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

Upcoming 43-acre mixed development by Hunza Properties Bhd., with an estimated gross development value of RM6bil.

Hunza Properties Bhd is buying 9.7 acres of freehold land in Penang for RM57.02mil to develop affordable houses for qualified buyers.

In a filing with the local stock exchange yesterday, Hunza said its wholly-owned unit, Diamaward (M) Sdn Bhd, had signed a sale and purchase deal with property developer WLB Properties Sdn Bhd to buy the land, located next to Hunza’s 43 acres in Bayan Baru.

Diamaward is also primarily involved in property development.

The group said the rationale for the deal was to build and develop affordable homes, in line with the Government’s call for more of such housing.

Under the proposed terms, Hunza is required to build and sell the affordable homes in the area to qualified buyers.

However, the number of such homes to be built has yet to be finalised.

“The proposed acquisition is not expected to have any material effect on the group’s earnings for financial year 2016.

“The total development cost and expected profits can only be determined once the development plan is finalised,” said the group, adding that details on funding the acquisition would also be finalised at a later date. The total consideration of RM57.02mil was arrived at on a willing buyer-willing seller basis, after considering the land’s market value, it said.

Source: TheStar.com.my

The RM350mil Subterranean Penang International Convention and Exhibition Centre (SPICE) project in Bayan Baru is 80% done and should be completed by the end of next year.

Among the components already up are the SPICE Aquatic Club (RM16mil), SPICE Canopy comprising F&B retail outlets (RM28mil) and the upgrading of the SPICE Arena formerly known as Penang International Sports Arena (RM22mil).

Still under construction are a 2.8ha public park on the rooftop, a convention hall, function rooms and exhibition areas totalling RM284mil.

So far, the basement and lower ground structural works have been completed. On-going works include the building of a multi-storey car park and the installation of steel trusses for the green roof.

SP Setia general manager (north) Ng Han Seong said an iconic structure would be erected at the entrance to welcome the guests.

“We will have a world-class convention centre, hotel, aquatic centre and retail outlets.

“It will be a place for family outing, be it recreational or sporting activities.

“They can also visit our retail outlets,” he said during a site visit and dialogue session with representatives of Penang Island City Council yesterday.

Ng said there would be a hotel to complement the MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions.

SP Setia, through its subsidiary Eco Meridian Sdn Bhd, was given a 30-year concession by the council to run and develop the place.

Earlier, SP Setia technical senior manager Tang Song Teik, in his briefing, said the SPICE Canopy, with 98,000 sq ft of rentable space for retail outlets, was completed in September and targeted to open for business in December.

He said among the tenants were Everyday Supreme Chinese restaurant and Coffee Smith cafe.

He added that SPICE Aquatic Club, with facilities such as badminton courts, squash courts, kids water theme park with party corner and an Olympic-size swimming pool, was completed this month.

“It is expected to be open in December. We are investing RM4mil on a solar PV system on the roof, which can generate 984 MWh yearly,” he said.

State Local Government Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow said he was happy to witness the progress of the project which began in 2012.

“Our team of consultants will continue to assist the developer to complete the project as scheduled.

“It will promote Penang as a MICE centre once everything is ready. We are also curious to know how the rooftop park will look like,” he said.

Ng said a final component of the project — a RM300mil SPICE hotel consisting of 25 storeys with 453 business class rooms — will be built in the first quarter of next year.

It is scheduled for completion in 2018.

Source: TheStar.com.my