Industry players foresee a future increase in property prices as incoming supply falls, making it a good time to buy property.

“I reckon supply [of residential] will drop this year, even next year. But I think property prices will start to increase because we will see [a] lack of supply in the future as developers are holding back launches,” said Zerin Properties group chief executive officer and founder Previndran Singhe.

Previndran was sharing his views in a panel discussion themed “Property Watch — Buy, Sell or Hold?” at the CPA Congress 2015 yesterday.

Other panellists were immediate past president of Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Datuk Seri Michael Yam and Bina Puri Holdings Bhd group executive director Matthew Tee Kai Woon.

The Edge Communications Sdn Bhd and The Edge Property Sdn Bhd managing director Au Foong Yee was the moderator of the session.

According to Yam, location is no longer the only consideration when it comes to buying a property, but timing as well, due to the changing property landscape.

However, he is still confident of the outlook on the property market because demand for housing is still strong despite the discouraging market performance in the first half of this year.

“The slowdown is due to several reasons such as the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST), poor market sentiment caused by a weakening ringgit and low commodity prices, as well as higher construction costs. Most developers are adopting a wait-and-see strategy,” said Yam.

Tee concurred that property prices will not be going down anytime soon because construction cost continues to go up.

“If you are hoping the property prices are coming down soon, that might just be a dream. Besides the GST, manpower cost is moving up now. The cost of hiring skilled Indonesian workers has increased by 30%. Not to forget the material cost has also increased due to volatility of the currency,” he said, adding that in the past, property prices in prime locations almost never went down even during economic slowdowns.

Previndran was of the view that there are loads of property investment opportunities in the nation, naming hotspots such as the Klang Valley, Greater Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor and Kota Kinabalu.

Yam also urged buyers to look for hidden gems in the secondary market as more than half of residential transactions were from this market.

CPA Congress is an annual flagship event by CPA Australia. This year’s conference theme is “Leadership, Strategy, Business”. CPA Australia is one of the world’s largest professional accounting bodies, representing more than 150,000 members in 120 countries.

Source: TheEdgeMarkets.com

A proposed mixed development by BSG Property in Georgetown in Penang. It is located between the famous tourist belt of Gurney Drive and Kelawai Road, next to Evergreen Laurel Hotel.

The proposed development comprises a new 55-storey skyscraper, featuring a mixed of hotel rooms and condominium units:

• Hotel (223 rooms)
• Executive hotel (90 rooms)
• Condominium (294 units)

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

Property Project : (to be confirmed)
Location : Gurney Drive, Penang
Property Type : Mixed development
Total Units: 313 (hotel rooms), 294 (condo)
Developer : Taman Sri Bunga S.B. (BSG Property)

Inspired by the leaf considered a symbol of good luck in many cultures around the world, The Clovers in Sungai Ara, Penang, is designed to be a living sanctuary blessed with nature’s wonders.

A freehold residential high-rise by Asia Green Property Development, it comprises a trio of 42-storey towers. Its modern condominiums start with standard units measuring 1,598sq ft up to the luxurious Duplex penthouses at 2,907sq ft.

A key feature is the two private lifts that serve each block.

The Clovers, currently under construction and scheduled for completion in mid-2017, will be showcased at the Star Property Fair 2015.

Asia Green marketing director Tan Li Mei likens the development’s concept to the idiom, ‘to be in clover’, that means living a pleasant and carefree life of ease, comfort and prosperity.

She said the spacious condominiums are priced at an average of RM700,000.

Besides those, there are also affordable units priced between RM200,000 and RM500,000.

Interested parties could register via www.asiagreenaffordables.com.

Inhabitants will find much joy in the facilities such as a floating gym overlooking three large swimming pools, kids’ play area, basketball court, barbecue pit as well as dance, game and entertainment rooms.

Another classy development is the QuayWest Residence in Persiaran Bayan Indah, whose pair of 24-storey towers house units sized from 728sq ft to 2,013sq ft.

Layouts vary from a two-bedroom unit to a luxurious duplex, priced at an average of RM900,000.

They are also served by two private lifts that afford easy and convenient access to individual units.

To find out more, visit Asia Green at booth C4 during the four-day fair.

Source: TheStar.com.my

Despite the dampened property market, developer Ivory Properties Group Bhd is anticipating its earnings for the financial year ending March 31, 2016 (FY16) to be comparable with FY15 — if not better — driven by two projects: the Penang Times Square and Penang WorldCity.

It saw a net profit of RM23.51 million on a revenue of RM270.19 million in FY15.

“We have good sales [for our developments], but of late the [housing] loan rejection rate of banks has been climbing. We still believe the market has buying power, and [that] property market sentiment will return,” Ivory chief operating officer Goh Chin Heng said last week.

The group aims to complete the remaining three phases of its five-phase Penang Times Square, which has a gross development value (GDV) of RM800 million, in the next three to five years.

“Work is in progress for The Wave serviced residences (Phase 3), which are 100% sold for non-bumiputera lots, while The Central [commercial suites] (Phase 4) are expected to be launched at the end of the year,” said Goh.

The Penang Times Square, which has a GDV of RM2 billion, is located in the heart of George Town, boasting one of the biggest malls in northern Peninsular Malaysia, with over a million sq ft and set to be completed by 2020.

“Location is key. With the light rail transit project rolling out, we believe this will boost the viability of our development,” said Goh.

As for Penang WorldCity, its joint development with Tropicana Corp Bhd ( Financial Dashboard) which carries a GDV of RM10 billion, it said there are some 80 acres (32.37ha) left for development.

“We may consider a mixed development [on a portion of the 80 acres] with a GDV of RM1 billion. However, this is still in the planning stage. Considering that we still have a substantial portion of undeveloped land, Penang WorldCity should keep us busy for the next 10 to 15 years,” said Goh.

Phase1A of Penang WorldCity, comprising six blocks of condominiums known as Tropicana Bay Residences, saw over 80% of its 1,343 units sold.

Ivory chief executive officer Datuk Low Eng Hock said the group is eyeing development opportunities in the Klang Valley and is in the midst of sealing an agreement with a potential partner there.

“We hope to be able to break the good news by early next year. It will be a mixed development,” he added.

Ivory shares closed unchanged at 36 sen last Friday, with a market capitalisation of RM162.62 million.

Source: TheEdgeMarkets.com

Over 500 houses in Hong Seng Estate in Penang may soon have to make way for a new housing project.

A resident who has stayed there for 30 years said he heard about the plans to redevelop the land but did not have any details.

“This is my ancestral house. If the offer is good, we may accept it,” he said, adding that they were paying RM40 rental per month.

Hong Seng Estate located off Jalan Mount Erskine was named after the original owner who purchased the land, which was then a jungle, in 1819. Hong Seng, who is buried there, had wanted to turn the land into a graveyard plot for his family.

The land is now surrounded by 50 family ancestral graves and backed by lush greenery.

According to former state executive councillor Datuk Khor Gark Kim, the administrators of the land spanning 62 acres approached him about the development project.

“Many developers had been invited to develop the estate but to no avail, partly due to a lack of legal access.

“The administrators then asked me if I could redevelop it since I was the assemblyman for Tanjung Bungah,” he said at his office in Midlands One-Stop shopping centre in Burmah Road yesterday.

Khor said he met with Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng twice last year about the plan, adding that Lim thought it was a good idea.

The project will have low medium-cost (30%), affordable (25%) and open-value (45%) housing.

“The residents will each be given a low medium-cost unit with three bedrooms and they will also be compensated with rental subsidy for three years while the project is ongoing.

“This is my open commitment to them if I develop the land,” he said.

Source: TheStar.com.my