In collaboration with state housing department, a new “Affordable Housing” section has been added to this website to bring further awareness to the affordable housing projects in Penang. You can now find out more about the latest affordable housing projects as well as its location. There are also some basic guidelines that can help you to determine your eligibility.

As of Aug 23, the state housing department has received more than 51K applications, but only 3,257 applied for affordable units (RM200,000 – RM400,000). The number of affordable unit applicants is relatively low comparing the number of units that are going to be built in the next 5 years.

>> Apply For Affordable Housing <<

Please note that the purchase of affordable housing (both government & private developer projects) MUST be applied through state housing department. All applications for affordable housing will be vetted by the eight-member panel in the Selection Process Enhancement Committee (SPEC) in accordance to the criteria set for low-cost, low-medium cost and affordable housing units. There is no shortcut to affordable housing other than going through the balloting process, subject to oversight by an independent auditing firm to increase the transparency in the system and to ensure more efficient allocation.

If you are available this weekend (20 Sept), officers from the state housing department together with PDC will be going to Giant Hypermarket in Bayan Baru for the ‘Mission: Home-Possible’ road-show, to showcase affordable housing projects, as well as assisting potential buyer to submit their completed application forms.

Tambun Indah Land Bhd’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Palmington Sdn Bhd, has proposed to acquire 27 parcels of freehold land in Penang worth RM150 million from TPPT Sdn Bhd.

In a filing to Bursa Malaysia, Tambun Indah said the purchase of the land totalling 84.8 hectares would be satisfied by cash.

It said the proposed acquisition is in line with Tambun Indah’s strategy to expand its land bank in locations with growth potential and strengthen its foothold in the property market in mainland Penang.

Going forward, the group expects prospects for the property market in Penang to remain positive and the proposed acquisition to enhance the overall viability as well as value of the Pearl City flagship township and its vicinity.– Bernama

Eco World Development Group Bhd will take up the offer to buy 190.2ha in Batu Kawan from Penang Development Corp (PDC) for RM1.02bil.

PDC is offering the sale of the property to Eco World as the group is the only bidder. It is learnt that PDC will give Eco World the offer letter in two weeks to buy the property at RM50 per sq ft.

PDC has firmed up plans to turn the 190.2ha near the second Penang bridge into a golf course and a mixed development project.

Of the 190.2ha, Eco World will develop a golf course on 60.7ha and use the remainder for a mixed development project.

The group plans to build landed properties on the hilly portion of the land and a waterfront city, overlooking Penang island.

The development density for Batu Kawan is between 11 units and 60 units per acre, depending on the approval given for the development.

Eco World already owns 24.28ha in Bukit Tambun, on which it plans to launch a RM920mil mixed development called Eco Meadows next year.

With the acquisition of this 190.2ha, Eco World is set to be a major landowner and developer in Penang.

Since the announcement of the second bridge in 2006, property prices in Seberang Prai and on the island have surged significantly.

The price of vacant land in the area, especially in south Seberang Prai where the second bridge is located, is now hovering between RM40 and RM50 per sq ft, a huge jump from 2006’s RM8-RM9 per sq ft range, according to Henry Butcher Malaysia (Seberang Prai) Sdn Bhd associate director Fook Tone Huat.

Land prices in central and north Seberang Prai are now within the range of RM50-RM100 per sq ft, compared with RM20-RM40 per sq ft then.

In 2007, Asas Dunia Bhd bought 138 acres from TPPT Sdn Bhd for RM5.58 per sq ft.

In 2014, Tambun Indah Land Bhd purchased 200 acres agriculture land in Simpang Ampat for RM16.40 per sq ft.

If converted for mixed development, the property can be valued between RM20 and RM30 per sq ft at today’s market price.

Recently, PDC sold 99 ha in Batu Kawan to Aspen Group Holdings for RM45 per sq ft to develop the Aspen Vision City. It will have residential properties, offices, medical facilities, a large central park, international school, retail shops and an integrated central integrated hub for Seberang Prai.

On an adjoining land measuring 121.4ha, sources said, a large Kuala Lumpur-based resort and theme park operator had made a bid with an overseas developer that specialised in theme park development.

In May this year, Eco World president and chief executive officer Datuk Chang Khim Wah told StarBiz that the freehold land status and location near the second link and adjacent to the North-South Highway gave it great potential to be developed as a mixed development project.

He said the company was planning the development of a mini mall, comprising shops and offices in line with its “Eco” theme that emphasises sustainability and livability.

“Over time, we aim to build up our presence in Penang to consistently contribute between 10% and 15% to total group sales,” he said.

On Penang island, the group is planning a preview of the RM340mil EcoTerraces in Paya Terubong, which comprises luxury landed homes, condominium units and a private residents’ club on 5.26 ha.

Source: StarProperty.my

If you travelling from Prai to Bukit Mertajam via Jalan Baru, you would probably notice an ongoing construction on your right that stretches over an area of about 200 meters wide. It is the upcoming MYDIN Wholesale Hypermarket, by far the largest in the northern region. Once completed, Jalan Baru is going to be a lot more busier, especially during festive season.

Here are a few ongoing/upcoming residential and commercial projects that could benefit from being connected to the mall via Jalan Baru:

• The Signature
• The Presidence
• Scarlet Villa
• Arcaria @ Taman Pauh Jaya
• Frontage
• Taman Villa Indah
• Pegasus Residence
• Prominence

In the following weeks, we are going to share a few more projects being proposed around the same area.

Property developers have come out with some hard facts that suggest that the sector is cooling off.

According to the first half 2014 Property Industry Survey by the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia (Rehda), properties in the affordable housing price range below RM1mil have been facing a tough sell largely because of homebuyers’ difficulty in getting financing and a glut of unreleased bumiputra lots.

Also, some 31% of properties in the RM500,001 to RM1mil range were still left unsold after completion in the past three years. These were largely in hot property markets like Selangor and Johor.

Properties in the price range of RM250,000 to RM500,000 also faced the same dilemma, with 34% of the completed units unsold. These were located mainly in Perak and Pahang.

Close to 90% of the respondents experienced a slowdown in property sales due to cooling measures announced in Budget 2014 and over 80% of the respondents of the survey held a “neutral” to “pessimistic” outlook for the first half of 2015.

Rehda president Datuk Seri Fateh Iskandar Mohamed Mansor said demand for property was intact but with the Government’s cooling measures introduced a year ago, developers were finding it difficult to successfully sell in the affordable housing segment.

“A property is a person’s biggest wealth creation asset, yet they can’t seem to own one,” he noted. He suggested that the Government reinstated the developers’ interest bearing scheme for first-time house buyers to allow the working class to own a roof over their head.

The survey found that while 84% of developers were able to get bridging financing for their projects, 53% of their buyers faced challenges getting financing to buy the properties. Among the loan rejections from financial institutions, the highest rate was among home buyers in the RM200,001 to RM500,000 property range.

“We can build but it is a different story for those with the capacity to buy the homes,” he said, adding that the 70% loan-to-value ratio was beyond the capability of many home buyers too.

Hence, Fateh Iskandar appealed to the banks to revisit the guidelines for responsible lending to property buyers.

He further pointed out that for the first time in the recent history of the property sector, less than 50% of units launched were sold in a half-year period.

Of the total 10,189 units launched in the first half of this year, only 49% were taken up. Of that figure, 41% of the launches were in the RM200,001 to RM500,000 price range, mainly located in Johor and Pahang, while 31% were in the range of RM500,001 to RM1mil. This trend was similar to the the second half 2013 period.

At the same time, property developers have had to struggle with the lack of demand for bumiputra lots in locations where bumiputras do not traditionally settle in.

Fateh Iskandar said the authorities’ call to raise the bumiputra quota in property developments up to 70% would only further squeeze developers who would not be able to sell the lots despite their best efforts in marketing the projects to the targeted buyers.

“Demographics and locality can’t be pushed. If you were to ask a non-bumiputra to buy a property in Kampung Datuk Keramat or a bumiputra to buy a house in Jinjang, for example, it’s going to be difficult,” he said. “Yet these quotas are still being put in place everywhere.”

Fateh said developers were supportive of the original quota of 30% bumiputra lots but felt a higher quota would not serve certain locations.

Rehda has suggested for the automatic release of the unsold bumiputra lots in tranches – 10% release every six months from the launch – but this notion has not been taken up by the federal nor state authorities.

Source: StarProperty.my