The Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda) is in discussion with the Government to bring back the developers interest bearing scheme (DIBS) in a certain form for first-time house buyers of a certain price, Datuk Soam Heng Choon said at a property forum.

Soam, who is also IJM Corp Bhd CEO and managing director, told participants this while moderating a forum session at the Rehda Property Forum 2016 yesterday.

“We are engaging with the Government on this,” he said.

The scheme, which allows a house buyer to pay a downpayment of between 5% and 10%, and the rest on completion of the property was banned on Jan 1, 2014 because it was deemed to encourage speculation.

It was the first cooling measure to be banned in Singapore in its fight against rising house prices.

While the removal of the scheme and macro-prudential measures weeded out speculation, it came at the expense of plummeting sales.

Earlier, Rehda president Datuk Seri FD Iskandar said a survey conducted among 159 developers in 12 states in the second half of 2015 showed that properties between RM250,000 and RM700,000 had the highest loan rejection rate.

He said 67% respondents believe end-financing was the culprit for unsold units.

He said unsold stock would rise and will also affect affordable housing. “Loan rejections rate is more than 50%,” he said.

Unsold units for the first half of 2015 was manageable with 68% of respondents having up to 30% of unsold units. Residential sales rose by a fifth in the second half compared with the first six months, although launches slowed.

Respondents with unsold units mainly in Selangor, Johor and Pahang decreased from 78% in the first half to 62% in the second half of 2015. Respondents were also pessimistic about the first half of 2016.

Soam said stringent lending conditions will come at the cost of high home ownership. Although Malaysia has a high household debt against gross domestic product of close to 90%, the highest in South-East Asia, on closer scrutiny, only 50% of this debt were mortgage-related while in Singapore and the US, mortgage debt make up 74% of their household debts. There is therefore room for mortgage debt to go up.

“Curtail unproductive loans,” he said.

Two of the forum panel speakers Maybank Malaysia head of community financial services Hamirullah Boorhan and Khazanah Research Institute managing director Datuk Charon Wardini, however, said home ownership should not be achieved at the expense of high household debt.

Instead, one of the ways, Charon said, was to modernise and cut house prices by building housing cheaper and faster using Industrial Building Systems (IBS), a housing construction technique used by the Chinese and a company in the Philippines.

“If Philippines can do it, why can’t we?” he asked.Charon also said social housing – or affordable housing – at RM500,000 were “not affordable to many.”

“It should (be capped) at RM300,000,” he said. Charon said in order to put the housing sector into its proper perspective of demand and supply, what is needed is a national housing survey.

“You cannot talk about the Malaysian housing market per se but you can talk about the Kuala Lumpur housing market, or the Johor or Penang market,” Charon said.

It has to be very location-based because the median household in Kuala Lumpur is much higher comparative to some locations outside the Klang Valley, he said.

Source: TheStar.com.my

Iconic Vue, an affordable housing by Iconic Land Sdn. Bhd. at Batu Ferringhi, Penang. Strategically located along Lorong Sungai Emas, only about five minutes walking distance from Golden Sand Resort. It is surrounded by many local amenities such as schools, petrol stations, police stations & F&B outlets,

This development comprises a 26-storey condominium with 232 affordable units. Since this is a fully affordable housing project, selling price is expected to be less than RM400,000.

READ MORE ABOUT AFFORDABLE HOUSING:

• Eligibility and the requirement of buying affordable housing
• Full list of affordable housing in Penang

Property Project : Iconic Vue
Location : Batu Ferringhi, Penang
Property Type : Affordable housing
Total Units : 232
Land Tenure: Freehold
Indicative Price: RM400,000 and below
Developer : Iconic Land Sdn. Bhd.

Location Map:

Progress Update (June 2018)

The RM6.3 billion Penang mega project to build three xpressways and an undersea tunnel linking Penang island to the mainland will kick off in June, with the construction of the Air Itam-Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway bypass.

Consortium Zenith BUCG Sdn Bhd (CZBUCG) chairman Datuk Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli said starting mid-way (of the Air Itam-Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu bypass) would be the paired-road from Jalan Tanjung Bungah to Teluk Bahang.

Zarul said construction of the third road from Gurney Drive to Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu would commence after the first two are completed.

He said the road construction from Gurney Drive to Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu is a standalone project and would start later due to the more complex work to be undertaken.

The three roads have a combined length of 21.2km and will cost more than RM2 billion. The amount includes RM500 million that would be reimbursed to the government for land acquisition cost, Zarul said in an interview, here, recently.

CZBUCG is the main contractor for the RM6.3 billion project, which consists of the three roads and a 7.2km undersea tunnel linking Penang island to the mainland.

The company was awarded the project in October 2013. For building the roads and the tunnel, the state government will compensate CZBUCG with 44.5ha of freehold reclaimed land in Tanjung Pinang. CZBUCG is 98.1 per cent owned by Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd. The rest of the company is owned by Juteras Sdn Bhd (1.89 per cent) and Beijing Urban Construction Group Co Ltd (0.01 per cent).

“The Penang mega project is a key impetus to push growth. There will be job creation and business opportunities as well as boom of construction-related industries. This will be the biggest development in Malaysia this year. Under the current economic situation, infrastructure projects such as this, combining three roads and an undersea tunnel, would help spur the economy,” said Zarul.

He said the first road project would start on June 15, subject to CZBUCG getting environmental impact assessment approval, the land to acquire, and the private participation to enable the consortium to start the road building.

“We will face a lot of challenges when building the Air Itam-Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu bypass road. We will ensure as little disruption as possible. That is why we won’t construct all three roads simultaneously. We don’t want Penang to become a construction site,” said Zarul.

On the undersea tunnel, he said construction is expected to commence either in 2020 or 2021. CZBUCG’s partner for the undersea tunnel is Beijing-based China Railway Construction Corp Ltd (CRCC).

“We are confident of finishing the tunneling job without hiccups. CRCC has done thousands of kilometres of underwater tunnels, so 7.2km is a walk in the park for them,” said Zarul.

The Chinese firm has built much of the transportation infrastructure in China, including high speed rail, subways and expressways.

Source: NST Online

18 East at Andaman presents the key to coveted resort-living within the finest of sea-fronting condominiums. With a stunning vista of the Andaman Sea that would leave many awestruck by its sheer brilliance, 18 East is a haven of understated luxury defined by expansive living spaces, a gem within an unrivaled oasis.

The distinction of this resort-themed home is underscored by its world class clubhouse ensconced within sprawling recreational spaces spanning 4.5 acres of waterpark and another 6.9 acres of lush greenery.

Located at the north eastern most cape of Penang Island, 18 East stands majestically on the final and most prime lot on Penang’s largest seafront development, the master-planned Seri Tanjung Pinang, a world class waterfront community, comparable in many aspects with the likes of Sentosa Cove in Singapore and Sanctuary Cove in Australia.

Its strategic location affords residents convenient access to the UNESCO World Heritage City of George Town, Gurney Drive and the beaches of Batu Ferringhi. Literally a few steps away from 18 East are the Straits Quay festive retail marina, a hypermarket, the 4-acre Straits Green public park and a 1.6 km seafront promenade. International schools and medical centres are also within close range to this much-desired address in Penang.

Facilities and Private Water Park

At the piece de resistance of 18 East, its outstanding waterpark designed by renown architects Wimberley Allison Tong & Goo (WATG), residents may make a splash at the formal pool, dip at beach pool, go with the flow of the adventure pool or recharge at the pavilion.

Residents of 18 East have a dedicated private entrance lobby to access their condominium tower. A concierge service is at their disposal while the exclusive 18 East Premier Card entitles them to privileges at the iconic Eastern & Oriental Hotel, boutique beachfront Lone Pine Hotel as well as Straits Quay.

The 14,000 sq.ft. grand clubhouse features a private 50-seat Gold Class theatrette in addition to a lounge, function space, outdoor dining terrace, and a fully-functional kitchen.

Peach of Mind

State of the art integrated security systems, an element of paramount importance, has been developed by the leading security consultant, GDSS Security Consultants.

The unique security features include a perimeter fence with fiber optic cabling, CCTV and video motion detector.

The residents’ and visitors’ vehicle access control is via an electronic scanning system.
Additional features include video intercom at the main lift lobby and card access to all lobby levels.

A home intercom which is linked to a 24 hours manned guard house and security control room further enhances the security aspects of the unique site.

Design Layout and Furnishing

Customers are spoilt for choices with eight types of design, with sizes ranges from 877 sq.ft. to 4,813 sq.ft. Penthouse.

The unique design of Type D comes with two identical master bedroom, complete with the spectacular 270 degrees view of the majestic Andaman Sea.

All units are fully furnished with top notch quality furnishing complete with sanitary fittings and sanitary ware.

This resort themed project indeed epitomizes the sheer luxury of seafront resort living living, within an abundance of greenery and the unparalleled panorama of the Andaman Sea.

Fine living has a new name. It is none other than 18 East at Andaman.

Ewein is embarking on a one-stop wellness destination named “Wellness City of Dreams” which will eventually span over a reclaimed land of 110ac and carries a GDV of RM25b over a 10-year period given to Consortium Zenith BUCG by the Penang Government to build the RM6.3b undersea tunnel and three road bypasses in Penang.

The first 50 ac (3 parcels) in Bandar Tanjong Pinang is expected to be fully developed before Dec-2020 and the group had inked a memorandum of agreement to acquire these landbanks for a total of RM2.83b in January 2016.

This mega development, located next to Gurney Wharf, will carry a massive GDV of RM 13.9 billion, which includes wellness apartments, retirement and healthcare wellness residential suits, serviced apartments with wellness facilities, resort suites and ambulatory services. This massive development is the top champion in the Malaysia EPP 10 for Wellness Resort.

Source: I3investor Forum