to go ahead. With the spacious layout and better accessibility to our newly reinvented sales gallery, we hope that we could serve our home buyers better and organise more exclusive activities for our customers in the near future,” shared Mah Sing’s Chief Operating Officer, Everlyn Khaw.

Mah Sing is currently running its ‘Desire Refer n Reward’ campaign, which rewards the public with up to RM38,000 when you refer your friends and family to purchase a selection of the Group’s completed homes and commercial spaces nationwide. This campaign bundles affordable, easy-to-own properties with hassle-free convenience for anyone who is looking for ready-to-move-in homes as well as workspaces. In conjunction with the opening celebration, the Group will also be offering a special promotion for its Ferringhi Residence 2 project.

Interested buyers of The Loft and M Vista can also visit the fully furnished show units at the Southbay Sales Gallery. In line with the opening celebration, the sales gallery will be extending its opening hours from 9am-8pm daily.

The Loft @ Southbay

The Loft is a low-density residential development which comprises 156 luxury suites, nestled in the 33-acre Southbay City township in Bayan Lepas. The township consists of mixed residential and commercial developments located along the scenic Jalan Permatang Damar Laut. It is a mere 1km away from the Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah Bridge (second bridge).

The development has two 30-storey towers with a total of 156 luxury suites. It features only three units per level and offers various lifestyle amenities such as a three-tiered pool, seating decks to pavilions as well as a reading lounge and sky gym are both connected via a sky bridge that offers breathtaking panoramic sea vistas from the viewing deck.Each of the three-bedroom units have a spacious built up from 1,378sq ft to 1,680sq ft. They are designed with high ceilings and large windows that frame the scenic vistas beyond while creating airy and radiant interiors. Selected units also come with extensive private gardens.

M Vista @ Southbay

The development is also part of the Southbay township which is strategically located only 1km from Penang’s second bridge, 9km to Penang’s 1st bridge and near Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway. Residents can easily access to the mainland or Georgetown area.

M Vista consists of one 23-storey tower with a total of 237 residential units. The development has a total of 5 types of built ups to fit the needs of different homebuyers with an indicative built up of 536 sqft (studio unit) to 1,201 sqft (3+1 bedrooms). Southbay Sales Gallery has the 841 sqft (2 +1 bedrooms) show unit available for viewing from 10am to 6pm daily.

Ferringhi Residence 2

Ferringhi Residence 2 is a premium residential develipment which comprises a 32-storey high-rise residences, a 10-storey mid-rise residences and at 4-storeys lowrise residences, all linked together by a podium carpark. A uniquely designed clubhouse is located strategically between the three apartment blocks, at the top of the car park podium and in the middle of the facilities deck.

The clubhouse anchors the activities around the facilities deck by allowing crisscrossing from one side of the deck to the other through the provision of double entrances. Residents are spoiled for choice with facilities such as gym, badminton court, meeting room, infra-red sauna room, Jacuzzis, swimming pool, wading pool, tennis court, children playground, outdoor gym, various thematic gardens and etc.

The development is set at the heart of Batu Ferringhi’s tourist belt. International standard beach hotels are located within walking distance. Residents can conveniently walk from their homes to visit the tourist sidewalks that lines Jalan Batu Ferringhi.

Following numerous calls for lower property prices, the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia (Rehda) has come out to say that house buyers can now expect prices to be at least 5% lower for new launches.

This is partly attributable to 2.5% to 5% of savings for developers after the exemption of the sales and services tax (SST) on basic construction materials and all construction services.

“Together with other discounts and rebates that most developers are currently offering in view of the soft market for new launches, house purchasers can look forward to lower prices of minimum 5% depending on the location and type of product,” said Rehda president Datuk Soam Heng Choon in a statement today.

He, however, stressed that the quantum of savings for developers is dependent on the type of developments and will only be applicable to new projects as prices for those projects during the goods and services tax (GST) era would have been agreed upon with the contractor, and are already in various stages of completion.

“Under the GST regime, residential property developers were unable to claim input tax credit and had to absorb the cost increase but with the abolishment of GST and the above waiver from SST, we should expect to see some savings in development cost,” he noted.

Hence, Soam said, Rehda is encouraging all developers to pass on this savings back to purchasers in the form of price reduction.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng has repeatedly asked developers to cut property prices and threatened to review the SST waiver on construction materials if developers refuse to lower property prices.

He also stressed that what the government wants to see is house price reduction and not additional perks such as freebies and rebates by developers.

Meanwhile, Rehda hopes that all stakeholders will work together to look at ways to reduce the input cost of the property development business and in particular compliance cost so as to enable property prices be reduced further.

Source: TheSundaily.my