A proposed high-rise commercial development by Praicon Corporation Sdn. Bhd. in Butterworth, Penang. Strategically located along Jalan Chain Ferry, walking distance to Econsave Hypermarket, just a short drive to Harbour Place integrated development by PJD Group.

This development will consist of a 27-storey commercial building with 154 units of service suites.

This is still pending for approval. Details to be available upon project launch.

Property Project : (pending for approval)
Location : Butterworth, Penang
Property Type : Serviced apartment
Total Units: 154
Indicative Price: (to be confirmed)
Developer : Praicon Corporation Sdn. Bhd.

A developer has offered four compensation options to residents of 823 squatter units in Sungai Nibong Kecil and Sungai Nibong Tengah, Penang, who have to make way for a mixed development project.

The options given by Hunza Properties Berhad are cash, cluster houses in Bertam and low-cost flats in Bertam and Bayan Lepas.

Hunza Realty Sdn Bhd director Gee Su Lyn said they bought the site concerned, a 73.4ha plot in Bayan Baru, six years ago, adding that owners of 750 squatter units on the land had agreed to one of the four options.

She said 31 squatters were still undecided while 30 squatters were issued with notices for failing to respond. The remaining 12 have been served with court summonses.

Gee said it took the company six months to come up with a sound compensation formula.

“A six-month survey was carried out at the site as we needed detailed information before coming up with a good compensation formula.

“Some of the squatter units were already empty and dilapidated. There were also units rented out to foreigners.

“Our main objective is to provide shelter for those in need,” she said in her speech during a topping-out ceremony at the Bayu Nyaman low-cost flat project in Bayan Lepas yesterday.

The 28-storey project is one of the four compensation packages offered.

It has 690 units measuring about 680sq ft each. The project is scheduled for occupation in February next year.

Gee said those who occupied a squatter unit measuring more than 800sq ft were entitled to a free low-cost flat either in Bertam or Bayan Lepas.

“If the owner prefers to own a landed unit, he or she may opt for a low medium-cost cluster house in Bertam.

“Those who lived in squatter units between 400sq ft and 800sq ft can opt for a low-cost flat either in Bertam or Bayan Lepas.

“This group can also choose a low medium-cost cluster house in Bertam but a small amount of top-up is required,” she said.

Gee said owners of empty squatter units and those who rented out their units would be given cash compensation only.

“We also give out cash compensation to owners of units smaller than 400sq ft.

“However, we will give out a free low-cost unit in Bertam to those who are really hardcore poor,” she said.

At the same ceremony, Hunza Properties Berhad group managing director Khor Siang Gin said the cost of building each low-cost unit in Bayu Nyaman was around RM100,000.

He said the cap price of a low-cost house set by the state government was only RM42,000 per unit.

“To date, we have spent about RM100mil in compensation over the resettlement of these squatters,” he said.

Also present at the topping-out ceremony were Penang Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Mohd Rashid Hasnon and Hunza Properties Berhad founder Datuk Seri Khor Teng Tong.

Source: TheStar.com.my

First-time buyers of affordable houses not left out too

Various house ownership programmes for all levels of income have been allocated for in Budget 2016.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said PR1MA would build 175,000 houses, which will be sold at 20% be­low market prices, with an allocation of RM1.6bil.

He said Syarikat Peru­­­mahan Negara Berhad would build 10,000 units of Rumah Mesra Rakyat with a subsidy of RM20,000 for each house through an allocation of RM200mil.

First-time house buyers of affordable houses were also not left out with the establishment of a First House Deposit Financing Scheme under KPKT to pay the deposit.

“For this, RM200mil is alloca­ted,” he said.

Najib also announced that hou­ses for the second generation of settlers comprising 20,000 units would be built by Felda, 2,000 units by Felcra and 2,000 units by Risda.

“For houses built by Felda, the maximum price is reduced to RM70,000 from RM90,000 pre­viously,” he said.

He also said GLCs would build affordable houses in the vicinity of the MRT station in Ban­dar Kwasa Da­­man­sara in Sungai Buloh.

Master Builders Association of Malay­sia president Mat­thew Tee said the construction sector was expected to be the recipient of the highest growth of about 8% next year among other sectors like manufacturing and services.

“A lot of upcoming projects such as houses, schools, clinics and public transportation are included in the Budget,” he said.

Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia president (Rehda) Datuk Seri F. D. Iskandar saw Budget 2016 as positive and helpful for homeownership, especially for the middle income earners.

He said the allocation of RM200mil as deposit for first-time house buyers was good news for the industry especially in this current challenging times.

“Payment for deposit has always been the biggest barrier to house entries and we fervently hope that the deposit will help spur homeownership among the rakyat,” he said.

He said Rehda lauded the Government’s move to provide a special fund to encourage the adoption of the Industrialised Building System (IBS) in Malaysia.

“The RM500mil promotion fund for developers and contractors will not only help to accelerate project delivery but also reduce development cost as well as depen­dency on foreign workers.

“We hope such an incentive will encourage more developers and contractors to adopt IBS in their projects,” he said.

Orando Holdings Sdn Bhd mana­ging director Datuk Dr Eng Wei Chun (pic) said the 20% reduction in stamp duty for Syariah-compliant housing loans would be good for the property sector.

Eng, who has been in the property industry for 20 years, said the RM50mil loan for SMEs could also revive the country’s economy.

“By spending the funds in the market, it will help to stimulate business and our economy to revive,” he added.

Civil servant Izzul Fikry, 45, hopes quality will not be compromised in the houses built under the Perumahan Penjawat Awam 1 Malaysia (PPA1M) projects expected to be completed by 2018.

“It is true that you cannot get houses ranging from RM90,000 to RM300,000 easily but I hope the Government will look into the space and quality of the houses,” he said.

The father of four said they did not want to end up with homes that needed constant maintenance, adding that there should be at least three rooms per unit for growing families.

Another civil servant, Kasmadi Jumaat, 33, was happy with the offer of affordable homes for civil servants.

“I will go for it, even if it’s far from Kuala Lumpur; at least I will have a roof over my head once I retire,” he said.

Engineer Janice Lee, 28, said with the high cost of living, a three-bedroom apartment of RM550,000 would be fine if both husband and wife were working with a household income of RM12,000 and two children.

“We must be close to the Kuala Lumpur city centre and a walking distance from urban conveniences, shopping malls and restaurants.”

Source: TheStar.com.my

The median home value in Malaysia has hit the RM300,000 mark in the first half of 2015 (1H15), with Selangor, Penang, Sabah and Sarawak continuing to exceed the average price since 2004.

Preliminary data for the second quarter of 2015 showed the Malaysian Housing Price Index registering 220.2 points, which indicates that the country’s home values have more than doubled since 2000, according to the Economic Report 2015/16 released today.

Median house prices of RM242,000 in 2014 exceeded the median annual household income of RM55,020 by 4.4 times, vis-à-vis the global norm for housing affordability at three times.

Meanwhile, residential property transactions in the country declined in first half of 2015 (1H15) by 2.6% to 119,604 units, while the value of transactions fell by 9.7% to RM36.4 billion.

In comparison, 1H14 recorded a 2.3% increase to 122,830 transactions, with a value growth of 19.4% to RM40.3 billion, according to the report.

“Residential property transaction accounts for 64% of total property transactions,” it added.

For 1H15, residential transactions declined in four major urban areas, namely Kuala Lumpur (-6.4%), Selangor (-1.8%), Johor (-17.9%) and Penang (-14.2%).

New launches were down by 44.1% year-on-year to 27,231 units in 1H15, compared with a 56.3% year-on-year growth of 31,155 units in 1H14, amid cautious sentiment among property developers.

New housing approvals for 1HFY15 also saw a 32.9% decline to 66,770 units compared with a 37.3% growth of 99,461 units in 1H14.

On the supply side, the incoming supply of properties continued to grow at 13.8% in 1H15, up from a 10.3% year-on-year increase in 1H14. The Klang Valley continued to dominate the incoming supply, accounting for 29% of the total supply.

Housing supply starts rebounding by 38% to 100,712 units, compared with a 1.8% decline to 72,935 units in 1H14, supported by service apartments and condominiums/apartments, which accounted for 28.3% (28,541 units) and 22.5% (22,673 units) respectively, of the total starts.

Take-up rate for residential units increased 31.4% to 8,542 units in 1H15, compared with a 23.8% increase of 11,588 units in 1H14.

Source: TheEdgeMarkets.com

The federal government’s 1Malaysia People’s Housing Scheme (PR1MA) in Penang may see projects by other developers being taken over, Penang Federal Action Council chairman Datuk Seri Zainal Abidin Osman said yesterday.

He said PR1MA was looking at projects that had run out of funds, and even completed projects, so as to provide affordable housing to buyers in the state. “Now, maybe there is a developer [unrelated to PR1MA] that has an approved plan, and has completed its project or is having trouble getting loans or funds to implement the project.

“We can negotiate with the developer to [let PR1MA] take over and finish the project,” Zainal told a press conference at the KTM (Keretapi Tanah Melayu) station in Bukit Mertajam yesterday. Zainal said he could not go into specifics yet, but announcements would be made “when such a project is finished and the keys are ready to be handed over”.

“What is for sure, is that, as far as PR1MA in Penang is concerned, the government-linked corporation is not sleeping. There are PR1MA staff going around doing studies and site visits every day … it is all ongoing.”

Zainal was also asked what he thought about the Penang government’s move to “stimulate accessibility” by raising the net household monthly income ceiling for eligible house buyers. This means, for example, that a household with a net monthly income of RM8,000, instead of RM6,000 previously, can now be eligible to buy a unit priced at RM200,000.

“I welcome the move because it will open up the units to a larger market. There are many affordable units in the market now, including those by private developers.

“If you set the limit too low, your pool of buyers will be small. It won’t make the units inaccessible to those with lower income because there will still be enough units to go around … such a move is good for buyers and developers,” he said.

Source: TheMalaysianInsider.com