Quote of the Day

Good Tuesday everyone :) Beautiful cloudy day in Penang . Again at Starbucks Queensbay Mall (yeap Starbucks and no i'm not trying to promote them) enjoying my Green Tea frappuccino .
The demand of Queensbay Mall shoplot has increased lately . I'm here because wanting to introduce my client in purchasing a lot in Queensbay Mall . So far so good for my other clients that purchased QBM .

Now for today's quote is about the commitment and wanting to succeed in life . I'm loving this field so much that everything comes naturally for me these days. It pays off and i know it .

"Nothing is easy to the unwilling"

Happy Monday

Happy Monday everybody! :)

Penang to sue Jerejak resort for RM10.6 million

Penang to sue Jerejak resort for RM10.6 million

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has decided to sue the company managing Pulau Jerejak resort, taking up a challenge recently hurled at him by Barisan Nasional leaders.

Shop for your home at four-day expo

House owners looking at renovating or refurbishing their homes can mark March 31 till April 3 on their calendars for the Perfect Livin’ 11 exhibition.

Organised by CNM Events Marketing Sdn Bhd, the exhibition is back for the fifth time to offer a one-stop platform for home and lifestyle needs at PWTC in Kuala Lumpur.

Besides the 300 exhibitors at the 10 specific zones, a new addition to the exhibition — the Hall of Elegance — will be presenting premium products and services from eight selected exhibitors at Tun Hussein Onn Hall on Level 2.

The exclusive exhibitors include Kollektion Distribution, Sleep Suite, Alfo Designs, Beyond Arena, Bagus Curtain, AZ Klang Home Decor, Milanohause and Luzzone Gallery.

To enhance the shopping experience at the Hall of Elegance, there will be music performances at the VIP lounge.

Meanwhile, CNM Events Marketing CEO Adriana Law said every shopper who spends RM1,000 and above at Perfect Livin’ 11 would be rewarded.

For instance, those who purchase products and services worth RM3,000 and more would take home a 20cm stainless steel stew pot with glass lid or a set of five stainless steel knives.

“Besides, we are also offering RM30,000 for lucky shoppers. Those who spend RM1,000 and above are in the running to win either RM15,000, RM10,000 or RM5,000,” she said.

There will also be a Purchase & Win contest for shoppers who spend RM100 and above, and colouring contests for children aged 12 and below.

Cooking demonstrations and talks on feng shui (by master Yap Cheng Hai) and interior designing would be held on April 2 and 3.

Law was confident that the low prices and discounts would not disappoint the visitors.

“We are the biggest home and lifestyle exhibition with more than 950 booths. Last year, we attracted about 130,000 visitors and we hope to see a 10% increase this year,” Law said.

For details, call 03-8075 7375 or visit http://www.perfectlivin.com/.

By The Star

Quote of the Day

Beautiful night. Sitting at Starbucks Straits Quay enjoying a cup of coffee. Still in my work clothes lol. it's past 12 a.m now. Wondering what myself and Michael Cheong is doing here so late(early) in the morning ? Hmmmm ......let me break the wonderful suspense ...no no no .. we are not on facebook..nope ...not on Youtube...hmm Nope not online games...We are working...haha..excuse my a lil bit of craziness at this hour...Actually we are looking for new recruitment to join our Propertizer team , Project Marketing for our new/current property development projects. I will give you more details soon..I can't stop yawning now...and the coffee is not working at all (sigh) .

As for today's quote at this hour (12.30am) :P is about some restaurant i went to.. I have to change the name of the restaurant(to protect them from throwing food at me the next round, though i do not mind if only my mouth is a lil bigger) .

"I went to a fancy french restaurant called " Deja Vu." The headwaiter said , " Don't i know you?"


Good night all . Have a pleasant dream :)

Quote of the Day

Been very busy the last few days because of our property fair . It was a good success and thanks to all that came to visit us and our project .

I'm really loving this line . Meeting new people , discussing with them about properties , becoming their friends . It's always not about business , but relationship that matters most. Myself and my team are blessed to be in this field. Sometimes people tend to see life in a very small scope .

People tend to be passive about themselves , no confidence are the reason , insecurity has overtook their lives . People being pressed down and can't be able to dream , how to achieve their dream. I was this last time until i saw that

"Life is full of beauty , notice it . Notice the bumble bee , the small child and the smiling faces . Smell the rain and feel the wind . Live your life to the fullest potential , and fight for your dreams"

"Never allow anyone to control your life , telling you what to do , who to be . You are who you are and you know with this you'll reach to your dream"

Quote of the Day

Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature nor do the children of man as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.

~Helen Keller

What do you guys think?

Casa Perdana: NEW Pictures!

Dear all,

We are pleased to say that Casa Perdana progress is going on smoothly
We have captured new pictures at the project site and want to share these pictures with everyone!

Taken from the back of the project

All painted, finished the floor tiling, now working on the gate boundaries

Nice sky view from the showhouse

We would be open on weekends from 11 am to 5 pm but we really do prefer for you to call us and make an appointment first to avoid any disappointments. This is because we have a series of roadshows lined up for April and are really looking forward to!

Guys, the deal from the property fair is still on! (Applicable for those who have registered with us @ PISA)

Thanks and looking forward to your response

How To Calculate PCB for Bonus?

Most of the people will have doubt on how to calculate the PCB for bonus. It’s always best for us to know how the PCB is calculated so that we can plan ahead of our future money. I found that quite a great amount of my year end bonus has deducted. After I figured out, I only know that there’s a formula to calculate PCB for bonus.

The Potongan Cukai Bulanan (PCB) calculation for bonus is not that straight forward. Here’s how PCB for bonus is calculated:

Let say your monthly salary is RM3,000, you are contributing 11% from your salary to your EPF savings, and you received 1 month bonus in January 2011.

1 month bonus = RM3,000
EPF deduction = RM330
Net Salary = RM2,670
Maximum total EPF deduction allowed for PCB calculation is only RM500. So, maximum available EPF deduction for PCB calculation = RM500 - RM330 = RM170

Bonus to calculate PCB
= Gross bonus - EPF deduction left
= RM3,000 - RM170
= RM2,830

The formula to calculate the PCB for bonus:

Thus, amount
= (1/12 * RM2,830) + RM2,670
= RM2,905.83

Based on Jadual PCB 2010, the monthly tax deduction for RM2,905.83 is RM42.

Total PCB for bonus = RM42 * 12 = RM216

Therefore, for the month with bonus:
Bonus = RM3,000
EPF contribution from employee, 11% = RM330
EPF contribution from employer, 12% = RM360
SOCSO contribution from employee = RM14.75
SOCSO contribution from employer = RM51.65
PCB deduction = RM216

Thus, the amount that you will get = RM3,000 - (RM330 + RM14.75 + RM216)= RM2439.25

With the formula provided, now you can try to calculate your received bonus and let me know whether the calculation and formula is accurate.

Will buyers be proud of My First Home?

Last week, the Government officially launched My First Home Scheme targeted at young working Malaysians earning RM3,000 or less to help them become home owners. Though different in many ways from Singapore's Housing Development Board scheme, Malaysia's My First Home scheme has similar and noble objectives.

Malaysia has another housing scheme targeted at the poor and needy the low-cost housing scheme. It is mandatory for developers to provide this form of housing when they build and develop a township. One may ask, what has the low-cost housing scheme got to do with the My First Home Scheme? The three key words here are management, quality and standards.

Granted, low-cost housing is priced between RM35,000 and RM42,000 each. Because of that price, many of these units are small, at 650 sq ft or slightly bigger and are occupied by a family of five or six. The lack of space and privacy results in children spending their time at corridors, on the landings of fire escapes or at the car park bays provided. As a result, when the owners are able to afford it, they move out in search of a better standard of living and rent out the place.

This latest scheme launched a week ago involves houses priced 4-5 times that of low-cost homes.

A couple of developers have already announced that they will build apartments for first-time house buyers. Although it is not mandatory for developers to provide this form of housing, they want to move into this market because they see the huge demand as property prices continue to rise.

At the price of between RM100,000 and RM220,000, most of these projects will be outside the Klang Valley, or on the fringes of what will be known as Greater Kuala Lumpur.

With inflationary pressures to contend with, and profit being the main motive of private developers, it is extremely important that this form of housing although not low-cost does not one day become the disenchantment of what will be Greater KL, like how most of the low-cost housing in the city have turned out today.

Other than a decent minimum built-up (not 650 sq ft please!), there should be some quality control, not only in what will one day be Greater KL, but also in other states.

The cap on prices sieves out some of the more desirable locations in the Klang Valley that developers can build on because of high land prices.

Nevertheless, there are two other points that are equally important location and accessibility. In the Klang Valley, some of the locations where young Malaysians can opt for include certain parts of Seri Kembangan and Puchong, as highlighted recently.

In Perak, Johor and other states, the choices would be greater and in all likelihood may include single-storey houses. Whether in the Klang Valley or outside, there are lessons to be learnt from both our low-cost housing scheme and the Singapore example.

There is talk that because it is a government-initiated scheme, this latest housing scheme may be implemented in the Sg Buloh land that will soon be developed. Just as developers had to do national duty with low-cost housing, could it be possible that those who eventually benefit from the 3,300 acres in Sg Buloh may also have to do some form of national duty?

Just a thought ...

Assistant news editor Thean Lee Cheng hopes the My First Home Scheme will go beyond its fundamental objective of enabling the populace to own houses by including meaningful elements such as quality and good living.

By The Star

Moderate price hikes seen for houses

ALTHOUGH the demand for residential properties in the Klang Valley is expected to remain good this year, property consultants expect prices of landed housing to show only moderate increases compare with the double-digit jump in 2010.

Landed property prices grew strongly last year, up by as much as 20% in some areas. This can be attributed to the limited new supply, which only increased by 3% during the year, which was less than half of the 6%-8% annual growth seen during 2004-2008.


Brian Koh ... ‘Ultimately the question of affordability and sustainability will kick in.’

Strong buying interest and economic performance data last year led to many new project launches last year after being deferred following the global financial crisis.

The increase in project launches is also due to higher confidence in demand and take-up rate.

Many of these projects will be completed this year and add to the supply numbers.

DTZ Nawawi Tie Leung Sdn Bhd executive director Brian Koh says prices have gone way up last year and this has resulted in the market “becoming quite thin now.”

“Such high prices are not sustainable as there will be a limit to how much they can go up. Ultimately the question of affordability and sustainability will kick in,” Koh says.



Concurring with Koh, Knight Frank Ooi & Zaharin Sdn Bhd managing director Eric Ooi expects prices of landed housing to show modest increases averaging between 5% and 10% these one to two years.

This is in line with the expected slower growth in the country's gross domestic product of 5% to 6% this year from an expansion of 7.1% last year.

“Such increases are healthier and more sustainable for the market. I believe it is one of the effects of Bank Negara's measure that capped the loan-to-value ratio (LVR) at 70% for the third mortgage borrower. It is a good measure to curb speculation in the market,” Ooi says.

The move is seen as a measure to reduce speculative activities and prevent the housing market from overheating as the economy recovers amid a low interest rate environment.

Ooi says market sentiment is still generally healthy with demand strongest for terrace houses priced from RM300,000 to RM1mil.

CB Richard Ellis managing director Allan Soo says the high prices of landed houses have made affordability a serious issue, especially among first-time house buyers.

He says the market preference appears to be for smaller units with lowerentry costs.

Soo says the proposed mass rapid transit (MRT) system augurs well for the market and hopefully there will be more affordable housing projects to meet the needs of the people.

“Developers have already started formulating plans for property developments near the various stations, which should be a major driver for new projects over the next two years,” he adds.

He concurs that the LVR measure has contributed towards curbing speculative buying in the market, notably the medium-high to high-end price range of up to RM3mil.

On overseas investment, he says the strong ringgit over other major currencies has made owning property overseas a more viable proposition for those looking to spread their investment portfolio outside the country.

“Malaysians are venturing overseas and the popular countries include Singapore, the United Kingdom and Australia,” he adds.

Meanwhile, a recent survey by Real Estate & Housing Developers' Association reveals that average prices of newly developed residential property are expected to grow by 13% this year over last year's as a result of rising raw material prices.

The survey found that houses in the RM100,001 to RM500,000 price bracket are the most sellable, while demand for residences priced between RM250,000 and RM500,000 will remain strong in the next six months.

DTZ's Koh says strong demand exists for smaller, starter homes priced at up to RM300,000.

“Although there is good demand for such housing units, this end of the market is not being properly served and there is still a short supply,” he adds.

Echoing his view, Ooi of Knight Frank says that in the KLCC area, there is also keen interest for smaller residences of about 700 sq ft to 1,500 sq ft priced from RM500,000 to RM1mil.

In its latest research report, Knight Frank Research says projects which offer smaller units, such as M-Suites and The Elements@Ampang are well received by the market with sales rates of more than 80% due to their lower entry prices and ease in future leasing.



The high-end condominium segment has a cautious near-term outlook following the imposition of the 70% LVR cap on third mortgages.

Some 1,202 units of high-end condominiums will be launched this year. Kuala Lumpur suburbs will see more launches including MK 20 and MK 28 by Sunrise Bhd, while SP Setia's KL Eco City is also in the pipeline. Others include sixceylon by Bolton Bhd and JSI Serviced Condominiums by UDA Holdings.

According to Knight Frank Research, within the first half of this year, 1,692 units are scheduled for completion in the city centre of Kuala Lumpur and a further 2,020 units will be in the fringe areas of KL.

Some of the notable projects include Panorama, Swiss Garden Residences, Regalia@Sultan Ismail in KL city; Gallery@U-Thant, Damai 206@ Embassy Row and Brunsfield Embassyview in Ampang Hilir / U-Thant; D'Nine, Suasana Bangsar and Gaya Bangsar in Bangsar; Seni Mont' Kiara, Kiara 3, Sunway Vivaldi and Kiara 9 in Mont' Kiara.

CB Richard Ellis in its latest MarketView says the condominium sector, particularly in the KLCC area, performed more poorly last year.

Some high-end projects witnessed a decline in both capital values and rents as the market consolidated after the heady growth of 2007-2009.

“Of concern is the impending supply, with 2011 completions projected to be around 6,000 units, and we expect this to have an effect on the luxury residential market,” the report says.

By The Star

EPF buys third London property for £148mil

PETALING JAYA: The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has bought a commercial building in central London from Union Investment for £148mil. It marks the EPF’s third property investment there since announcing an allocation of £1bil for British property purchases, Savills Rahim & Co said.

EPF confirmed the deal.

Union Investment, a Germany-based fund, is one of Europe’s leading asset managers for private and institutional clients.

EPF, in just seven months of unveiling the buy-British plans in August, has spent £485mil of the £1bil allocation.

The central London and international team of London-based property consultancy Savills handled the sale of the 225,000-sq-ft office building, Whitefriars.

The building is located at 65, Fleet Street, London EC4. It is currently used by law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer as its headquarters until 2021. It has a yield of 5.75%.

EPF’s other two property purchases are One Sheldon Square in Paddington Central, which was bought for £156mil, and 40 Portman Square near Oxford Street which was acquired for £180mil. The two properties have yields of 5.75% and 5.55% respectively.

Notable buildings close to Whitefriars include Goldman Sachs’ campus HQ (Peterborough Court & River Court), Deloitte’s headquarters, Land Securities’ development at New Street Square and the Royal Courts of Justice.

Whitefriars was developed by Kumagai Gumi and completed in November 1989. It provides approximately 232,825 sq ft of net internal air-conditioned office, retail and public house accommodation in two office buildings, as well as 24-car parking spaces.

The space benefits from excellent natural light and the upper floors overlooking central London, River Thames, the London Eye and the Houses of Parliament. In property jargon, it was developed to Grade A specification.

The purchase is part of EPF’s strategy to diversify its portfolio of income-generating assets and to increase its exposure to the property sector.

So far, equities have been its largest contributor, representing 45.45% of the fund’s total gross investment income.

Last year, EPF’s gross investment income reached a historial high of RM24bil, of which RM11bil was earned from equities, and RM103mil from property and miscellaneous income.

On the possibility of buying properties in Australia, a source close to EPF said this “may be in the pipeline in the future. But we are focused on UK right now.”

The prime central London market has been recovering strongly since the first quarter of 2009. Prime yields are currently around 4% in the West End and 5.25% in the City, compared with about 3.5% and 4.25% respectively prior to the crash in 2007.

Said a Savills source: “With greater demand than supply, we anticipate that prime yields may be sustained, if not compress slightly more.

“Demand for assets is being driven largely by overseas investors attracted to the UK due to the high-quality assets, tenants, long leases, landlord bias legal structure and upward only rent reviews, as well as, historically low interest rates, weak pound sterling and strong rental growth projections over the short to medium term.

“In terms of the prime markets outside London, the recovery is slower while the secondary/tertiary markets remain volatile,” the source said.

By The Star

Supply of affordable homes in the Klang Valley is scarce

The one area that is often neglected when it comes to affordable housing is supply. Yes, loans are plentiful and there is now a scheme called My First Home Scheme launched where eligible Malaysians would be able to get a full loan for homes costing between RM100,000 and RM220,000.

The problem is that fresh supply of affordable homes in the Klang Valley is scarce and with the median age of Malaysians now just over 24 years of age, it's the time when they will start to wonder about where and how to buy their new house.

The problem is that it might no longer be profitable for property companies to develop huge tracts of land into a township of affordable housing.

The issue is that for property projects in excess of 10 acres in size, developers have to provide low- to medium-cost housing at a ratio of 1:1, meaning that for every expensive house they build they must provide one unit of affordable or low-cost housing up to a maximum price of RM100,000.

As building and land costs rise, developers will be hard pressed to make a profit, if they can, on such affordable homes. Often it's done at a loss and to compensate for that, prices of houses they would sell to the market need to be bumped up or developers build a smaller number of homes in new projects to maximise profits.

Developers building on land less than 10 acres don't have to provide low-cost homes, a loophole that has been thoroughly exploited for maximum profits among developers seeking to build high-rise super expensive apartments and condominiums.

One suggestion that has been raised is that the 1:1 rule be exempt for developers who aim to build affordable homes. In this I mean not only low-cost homes but those in the RM250,000 to RM300,000 price range. That way a developer will be enticed to build homes for the middle-income family and be able to get a decent return.

The Government, or through appointed contractors, needs to get directly involved in providing the supply of such homes. One way is to utilise idle government land to build affordable homes for the middle class and lower income group.

For optimum effect, one way is to align the upcoming mass rapid transit (MRT) lines to areas where such new townships of affordable homes could be built, somewhat replicating the HDB model in Singapore.

By building mass housing schemes serviced by a MRT station nearby, it will solve a number of issues. For one, the availability of a MRT line and a feeder bus service near a purpose-built mass housing scheme would reduce the dependence on private transportation needs in the Klang Valley, whereby giving such new homeowners the luxury of keeping their vehicles at home when they go to work.

The supply of affordable home for the lower income and middle class families need to be addressed and soon, as a prolonged ambivalence towards the issue would make that group of people feel more disenfranchised over house ownership in the country.

Failing which, the situation, if left to market forces, may not be resolved.

Deputy news editor Jagdev Singh Sidhu is saddened by the events taking place in Japan and is amazed by the attitude and behaviour of the people there in times of adversity.

By The Star

A boon for smaller developers

PETALING JAYA: The recently announced “My First Home Scheme” is set to mostly benefit smaller property developers outside the Klang Valley that offer affordable houses priced between RM100,000 and RM250,000, said property analysts.

Among the listed property developers that offer or have plans to build such properties are YNH Property Bhd and Hua Yang Bhd.

On March 8, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak launched the scheme under which Malaysians earning RM3,000 or less can acquire houses costing from RM100,000 to RM220,000 with 100% financing from 25 financial institutions and a loan repayment period of up to 30 years.

Ho Wen Yan, Hua Yang’s CEO, is optimistic the scheme will benefit his company as its business is focused on lower- to mid-range properties.

“We are focused on building properties in the price range of RM90,000 to RM400,000, which are mainly in Johor and Perak,” Ho tells The Edge Financial Daily.

He notes that it is very hard to offer a decent property within that price range in the Klang Valley, as land prices are high.

His view is supported by Tan Kam Meng, a property analyst with TA Securities.

“You cannot get those kind of properties (at affordable prices) in the Klang Valley. Thus, it will benefit property developers which have projects in places outside the Klang Valley, such as in Perak and Melaka,” he explains.

According to Tan, Hua Yang will benefit from the scheme as the contribution of affordable properties to the company’s bottom line is generally more than 50%.

Meanwhile, Daniel Chan, YNH’s general manager of corporate affairs, said the scheme would provide more incentives to the prospective buyers of YNH’s Manjung Point Township development in Seri Manjung, Perak. “It will appeal to those serving at the naval base,” he tells The Edge Financial Daily.

“Most of YNH’s single-storey link house developments in Manjung Township cost an average of RM150,000, and the double-storey link houses cost an average of RM200,000, which fall within the price range of the My First Home Scheme,” he said.

Chan said that, with the introduction of the scheme, its Manjung Township would see an increase in interest among prospective buyers. He added that the Manjung area’s appeal had also been boosted by a RM15 billion investment from mining giant Vale (SA) International Ltd for its iron-ore pelletising plant in Teluk Rubiah and Tenaga Nasional Bhd’s RM6 billion investment in the TNB Janamanjung expansion.

“The affordable properties in Manjung Township contribute almost RM30 million out of a gross development value of RM75 million, to the company’s revenue,” said Chan, elaborating on the contribution of the development to the company’s income stream.

“For this year and next, the contribution of Manjung Township to the company’s revenue will increase as we managed to get Jusco to set up a regional mall and the Pantai Healthcare group to set up its hospital there,” he said.

YNH is one of the largest land owners in the Manjung area, with some 1,000 acres.

Another property company that has some properties within the RM100,000 to RM220,000 price range is LBS Bina Bhd, which offers attractively priced homes at its flagship Bandar Saujana Putra township located between Subang Jaya and the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

The 820-acre project was launched in 2003 and featured attractive prices for landed homes. The prices of subsequent launches have risen due to the housing boom, a scarcity of land in the Klang Valley and improved accessibility after the opening of an interchange to the Elite highway.

However, the company, one of the Klang Valley’s largest builders of affordable homes, is moving up-market.

According to the company’s representative, although LBS is moving towards developing more medium-high-end to high-end properties, it will continue to develop medium-cost houses. He said this is in line with the government’s “Home For Everyone” objective, and is also one of the ways for LBS to fulfil its social responsibilities.

Even though the demand for affordable homes is expected to increase with the announcement of the new scheme, the impact on LBS’ financials may not be significant. The company estimates medium-cost houses will comprise only about 14% of LBS’ total GDV for planned launches this year.

While the “My First Home Scheme” will be welcomed by lower-income earners, banks — wary of a property bubble — have started to reduce their margin of financing for homes or are using more stringent internal valuation guidelines.

There are also other points to ponder.

“While it seems to be a successful campaign, the impact won’t be as much as desired,” an analyst told The Edge Financial Daily, He said that this is because there are still some things that have to be sorted out, especially with the banks which are the financiers.

“Theoretically, it will benefit property companies, as demand for affordable houses will increase. But, practically, it will not be so successful as banks have their own threshold for assessing risks,” he said.

The analyst added that there might not be an increase in the take-up rate among potential buyers earning less than RM3,000 a month.

As a guideline, banks generally allow monthly loan payments to come up to one-third of an applicant’s monthly salary.

If the applicant has other hire purchase or credit card loans to service, he or she still may not be able to afford a house, making the scheme less relevant.

“The government should raise the income threshold to include those earning below RM5,000 per month, especially for those working and living in the Klang Valley”, he said.

According to the Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda), between RM100,000 and RM220,000, one could own a terraced house in Rawang, Selangor; Kulai and Segamat in Johor; Seremban, Negri Sembilan; Bukit Katil, Melaka and Pengkalan, Perak. For between RM201,000 and RM350,000, buyers could get a terraced housein Klang, Sungai Buloh, Semenyih and Rawang in Selangor; Skudai and Johor Baru in Johor; Cheng, Melaka ; Ipoh, Perak, and Kuantan, Pahang.

The analyst’s view was echoed by Datuk Fateh Iskandar Mohamed Mansor, managing director and CEO of Glomac Bhd.

He told The Edge Financial Daily that the “My First Home Scheme” is a good one. “However, for it to be across the board is unfavourable. This is because it is really hard to find properties below RM220,000 in the big cities, especially for landed properties,” he said.

“The government should raise the threshold to include properties in the range of RM300,000 to RM350,000, and also increase the minimum income requirement to RM5,000 a month as, nowadays, a lot of young couples earn take-home income in that range [RM4,000 to RM5,000]. Thus, it will benefit more people and also more developers,” said Fateh Iskandar,

He said that, even for Glomac’s projects in Sungai Buloh and Rawang, which are considered as cheaper areas in the Klang Valley, prices start from RM300,000.

“It is very hard to find a house for below RM220,000 in the Greater KL area, especially in Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya, Subang Jaya and Damansara,” said Fateh Iskandar. He also said that affordable prices varied in different areas, and the scheme would only be reasonable for properties outside the city centres.

“What is considered affordable in Petaling Jaya may not be affordable to people in Ipoh or Seremban,” he said.

When asked whether bigger property developers will change their strategy (from middle- and high-end projects to lower-end projects), he said that it is very unlikely, as once a fixed cost is incurred, the developer cannot change its game mid-way.

“When you have already incurred a fixed cost such as the purchase of land, you cannot backtrack and change the plan as the cost to acquire land, especially in the Greater KL area, is very high,” he says.

In his capacity as the deputy president of Rehda, Fateh Iskandar suggested that the government should remove the requirement for private developers to allocate 30% of houses as low-cost units (for property projects exceeding five acres).

This is because of concerns that developers are losing their profit margins by building low-cost houses and are cross-subsidising the low-cost units with higher prices for the medium- and high-end houses.

Rehda believes that the country has moved on substantially socially and economically, and that the responsibility of building low-cost homes can be fully taken up by the government.

“Even in China, the government is building almost 10 million low-cost homes to cater to the low-income group,” Fateh Iskandar explained, saying that the Malaysian government should also do the same through the Projek Perumahan Rakyat (PPR) housing scheme.

“By taking away the responsibility of building low-cost houses from private developers, we could work towards building more affordable houses which are priced lower than RM220,000,” he said.

This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, March 17, 2011.

By The EDGE Malaysia (by Kamarul Azhar)

Add beauty to city planning

BUILD a city where you would like to walk in with a person you’ve just fallen in love with.

That was the advice of Charles Landry, an authority on creative cities, during his recent ‘Creative Cities: Lessons for Penang’ forum in Komtar.

Urging the state to strive for a “humane” city concept, Landry said it was time to reintroduce the word ‘beauty’ into the vocabulary of city planning.

“When thinking about which direction you want to take the state in, liveability should be the overall driving force. Ask yourself if your city or state is an emotionally-satisfying place on the ground,” Landry said.

He said in most cases, city planning took place “in the air,” but what makes sense on paper does not necessarily translate into good ideas on the ground.

“When we look at cities with the highest ‘liveability’ scores, we see places like Vancouver, Melbourne, Bilbao, Zurich, Geneva, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Singapore.

“Aside from being resilient, robust and having a high level of adaptability, these cities are great in terms of ‘walkability’.

“That is what Penang should strive for — creating places that make sense to the people and building areas where people want to be in,” he said.

Saying that market forces alone could not create this type of city, Landry urged the state and local authority to adhere to a new type of thinking in urban development.

“The old paradigm of thinking always emphasised quantity where bigger, higher and longer were considered better. Now, people are looking at questions like ‘what is the right size for what we want to do?’

“To achieve this, I believe a public-private partnership is needed along with a greater involvement (with the community),” he said.

Landry, whose work in creating creative cities has taken him to over 45 countries, also advised the authorities to not be confined by rules and regulations, but instead push the bar on what was acceptable.

“Instead of thinking about what the guidelines allow, we should think about what makes a place liveable and attractive, and shift those guidelines to incorporate those things,” Landry said, adding that issues like aesthetics and beauty should be put into planning guidelines.

“You have to look at each building and ask yourself if it contributes materially and spiritually to the city.

“If you really want to follow your slogan of ‘Penang leads’, raise your expectations to something better and make that standard non-negotiable,” he said.

The ‘Creative Cities: Lessons for Penang’ forum was organised by Think City Sdn Bhd and Khazanah Nasional Bhd.

By The Star

Affordable homes a state priority

GOOD NEWS PENANG!!! Please read:


The Penang Government will provide incentives to encourage developers to build more low and medium-cost (LMC) houses as well as mid-range units on the island.

State Town and Country Planning and Housing Committee chairman Wong Hon Wai said the government would ensure there was sufficient supply of mid-price range housing to meet people’s needs.

He said there was a gap in mid-range housing in the island’s north- east district, adding that the state Planning Committee had on June 28 last year revised the plot ratio guidelines which provided for the construction of more housing units per acre.

To date, Penang Muncipal Council has approved seven applications under the revised guidelines.

“We need to strike a balance of LMCs, mid-range and high-end property in the state,” he told a recent press conference in conjunction with the three-day Penang International Property 2011 Expo starting this Friday.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng is scheduled to open the fair at the Penang International Sports Arena (PISA) the same day. The first 100 visitors will receive door gifts daily.

Event director Ong Ban Seang said the expo would be a good networking platform for the real estate industry along with the talks arranged for the public over the three days.

“The demand for high-end property in Penang exists because of the strong economy which attracted RM12.2billion in capital investments last year,” he said.

Ong added that the buoyant market was sustained by the developers’ innovative property products and the good response of foreign retirees under the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H).

Raine and Horne senior partner Michael Geh (pic) said the expo would feature two roundtable conferences.

One will be on MM2H and it will have Tourism Malaysia deputy secretary-general Dr Junaidah Lee and MM2H president Jeremy Yeong among the panellists.

The other will be on ‘Salvaging Abandoned Housing Projects’, to be moderated by Dr Goh Ban Lee from Penang’s think tank Social Economic Research Institute.

A delegation from Indonesia will also visit the expo for business networking with local developers.

By The Star

PKNS plans to sell its properties

SHAH ALAM: The Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) aims to sell 80% of its properties worth RM608mil this year, its Deputy General Manager (Administration and Development) Noraida Mohd Yusof said.

She said the properties included new housing projects being developed in Alam Nusantara, Antara Gapi, Kota Puteri and Kuala Selangor. “Consumers are confident and are realistic about our properties which are strategically located and priced reasonably,” she told Bernama after attending the PKNS 2011 Clients Day celebration at Kompleks PKNS last Saturday. PKNS sold 89.7% of its properties last year worth RM669mil, involving a total of 2,244 residential units. Bernama

She said PKNS would also take advantage of the My First House scheme launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak last Tuesday.

The scheme, a government initiative with the cooperation of Cagamas Bhd and financial institutions, has been launched to reduce the burden of young people facing the high cost of living and the high prices put on properties in specific locations in Malaysia.

Through the scheme, individuals, especially the younger generation with income of less than RM3,000, would be able to get 100% loan from the selected financial institutions to buy houses priced between RM100,000 and RM220,000, with a repayment period of up to 30 years.

On the programme, Noraida said it was in line with PKNS' efforts to form a new division under its Customer Services Division starting from April.

The focus will be on enhancing the quality of services to customers, she said.

Besides being the place for looking into clients feedback and so on, PKNS would also use the platform to promote its latest products, she said.

Six counters were opened to clients today including the property sales division, land matters, technical and public relations.

By Bernama

Putting housing on firmer foundation

Prevailing weaknesses in the sell-then-build system requires changes in the property delivery system to protect buyers

LINGERING problems caused by abandoned housing projects have given rise to calls for developers to adopt a more equitable property delivery system that has built-in features to protect the interest of buyers, particularly from falling victims to abandoned projects.

Abandoned projects result in much grief for the affected buyers and their families as they have to continue servicing their bank loans despite not getting delivery of the property they have bought.

The dissatisfaction over the current sell-then-build system (STB) has led consumer groups such as the National House Buyers Association (HBA) to propose a hybrid version of the build-then-sell system (BTS), or the 10:90 BTS.

There are also calls for a trust fund, similar to the practice in Australia, to safeguard buyers' interest.


Chang Kim Loong says the root of the problem lies with the current STB system

Under the Australian trust fund system, 10% is paid into a trust fund or a lawyer who holds it in trust for the purchaser.

Upon completion of the property, the buyer will apply for a bank loan for the balance amount (the banks generally provide up to 70% financing).

Industry observers say this system ties up a lot of cashflow and could be a reason that property development projects in Australia are generally carried out on a smaller scale.

The push for more sweeping changes in the local property delivery system to better protect buyers is due to prevailing weaknesses in the STB which include higher risks to buyers when they fall victim to abandoned projects.

The scourge of abandoned projects

It is debatable as to what would entail a more equitable system, but at the end of the day it has to promote a stronger foundation for the local property industry and one that benefits all stakeholders.

Real Estate and Housing Developers' Association (Rehda) president Datuk Seri Michael Yam says the STB has proven to be the best system for a developing market like Malaysia and it is unfair to blame the system as the root cause of project failures and poor housing quality.

Yam believes stringent monitoring of ongoing projects and enforcement of the existing Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act against errant developers would be a more effective method to curtail the incidences of abandoned projects as well as addressing the issue of low quality products.

He says Rehda has always strongly supported heavy penalties to be imposed on irresponsible developers.

“In fact some of the causes of abandonment were by unlicensed developers and fraudulent businessmen who should not be in this industry in the first place. Those who are venturing into the housing development business should be equipped with proper knowledge and trainings undertaken either by the Housing Ministry or Rehda so that they are better informed of their role as a responsible developer,” he points out.

The HBA had for years advocated phasing out STB on the basis that it is unfair to use housebuyers' money to fund project construction costs. It had proposed the 10:90 BTS where house buyers make a 10% downpayment when the sales and purchase (S&P) agreement is signed, and the remaining 90% will only be paid upon delivery of the property.

The BTS, which is supposed to replace the STB system, is said to be a fool-proof system to protect the rights of property buyers from project abandonment.

HBA secretary-general Chang Kim Loong says that as of last December, data from the Housing Ministry shows that 9% of housing projects are classified as either delayed, problematic or abandoned.

He concedes that the root of the problem lies with the current STB system.

Under STB, buyers pay a 10% deposit of the property price upon signing of the S&P agreement and take up a bank loan to pay for the balance sum.

Developers will be allowed to draw down the loan progressively based on the progress of construction work of the property in question.


“With the STB, the cost of financing the property's construction is largely borne by the buyers. On top of that, they have to face the risks of project delays or abandonment,” Chang says.

Developing discipline

He says that by making developers assume the role of a borrower to finance their projects (under the 10:90 BTS), they will be more vigilant and responsible to build good quality products and ensure timely (if not earlier) delivery of projects to save on interest costs.

“Instead of making the buyer take up the responsibility as the loan borrower to finance the project construction, the developer should be responsible for it,” he points out.

Only upon completion and delivery of the property with certificate of fitness to the buyer will the developer be able to collect the balance 90%.

Chang says this will weed out unethical individuals so only the responsible and good ones will remain as developers.

“Without having house buyers' money to fall back on, the 10:90 BTS will encourage industry players to manage their cashflow more effectively, and banks will be more cautious and undertake the due diligence on ascertaining project completion before disbursement of buyer's loan to developers,” he says.

It will ensure only credible developers with their own financing capability will remain in business.

It has been five years since the Government put on trial the BTS and offered a host of incentives to developers to adopt the scheme.

Financing risk

Despite that, the BTS has not taken off the ground and property projects are still mostly sold off the plan today.

Although there have been a few successful BTS projects, developers are generally lukewarm to the scheme because they say banks are not lending their support to developers who adopt the scheme. (See story on developers' views)

They are also worried that buyers who only have to put down 10% for the purchase may decide to walk out of the contract and leave the developer with unsold units.

The much higher financial exposure by developers will inevitably lead to higher cost of the completed project and this will have to be transferred to the buyers.

Yam says financing from banks is the major hindrance for developers to undertake BTS as banks would lay down the conditions of achieving a pre-sale of at least 65%, lock in the construction contract and a director's guarantee before lending.

“It normally takes between six months to three years to achieve a 65% pre-sale. In addition, developers undertaking BTS who get a bank loan will have to borrow at a commercial rate of about 7% to 7.5% per annum.”

Lending curbs need to be raised

Moreover, Bank Negara has set a cap of only a certain percentage of a bank's lending to property development.

“Therefore, Bank Negara's lending guidelines would need to be amended not only to increase the lending percentage, but Bank Negara must also ensure that all banks and financial institutions must commit to finance projects to completion (availability of project financing) along with all the supporting frameworks in place,” Yam adds.

He says BTS is a raw deal for developers as they are obliged to honour the sale from the locked-in price of the initial 10% deposit. Buyers, on the other hand, might just forfeit the 10%, leaving developers in the lurch.

“It would be difficult for developers to undertake a development without certainty that the sold and completed homes will be taken up,” he says.

As for the proposed trust fund, Yam says money in trust fund or held back in any way will starve developers of much-needed cash flow.

“There is no point putting in a trust fund which presumably the developer will use it as security against loan for construction wherein the interest rate payable is around 7%-8% while the amount in trust fund, even if its interest can be allowed to offset, is only earning 2.6%,” he says.

By The Star

Build-then-sell concept gives buyers more protection

Gevanantham Marimuthu (Geva) has been waiting for over a decade to move into his Lembah Beringin home he bought in the late 1990s, 50km from Kuala Lumpur. Today, Geva, alongside some 2,000 others in that area, have not moved into their dream homes because the project has been abandoned. Geva started paying his mortgage in 1998. He stopped in 2006.

“Why should we pay for something we did not own. In fact, I want them to take me to court!”


S.M. Mohamed Idris ... ‘CAP has been advocating for the BTS system

Geva is also the chairman of the Lembah Beringin House Buyer's Association, a group comprising the victims of that project. He is currently living at rented premises.

The project's developer was a subsidiary of Land & General Bhd (L&G), Lembah Beringin Sdn Bhd. L&G was badly hit during the Asian financial crisis in 1997/98 while Lembah Beringin has been under receivership since 2005.

For decades, the sell-then-build (STB) delivery system has managed to deliver homes to meet the housing needs of Malaysia's young and growing population. But along the way, due to unforeseen circumstances, this model of buying houses has met with undesirable outcomes.

Projects have been delayed, stalled or worse still, abandoned. National House Buyers Association (HBA) secretary-general Chang Kim Loong feels that the STB system is the crux of the “abandoned project” problem.


Muhammad ShaÍani Abdullah ... ‘Buying a house is a lifetime commitment to most buyers

“Buyers are exposed to the business risks (and are at the) mercy of developers. Why should the buyers share in the developer's business risk through this progressive payment mode?” he asked.

Chang admits that any housing project can fail, regardless of the type of delivery system, adding

that no amount of legislation can guarantee the success of any housing project.

“Only the Government can institute a system that to a large extend, insulates house buyers from risks and uncertainties,” he says.

Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) president S.M. Mohamed Idris believes that non-enforcement of the Housing Developers Act is the problem .“If projects are detected when they are delayed', or sick', they may not be eventually abandoned'. We have the laws but not the enforcement.

“In a 10:90 BTS model, buyers get to see the actual product. A house is the biggest purchase that a buyer will make. It is not right that he cannot see what he will be committing himself to for the next 30 years.” Mohamed Idris says.

Federation of Malaysian Consumer Associations secretary-general Muhammad Shaani Abdullah says given the failure of respective authorities to improve the current delivery system, it is justifiable to implement the 10:90 build-then-sell (10:90 BTS) system.


Susan Tan believes both the STB and BTS systems should exist to provide buyers a choice.

An absolute BTS system would be too big a paradigm shift for the local players. Six years ago, the House Buyers Association, under the stewardship of Chang, proposed a variant to the STB system, namely the “BTS 10:90” model. Buyers pay a 10% deposit, sign the sales and purchase agreement and pay the rest when the house is completed and occupiable. Chang says the BTS 10:90 concept has become a reality with the amendments to the Housing Development (Control & Licensing) Regulations, 2007 which was implemented on Dec 1, 2007.

“The Government proposed to let the two systems (STB and BTS 10:90) run concurrently and was supposed to review the situation after two years from August 2006, which has long lapsed. Nevertheless, it remains an option,” says Chang.

Perdana ParkCity Sdn Bhd marketing and sales director Susan Tan believes that both systems should co-exist to provide buyers with a choice.

“Generally, property investors will prefer the STB to reduce their commitment and they can quickly flip the property for a gain when it is completed.. Only the seasoned ones with sufficient capital will invest in completed properties and will look at yields instead of capital gains,” she says.

Chang believes that the quality of houses will improve with the proposed “BTS 10:90” system as developers will not risk dispute with buyers over quality, come full payment time.


“With the 10:90, developers have to seriously focus more on building better quality houses and execute greater care and responsibilities to ensure that the houses are constructed in accordance with specification and proper workmanship manner if they harbour hope of their finished product' being saleable upon completion of the house.”

Chang says the risk faced by developers that buyers may refuse to complete the sales when property prices have dropped at the time of hand-over is negated by the forfeiture of the initial 10% paid upon the signing of the SPA, as well as other possible specific performance liabilities.

“Today due to the prevailing system in the housing industry, house buyers are facing serious risks when they make purchases. Indeed, even car buyers have more protection than house buyers.”


M. Gevanantham says the agony was beyond just ‘financial’.

Learning from past mistakes

For Christopher John who bought into abandoned Bandar Golden Valley Golf Resort in Jasin, Malacca, the road towards finding a solution seems endless.

The RM380mil resort township started out as a joint-venture between Yeng Chong Realty Sdn Bhd and MBSB Development Sdn Bhd, a unit of listed Malaysia Building Society Bhd, which is a subsidiary of the Employees Provident Fund.

Construction was to begin in 1999 and the properties handed over to buyers in 2002. That did not happen. Today, the site remains an oil palm estate. In 2009, Christopher and others in the same dilemma met up with the Public Complaints Bureau, Yeng Chong and MBSB for the first time. There are about 200 buyers. There was no solution.

“We are thinking about litigation but that is a long, tedious procedure. We want to settle this amicably. We want our money back at market value and with interest, which we believe is fair,” he says.

“Over the past few months, we've had two purchasers passing on,” he laments, adding that the BTS delivery system is definitely a better alternative when it comes to buying a house.

By The Star

Resorts World Sentosa bullish

Singapore's Resorts World Sentosa expects to attract as many if not more visitors as in 2010 as it adds more attractions.

Last year, the integrated resort operator - which opened Singapore's first casino and Southeast Asia's first Universal Studios a year ago, received 15 million visitors.

"We hit 15 million in the first year of operation ... we expect to hit the same number or more as new developments are coming up," Robin Goh, assistant director of communications, said.

This dispels some views that the resort may attract fewer people once the novelty of the product diminishes.

According to Goh, of the 15 million, 60 per cent were foreigners and 40 per cent locals. Each of them spent an average of S$85 (S$1 = RM203) per person.

Singapore itself received 11.6 million tourists in 2010 and has a target of achieving 17 million tourists by 2015.

Goh said that Resorts World Sentosa's next opening before June 2011 will be the Maritime Xperimental Museum, which takes one through the maritime Silk Route based on Admiral Zheng He journey in 4D.

Following that, in early 2012, Resorts World Sentosa will add Marine Life Park, which is touted as the largest oceanarium in terms of species and gallons of water.

The resort will go on to open its fifth and sixth hotel, Equarius and the Spa Villas, that will bring the total number of rooms on the 49ha resort to 1,800.

The existing four hotels enjoy close to 80 per cent occupancy and an average room rate of S$294 (RM703) per night.

Meanwhile, Goh said the group was pleasantly surprised by the response to its Resorts World Convention Centre (RWCC).

RWCC, the region's largest column free ballroom, which can accommodate 6,500 people, managed to hold over 1,500 events hosting over 415,000 guests last year.

This year, it has received forward bookings for over 500 events until year-end.

Resorts World Sentosa is wholly-owned by Genting Singapore plc. Genting Bhd holds some 51 per cent in Genting Singapore.

In the financial year ended December 31 2010, Genting Singapore made S$2.7 billion (RM8.45 billion) in revenue and an earnings before interest tax and amortisation of S$1.3 billion (RM3.1 billion) .

Genting Singapore's integrated resort is a S$6.6 billion (RM15.8 billion) development with the Universal Studios portion of the bill at US$1 billion (RM3.04 billion).

By Business Times

Stakeholder duty vital for sustainability

It is not easy to fathom what affected buyers of stalled or abandoned housing projects are going through but for many who have put down their life savings for their dream homes, they must have been badly traumatised. If the project failed to be revived or rescued, they would lose their deposit along with their dream of ever owning a home.

Most victims are average Malaysians trying to make ends meet and have saved every sen for the first 10% in downpayment for their own roof over their head.

Buying a house is a big-ticket item and the loan to finance the property will take many years to be repaid. It is time the whole process of owning a house becomes a pleasant experience for house buyers and their families. To ensure that happens, all stakeholders need to work towards a fool-proof housing delivery system that protects house buyers from stalled and abandoned projects.

There are weaknesses in the current housing delivery system that need to be addressed.

As far as legislations are concerned, the Housing and Local Government Ministry is working towards further tightening some “loose ends” in the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act. One of the important changes underway is that the deposit required to obtain a developer's licence will be raised from the current RM200,000. The quantum will depend on the project cost.

This will hopefully, weed out wayward individuals from jumping into the bandwagon of property development and ensure only genuine developers with sufficient capital outlay and reputation will remain in the business.

Another important step to safeguard buyers' interest is the need to tweak the schedule of payment in the sales and purchase agreement so that the percentage of progressive payment due to developers will be lower in the initial stages and higher as the project nears completion.

At present, prior to handover time, buyers would have paid up to 95% of the property's price and this gave them little or no bargaining power when there are unfulfilled terms as stipulated in the S&P.

The strict enforcement of the law to bring to book developers who flout the law will ensure those who are serious in discharging their duties will thrive and further lift the property landscape.

Keeping order

Developers need to walk the journey with their buyers right to the last mile and deliver their projects in good order and on time. First and foremost, they should have done all the basic groundwork of having sufficient capital outlay, a good team with the necessary technical capability, proper project planning and concept, and of course, the right location for the project.

Even in the face of difficulties, developers should not shirk their responsibilities and work towards fulfilling all the terms in the S&P contract.

Instead of absconding and not facing up to reality when their projects are faced with problems, they should seek help and be around to ensure things are in order when rescue work gets underway.

Meanwhile developers who have the expertise and know-how should step forward to lend their support as white knights to rescue stalled and abandoned projects.

Such rescue work calls for unique expertise and it will be good if a special consortium comprising the various stakeholders in the industry can be set up to rescue troubled projects.

In fact, most projects would have gone through the due diligence and feasibility studies and certified as financially viable before they can get bridging loans.

But sometimes, the unforeseen happens and most of the time, they are led by bad economic times like a recession or financial crisis.

While legislation can only do so much, the onus also lies with prospective buyers to equip themselves with the necessary information on property matters to make informed decisions.

As pointed out by a veteran developer P.K. Poh: “A buyer who is sufficiently educated in property matters will not only be a good buyer, but also a safe one.”

Deputy news editor Angie Ng hopes to see greater responsibility from all stakeholders in the property market to ensure sustainability.

By The Star

Buying in England and Wales

The last couple of years, British house builders and developers have been making regular visits to Malaysia to promote and sell their properties. Some of them sold off plan, others offered completed projects.

Sales and marketing director Paul Bennett of St James Urban Living says England and Wales has three models when selling residentials. The Scottish system is totally different and not covered here.


St James Urban Living sales and marketing director Paul Bennett

St James Urban Living is part of The Berkeley Group Holdings plc, one of Britain’s largest house builders and in the FTSE 250 top UK companies by market value. It has various brands Berkeley Homes, St George and St Edward and has been marketing properties in Asia for over a decade.

● To buy off plan

When buying “off plan” you pay a Reservation Fee (normally £500-£2,000) to secure your property. At this point, you will be given a date when the developer expects the property to be completed. You have the opportunity to choose your kitchen design, bathroom tiling, accessories and finishes.

You appoint a solicitor to work on your sales contract.

Once the contract is agreed between your solicitor and the developer you can exchange contracts with a 10% deposit payable by the purchaser on exchange of contracts (normally three-four weeks after you reserve) with the remaining 90% being paid in one payment when the property is completed and ready for occupation.

Buying off plan allows you to take advantage of market growth during the construction process.

● Buying a completed unit

The process is the same as above: you pay a reservation fee; 10% when you exchange contracts; the remainder to complete the sale and you will then be handed the keys to your new property.

The main difference being you do not get the early choice of the prime plots and you have to accept the builders pre-selected kitchen and bathroom selections.

● Trust funds

In England and Wales, solicitors have special, secure client accounts specifically for holding funds from mortgage lenders or individuals between exchange and completion. The solicitor transfers the funds to the developer’s bank account.

By The Star

New residential property prices to go up 13%

KUALA LUMPUR: The average prices of newly developed residential property this year is expected to grow by 13% against last year in line with the increase in raw materials cost, according to a survey by Real Estate & Housing Developers' Association Malaysia (Rehda).

The survey showed that the average terrace house in Malaysia last year had gone up to RM176,590 in the third quarter from RM168,667 in the first quarter.

High-rise property price in the same timeline had gone up to RM165,530 each from RM163,300.

Rehda president Datuk Seri Michael Yam said since a year ago, raw materials prices such as steel and cement had increased significantly.

“Generally, the majority of the survey respondents are optimistic of the property market for the next six months as the overall sentiments governing the market are positive,” he said at a media briefing yesterday.

Meanwhile, for new properties in the Klang Valley, Rehda national treasurer Teh Boon Ghee said they might rise around 15% this year.

“But, it is also interesting to look at this price increase from a different angle as 88% of the transactions in 2009 were from the secondary market and only the remaining 12% came from new development. The 13% and 15% expected increase only applies to new homes while the momentum for secondary market is slower than that,” he said.

On the new home loan guideline by the Government under My First Home Scheme, Yam said although Rehda supported the move, it would be challenging to develop houses priced between RM100,000 and RM220,000 in the Klang Valley and Penang.

“In these developed urban areas, it would be impossible to develop anything below RM200,000.

“This is because the land costs in these areas are very high. The land component out of the total development cost in these areas may be around 40% to 50%,'' he said.

For comparison, the land cost per sq ft in Sungai Petani is RM1.30, Cyberjaya RM36 while in Kuala Lumpur, it could be as high as RM2,000.

But due to the new guidelines, Yam said developers might have to relook at their unit size if the development was in the Klang Valley.

“At the average price of about RM400 per sq ft, they can develop a 500 sq ft studio unit or a one-bedroom apartment. This is actually the trend in most developed cities around the world. But to enable developers to embark on this, the Government must encourage local authorities to review their Planning Act as it is now based on number of units per acre.

“Let's say, the authority allows a developer to build only 50 units per acre. Would it build 50 units of 500 sq ft houses or 50 units of 2,000 sq ft houses?” he said.

The survey were answered by 135 or 14% out of 972 Rehda members that comprises of housing and property development companies from all 12 states in Peninsular Malaysia.

By The Star

ETP will boost property mart, say developers

Property developers are upbeat that they will do better with hints of better market conditions ahead due to the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP).

More developers will be launching new projects nationwide in the second half of the year, findings by the Real Estate and Housing Developer's Association Malaysia (Rehda) showed.

These include terrace houses, condominiums and apartments priced from RM100,000 to RM500,000, and service apartments, semi-detached houses and bungalows worth RM500,000 to more than RM1 million.

The survey showed developers will raise the prices for new houses by an average 13 per cent this year.

Some have indicated their prices may rise by 20 per cent to 50 per cent, depending on the locality of the projects.

Rehda president Datuk Seri Michael Yam said while the housing market may have strong underlying demand due to the country's demography, young population, and now the ETP, the pressure of increased building materials, labour costs and land prices pose huge challenge to industry players.

The survey had 135 developers responding to market conditions in 2010 and their outlook for 2011.

Fifty-nine per cent of them said the ETP is expected to add value to their developments.

Rehda national council member NK Tong said despite the price rise, he believes demand for new houses will be higher.

"People will buy in anticipation of a brighter economy. People who are trying to predict the property market will have to view the local and global economy, which for this year looks positive," Tong said.

The ETP aims to generate RM76 billion for the country by 2015. Since the launch in October 2010, the government had announced 60 projects, including the Mass Rapid Transit and the greater Kuala Lumpur Light Rapid Transit extension.

The government is aiming for a population boom in Greater Kuala Lumpur/Klang Valley (Greater KL/KV) to 10 million by 2020 from the current six million, with foreigners making up some 20 per cent of the population. Tong said the additional 1.6 million foreigners expected in Greater KL/KV by 2020 from the current 540,000 will help boost property sales.

By Business Times

New Project launch!

Dear all,

We are very pleased and excited to announce our new project launch of Pavilion Resort.


Please refer to the link above to get more information about it.
We are planning the launch by next week 7th April . Venue and Location of the launch is still under discussion and we will let you know as soon as possible.

Thanks and please stay tuned for more updates on this :)

Thank You !!

Hiii!

Thank you everyone one for the overwhelming support at the recent Penang International Property Fair @ PISA (Penang International Stadium)

We hope that we have giving you guys our best service and hope you also take advantage of the deals that was offered.

For those who were there to work with us, Well done and we appreciate you efforts.

Okay...that was for the formal part....

And...For those who have partied with us at the Full Moon Party..! Your pictures can be found on Facebook.

1. www.facebook.com/pscfullmoon
2. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?fbid=1883086486116&id=1509980793&aid=2105458
3. http://apps.facebook.com/album.php?fbid=10150109475986404&id=692381403&aid=276264&ref=notif&notif_t=photo_album_reply

Thank you everyone.

Quote of the Day

Thursday , thursday . Busy day preparing for our property fair. Gearing up for tomorrow. Come , come visit us at PISA (Penang International Sports Arena) and meet up with the Propertizer team.
We will be showcasing two projects . Casa Perdana P2 (Mainland) and Teluk Kumbar Residence (Island) . There will be special packages for those who are interested in our project. And if any of you who would love to visit us , ask us this , what's your new condo project? :)

So as for today's quote , it's something personal about my life. The up's and down's of life . The exciting yet roller coaster ride of business . One thing that i know is that

"I do not regret one moment of my life"

:)

Increase loans for My First Home scheme: BN Youth

KUALA LUMPUR, Monday 14 March 2011 (Bernama) -- Barisan Nasional Youth (BN) today urged the government to reconsider the My First Home scheme by increasing the 100% loan from RM220,000 to RM300,000 to ensure young people can buy houses in big towns.

Its chairman Khairy Jamaluddin said increasing the amount was relevant because houses in the Klang valley are expensive and young people would not be able to buy properties with the maximum loan amount of RM220,000.

"In the Klang valley it will be difficult to buy houses priced at (RM100,000 - RM220,000), maybe in the outskirts or rural areas it is possible," he told reporters after launching the Bus Advertisement Campaign for BN Youth Job Fair 2011.

The brilliant idea of the My First Home Scheme that benefits the young working adults earning less than RM3,000 a month to obtain up to 100% housing loan for houses costing between RM100,000 to RM220,000 was an initiative by the government, Cagamas Bhd and financial institutions was launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on March 8.

However, young people would not be able to buy a decent house in the city or big towns as prices may exceed RM300,000.

Khairy hoped the government would consider increasing the amount as proposed because the younger generation are very keen to own their own houses.

MySinchew 2011.03.15

Japan's post-quake reconstruction may boost Asian economy

KUALA LUMPUR, Tuesday 15 March 2011 (Bernama) -- As the Japanese tsunami and earthquake and fear of a nuclear catastrophe sent Japanese shares and Asian stocks tumbling, Malaysian economists are saying the post-quake reconstruction would be likely to boost the Asian regional economy, reports China's Xinhua news agency.

The situation in Japan, the world's third largest economy, costs Asian stock market to plunge due to panic selling.

Nikkei plummeted 11.4% to its lowest level in two years on Tuesday, on top of the 6.2% decline a day before.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng plunged 2.9% and Malaysia's KLCI dropped 0.75% after Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan announced an increased level of radiation from the nuclear reactors and told residents living within 30 miles (48.3 kilometres) to stay indoors.

Economist, Dr Yeah Kim Leng, told Xinhua in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday that although Japan's disaster is resulting in uncertainties in Asian trade and stock exchange, it could ultimately boost regional economies when the reconstruction process begins.

"Recovery efforts in Japan will likely create an increase in demand, temporary boost to global economy, although we are concerned about the medium to long term impact of a slower or weak Japanese growth that may further tilt back to the double dip.

"So likely the earthquake may cost a double dip, although in the short term, we may see a boost in reconstruction efforts," Dr Yeah says.

About 10% of Malaysia's overall exports goes to Japan, which also makes up about 12% of Malaysia's overall imports.

Timber companies in Malaysia would be the first to benefit from Japan's post-construction activities.

Malaysia is the largest exporter of timber to Japan, which heavily rely on imported timber products like plywood.

Dr Yeah said production in Japan was well managed this time around compared to that in the previous earthquake.

And Japan's ability to ram up production in unaffected areas could help moderate and smooth out production losses in affected areas.

"We do see a short term disruption, how quickly they can move back to smooth out will depend on their dependency and their ability to source alternative supplies, because intermediate imports from Japan actually accounts quite substantial amount of our imports from Japan.

"They could face some temporary shortages. We have noted last year they have filled up in inventory levels, so that three to six months time of buffer would help them moderate any disruption to the production," he says.

The devastation in Japan also resulted in the appreciation of the Japanese yen because they are repatriated to fill demand to help in reconstruction.

The appreciation, Dr Yeah said, would result in higher costs in Malaysia.

However, Dr Yeah said there was "offsetting-effect" if the ringgit actually appreciated as well against the US dollars.

"We do see last year the ringgit appreciated by about 10% against the US dollar, so that somewhat helped moderate the imported price inflation.

"But against the Japanese Yen, if it (the Japanese yen) continues (to gain value), then we do see a rise in our cost of production, especially in goods that require import from Japan," said Dr. Yeah.

Malaysia's mineral, building material exports to Japan may rise

KUALA LUMPUR, Wednesday 16 March 2011 (Bernama) -- Malaysia stands to benefit from Japan's need to replace lost nuclear energy capacity and reconstruction efforts due to the recent earthquake and tsunami.

In a research note today, ECM Libra said assuming complete substitution of the 11,964 megawatts in all 14 reactors lost with Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) thermal plants, Japanese petroleum and LNG import demand for 2011 could rise a further 4.3% and 5.2% respectively from 2010 levels.

It said, mineral fuels, a major Malaysian export item, stands to benefit from Japan's need to replace lost nuclear energy capacity.

According to ECM Libra, Malaysia is also in a good position to take advantage of the looming demand for building materials like timber and steel unleashed by reconstruction efforts.

It noted the destruction of wealth in Japan will probably weigh on purse strings, cutting the amount of disposable income and the propensity to spend on vacations.

"However, Japan accounts for only 1.7% of total tourist arrivals to Malaysia and thus, the impact on the tourism sector is likely to be minimal," it added.

However, over a longer horizon, ECM Libra said the need to redirect funds internally for Japanese to fund reconstruction activities may limit the flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) to other countries including Malaysia, which is mainly in the manufacturing sector.

MySinchew 2011.03.16

Property values growing at slower pace * Business * News 2011-03-16 16:01 KUALA LUMPUR, Wednesday 16 March 2011 (Bernama) -- Property valu

KUALA LUMPUR, Wednesday 16 March 2011 (Bernama) -- Property values in the Klang Valley, Penang and Johor are expected to grow at a slower pace this year due to high supply and speculation activities, a real estate services company says.

CH Williams Tahir & Wong's managing director, Foo Gee Jen, said this year's growth in the prime areas was seen at between 10 and 15% compared with between 20% and 25% previously.

He, however, considered this healthy taking into consideration last year's gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 7.2%.

"Property prices cannot exceed three times of GDP," he told reporters after a presentation on the local property market outlook for 2011 here today.

A wide gap between the growth in property prices and GDP would make the market more vulnerable to speculations, he said.

Foo said the current high supply of properties was due unsold properties being brought forward after weak sales last year.

The speculation activity, meanwhile, was triggered by fears of property bubble following the government's move last year to impose a maximum lending limit of 70% for third house financing.

"The government announcement to lower the cap on the loan-to-value ratio for third house financing gave a bit of psychological effect on people," he said.

Nevertheless, he said Sungai Buloh, Gombak and Puchong would have the most potential for high price increments, boosted by the proposed mass rapid transit (MRT) project which is scheduled to be completed in 2016.

MySinchew 2011.03.16