In a league of its own: The Penang WorldCity mega waterfront development is envisaged as a modern cosmopolitan enclave.

Ivory Properties Group Berhad will be showcasing several prominent projects at a four-day roadshow over the 57th National Day weekend.

The developer will hold its Merdeka Property Roadshow from 10am to 10pm daily, Aug 29 to Sept 1 at the central atrium of Gurney Plaza in Penang.

Ivory chief operating officer Goh Chin Heng said the projects to be showcased include The Wave at Penang Times Square, The Latitude in Tanjung Tokong and the much-talked about Tropicana Bay Residences in Penang WorldCity.

Tropicana Bay Residences is the first phase of the Penang WorldCity mega waterfront development and comprises six blocks of 22-storey condominium towers with a gross development value of RM835mil.

Goh said the blocks would house units sized from 455sq ft to 1,950sq ft, and available in eight distinctive layouts. Conceptualised by an international architect, units are designed to foster healthy outdoor living.

Residents and guests alike will be greeted by an impressive drop-off point. Inside, there are resort-style amenities like an overhanging pool, tennis court, saunas and gymnasium, among others.

“The Residences have enjoyed a highly positive response since its soft launch. To date, 90% of units in the first four blocks have already been taken up.

“Block E is now open for registration with units sized from 872sq ft to 980sq ft,” he said, adding that current average selling prices vary from RM458,000 to RM1.3mil, with an average rate of RM867 psf.

Visitors to the roadshow should also check out The Wave which is phase three of Penang Times Square in George Town. Goh believes its revolutionary concept will make it one of the most sought-after addresses in the state.

The building features an extraordinary exterior, with sun protection stripes that appear to rhythmically lap over the glazed glass facade, creating the impression that waves are going over the building.

“When viewed from different angles at different times of day, the panels appear to be in different colours, evoking the illusion of a vertical sea with colourful corals.

“This distinctive design garnered it the ‘highly commended’ award in the Residential High-rise Architecture, Malaysia category of the Asia Pacific Property Awards 2014-15 recently,” said Goh.

There are 312 units, available in four types – corner units, intermediates, penthouses and duplexes, which range in size from 1,205sq ft to 2,905sq ft. Five vertical courtyard gardens will sub-divide The Wave.

Goh said The Wave’s residential component would cover 27 floors, complemented by 11 storeys of podium for car parks, lifestyle facilities and retail lots.

Also on show is the commercial component of The Latitude in Mount Erskine, Tanjung Tokong. The bespoke shoplots sit on an ideal catchment area, serving over 1,500 residential units in the vicinity, including the neighbouring The Peak Residences.

Goh said the 1,390sq ft lots, priced affordably from RM826,637, would be ideal for food and beverage business besides being great investment choices with good potential for capital appreciation.

He also said buyers would enjoy special promotional packages during the roadshow. Visit the roadshow to find out more.

For the Penang WorldCity development, the public can also visit its sales gallery near Queensbay Mall, call 04-6596888 or log on to www.penangworldcity.com.

For details on other projects, visit Ivory’s sales gallery at the Ivory Tower in Penang Times Square which is open from 11am to 6pm daily except Sundays. Alternatively, call 04-2108000 or email to marketing@ivory.com.my or contact@ivory.com.my.

Source: StarProperty.my

Grand undertaking: Zarul pointing to the spot where land will be reclaimed for the company in exchange for the three roads and the undersea tunnel project.

The feasibility study for the 6.5km undersea tunnel connecting Penang’s island and mainland is set to commence in January next year.

Consortium Zenith BUCG Sdn Bhd chairman Datuk Zarul Ahmad Zulkifli said that if all went well, works on the tunnel would begin in 2016.

He said the study would take about a year as it was an environment-sensitive project.

“We will also have to obtain approval for environment impact assessment,” he said at the company’s Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house at G Hotel in Penang yesterday.

He added that the tunnel would connect Bagan Ajam on the mainland and Jalan Pangkor in George Town, which would be linked to the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway.

The undersea tunnel is one of the RM6.3bil mega projects, which include the 4.2km Gurney Drive-Lebuhraya Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu bypass, the 4.6km Lebuhraya Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu-Bandar Baru Air Itam bypass and a 12km road connecting Tanjung Bungah with Teluk Bahang.

Meanwhile, Zarul also said that the first phase of feasibility studies for the three road projects had been completed and submitted to the state government about two months ago.

He said the next report complete with the preliminary designs for the roads would be completed by end of September.

On the 44.5ha (110 acres) of reclaimed land from the state in exchange for the cost of the projects, Zarul said it would be a mixed and waterfront development as well as something that “Penangites will welcome”.

“We will do something for the benefit of Penangites. It will be good for Penang and for the country. Penang will be on the map.

“But it’s definitely not going to be a theme park,” he said, and declined to elaborate on what the project would be.

The reclaimed land would stretch from the seafood restaurant near the Gurney Drive roundabout to Tanjung Seri Pinang.

Source: StarProperty.my

The Penang State government has as its top priority, the provision of affordable housing for first time Penangite house-buyers. Towards this end, and recognising that property prices in Penang have risen in the past few years, no doubt, as a result of Penang being very attractive having regards to it competent, accountable and transparent administration, the Penang State government has embarked on a two prong mission, firstly, to cool housing prices by the announcement of various cooling measures in budget 2014 in December last year.

These cooling measures include the extension of the moratorium on the subsequent sale of low and low medium cost housing units to 10 years from the principal purchase; the moratorium on the subsequent sale of affordable housing units to 5 years from the principal purchase; the imposition of a 3% approval fee in relation to purchases by foreigners and the imposition of a 2% approval fee upon vendors for transactions executed within 3 years of purchase. This is further to the requirement that there is a limit on purchases by foreigners, namely properties not less than RM2 million (landed) and RM1 million (apartment) on the island and RM1 million (landed and apartment) on the mainland.

Other jurisdictions that have implemented cooling measures in the region such as Hong Kong, which, inter alia, doubled its sales tax on properties valued at more than HK$2 million in February 2013, so as to curb speculative transactions, have seen Hong Kong’s existing home prices bottoming out after falling as much as 5% from a peak in March, 2013. Further, new home prices in Hong Kong have dropped by 15% to 20% since October 2013 (according to a JP Morgan Chase & Co report last month).

Although the cooling measures which were announced in December 2013, came into force only in March this year, it is hoped that it will be effective primarily to curb speculation which will only give rise to spiralling house prices.

The second prong mission of the Penang State government is to make accessible affordable housing, in particular, to first time Penangite house buyers.

In this regard, together with Penang Development Corporation, we have embarked on several affordable housing projects which will deliver approximately 20,000 units of affordable housing in the next 5 to 15 years. A summary of these projects are enclosed herewith.

Apart from these public affordable housing projects, as you are aware, the Penang State government is also encouraging the private sector to build affordable housing whereby we will in return give them several incentives so as there is a workable formula for them to participate in building 100% affordable housing projects. Towards this end, the Penang State government is taking into consideration the views of all stakeholders, and will, in the near future, announce its guidelines for private developers who undertake such 100% affordable housing projects.

In fact, it should be noted that several private developers have in fact submitted such plans to build affordable housing, which todate is about 10,000 units.

Since December, 2013, when the new application forms (Borang PN1) for affordable housing (including the new range of RM200,000; RM300,000 and RM400,000 categories) were launched, more than 100,000 forms have been taken by the public.

Todate approximately 3,000 have been returned and registered in our system. Enclosed herewith is a summary of the number of applicants (for low cost, low medium cost and affordable housing units) in our system.

We understand that it might be difficult for applicants who are working to come and submit their forms together with all relevant documentation, especially during working hours. As such, I have decided to go on a road-show entitled ‘Mission: Home-Possible’, whereby officers from the state housing department together with PDC will be going from one parliamentary constituency to another every fortnightly on Saturdays, whereby, apart from showcasing our affordable housing projects, Penangites can come forward to obtain registration forms, update their status in our system and also submit their completed application forms.

This ‘Mission: Home-Possible’ for the parliamentary constituencies of Jelutong and Tanjong, will begin on 23.8.2014 at the foyer at level 3 Komtar, from 10am-5pm.

Source: Buletin Mutiara

Phoenix Residences, a proposed residential development in Batu Maung, Penang. It is strategically located within Taman Iping, adjacent to Schenker Logistic.

This development has 32 units of 2-storey semi-detached and 2 units of bungalow houses. The actual details of this project, including project name and the actual launching price is yet to be confirmed.

* This developer has recently been acquired by PLB  Engineering Bhd. (18 Jan 2016)*

More details to be available soon.

Project Name: Phoenix Residences (to be confirmed)
Property Location : Batu Maung, Penang
Property Type : 2-Storey Semi-Detached, Bungalow
Land Tenure : Freehold
Total Units: 32 (semi-d), 2 (bungalow)
Indicative Price: RM 1,120,000 (semi-d), RM 1,760,000 (bungalow) onwards
Developer : Phoenix Residences Sdn. Bhd.

Location Map:

EVER come across the terms “monthly rest interest” and “daily rest interest’”? These are terms you should look out for when shopping for a loan. They are basically calculation methods used by financial institutions to charge payable interest. Before we take a look into the differences of the two, it is essential we address the definition of “rest”.

Unfortunately, in this scenario, “rest” does not refer to relaxation. It is simply defined as the time frame at which the principal amount is reduced as you repay the loan.

The mechanics of calculation between the two are highlighted below:

I. Monthly rest interest

The interest of loan is calculated based on outstanding balance from the previous month.

II. Daily rest interest

The interest of loan is calculated based on the outstanding balance from the previous day.

Let’s take a look at the basic framework of how these two modes of calculations can affect what you pay to banks.

Interest calculation

“Ali has a home loan of RM500,000. The interest rate is set at 5% per annum with a tenure of 20 years. Based on the amortisation formula, Ali’s monthly instalment adds up to approximately RM3,299.78. Ali proceeds to pay his first instalment on the 15th of the month.”

A table of calculation breakdown is done based on the scenario above to give you a better picture.

• Monthly rest interest (Refer to Table 1)

• Daily rest interest

For the daily rest calculation, we have to first calculate the interest charged from 1st interest charged from June 1 to June 15 (Refer to Table 2)

Now let’s calculate how much is paid to the principal after paying off the interest from June 1 to June 15 (Refer to Table 3)

Now, let’s calculate the remaining interest for the rest of the month (Refer to Table 4)

To calculate the total interest paid for that month (Refer to Table 5)

Comparison of monthly rest interest versus daily rest interest (Refer to Table 6)

*Note : The number of days in a year used in daily rest interest calculations will vary from bank to bank. In this illustration, we used a total of 360 days in a year. In reality, banks may use a total of 365 days in a year to work out the daily rest interest calculations.

From the illustration above, Ali saves a grand total of RM4.37 when he pays his instalment on the 15th of the month. Based on the daily rest interest calculations above, you will see that the earlier payments are made, the more you save.

The savings of interest payable may not be significant in the short run (just RM4.37 in this illustration). However, the effect is compounded in the long run when you factor in the larger sum of principal reduced down the line.

Are daily rest interest rates really better?

It’s important to note that this is not a one size fits all scenario. The daily rest interest mode of calculation could also be a double-edged sword. Take a look at the habits below:

1. Clears off monthly instalments in advance.
2. Willing and able to make extra payment towards monthly instalments.

If your payment habits match the above then the daily rest interest mode of calculation is certainly beneficial.

However, if you don’t repay your instalments on time, you can end up paying more due to late payment penalties. Remember, the late payment penalties go up every day based on the daily rest interest, albeit at a marginal difference.

Conclusion

Pragmatically speaking, the daily rest interest serves as the superior choice due to its equitable calculations of interest payable.

Additionally, it is clear that your payment behaviour plays a big role in how much you save/lose. There are also several other factors to look out for, such as preference of flexi or non-flexi loan, lock in periods and other hidden fees or charges.

– To find out more about the best home loan interest rates in the market, visit www.loanstreet.com.my

– Loanstreet.com.my is a website that helps Malaysians compare and apply for loans online, free of charge.

Source: Loanstreet