Monday, December 26, 2011

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Dear Pptizers,
We would like to wish everyone a very
MERRY CHRISTMAS and Happy Holidays!
Cheers!
Pptizer team
(Mike, Ryan, Luffy & Daniel)

Friday, December 23, 2011

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

No more land reclamation in Gurney Drive

The state government will not allow any new land reclamation along Gurney Drive as part of its deal with developers to construct infrastructure projects.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said any land swap would only involve the existing land reclamation rights granted to Eastern & Oriental Bhd by the previous administration.

He said people should not “jump up and down” as the state was bound by the deal struck before Pakatan came into power.

“I told the reporters in Kuala Lumpur that 299ha of reclaimed land in Sri Tanjung Pinang would be involved in the infrastructure projects.

“Some of them have never been to Penang and they didn’t know where that was so I said it’s near Gurney Drive.

“Now I’m a victim of false information because they reported that the reclaimed land would involve Gurney Drive — I never said that,” he told a press conference yesterday.

He said no monetary payment or funding would be given by the state for the construction of three by-pass highways and a sea tunnel linking the island to the mainland.

“Costs incurred may be recovered through land swap, toll or any other form. The other three projects would involve land swapping. I’m trying to get as much as possible for Penang,” he said. - By Christina Chin (The Star)

Higher deposit to ensure developers are committed

This is really good news for property buyers!

The increased deposit to obtain a housing development licence from RM200,000 to 3% of the project’s estimated cost is to ensure developers are committed to building homes.

Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Chor Chee Heung said the higher deposit would see only those with sufficient financial resources take up projects.

“We want only those with solid financial ability to build houses unlike now when all one needs is RM200,000 as deposit, a company and a piece of land and you are a developer already.

“The 3% deposit is high but should not be a problem to anyone who is serious in this business,” he said after officiating at the ministry’s Innovation Day here.

The ministry tabled in Par­liament on Wednesday for first reading a Bill amending several clauses of the Housing Deve­lopment (Control and Licensing) Act to further tighten the law, including on the higher deposit.

Other amendments include a fine of up to RM500,000, jail of up to three years or both for developers who fail to complete their projects.

The Bill also states that it is an offence if a developer “abandons or causes to abandon a housing development” and the developer is deemed to have abandoned a project if he refuses to complete it, delays, suspends or ceases work continuously for six months or beyond a period stipulated under the Sales and Purchase Agreement.

Chor said the stiffer penalties were to ensure that developers did not simply abandon projects. - By The Star

Housing supply and demand - are we nearing equilibrium?

Is there any equilibrium point in housing market, considering the many factors influencing demand and supply?

The main determinants of the demand for housing are demographic. Population size and population growth are the core demographic variables. However, family size, the age composition of the family, the number of children, net migration, non-family household formation, the number of double family households, death rates, divorce rates, and marriages are other demographic variables that would influence demand for housing. Other factors such as household income, price of housing, cost, availability of credit, consumer preferences, investor preferences, price of substitutes and price of complements all play a role in determining demand for housing.

Income is an important determinant of demand as shown by a study conducted by De Leeuw in 1971 that showed positive income elasticity of demand in North America ranging from 0.5 to 0.9, meaning the market demand for housing grew as real income rose. The price of housing is also an important variable influencing demand for housing, where in terms of elasticity just like any normal goods it is negative increase in price will result in decrease in demand.

As for supply, the quantity of incoming supply is typically influenced by cost, price of existing stock of houses, and the technology used in the construction, where material costs tend to contribute the largest share of the construction cost, about 30% to 40%. In the short run, supply tends to be very price inelastic increase in cost will have less effect on supply. However, over a longer period, it tends to be very price elastic increase in cost will lower supply.

A study conducted by Fallis in 1985 showed price elasticity of supply was estimated at 8.2, indicating increased in cost would lower supply significantly. The degree of elasticity depends on the elasticity of substitution and supply restrictions. For example, the use of capital intensive technology has been employed to reduce the rising labour cost, thus having less impact on the supply of housing.

As at first half of 2011, Malaysia had 4,466,062 units of housing, an increase of 1.7% from the total of supply in the first half of 2010. About 24,709 units were completed in the first half of 2011, a lower number compared to 50,611 units completed in the first half of 2010. Kuala Lumpur and Selangor accounted for 6,567 units or 27% of the total new stock. Kuala Lumpur and Selangor had 414,436 and 1,285,192 homes, reflecting an increase of 2.0% and 1.7% respectively from the total as of first half of 2010.

Other states which showed significant number of units completed are Sarawak (2,612), Penang (2,507) and Perak (2,184). The incoming supply in the country was recorded at 560,636 units, where Selangor is the largest contributor (134,143 or 24% of the total) followed by Johor (76,429 or 14%) and Negri Sembilan (65,227). Kuala Lumpur has 39,656 units coming on stream.

In terms of transactions recorded as of first half of 2011 for the country, there were 133,984 transactions in the residential category, out of which the largest transacted numbers were priced in the range of RM100,000 to RM150,000, which accounted for 22,857 units, followed by units priced between RM250,000 and RM500,000, which accounted for 21,559 units.

Selangor recorded the highest number of transactions at 38,424 units, followed by Johor (15,015 units), Penang (13,832 units), and Kuala Lumpur (11,522 units). The most popular units transacted in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, and Penang were for units priced between RM250,000 and RM500,000, while in Johor, the highest transactions recorded were for units priced between RM100,000 and RM150,000.

This brief analysis gives an indication that the total number of units coming into the market needs to be in line not only with the level of affordability of potential buyers in the area the projects are to be launched but also the demographics of Malaysian population.

As of July 2010, total population was estimated to be 28.25 million and the population is expected to grow at a rate of 2.4% per annum, where about 65% of the population is urban population. Today, less than 4% of Malaysians live in poverty and it is estimated that about 2.0% of the total urban population in Malaysia lives below the poverty line, earning monthly household income of equal or less than RM750. Low income households (earning income equal or less than RM2,000 per month) represents 75% of the median income in Malaysia.

The national average household income is estimated at RM4,000 per month. It should also be noted that about 65% of Malaysia's population is below the age of 35, thus there would definitely be strong demand for housing.

Due to continuous movement in the factors affecting supply and demand for housing, policy intervention is necessary to ensure that the majority of the population has equal access to own homes. Singapore's public housing policy is often cited as the most successful example of affordable housing provision in Asian cities. A study conducted in 2000 estimated that about 85% of the total population lived in public housing with nearly 95% of them owning the flats they occupied.

By centralising its public housing effort under a single authority, Housing Development Board, Singapore has circumvented the typical problems of duplication and fragmentation of duties, and bureaucratic rivalries associated with multi-agency implementation. This centralised function also serves as a mechanism to ensure supply and demand are checked.

It is hoped that the provision of affordable homes as announced in Budget 2012 would achieve its main objective of increasing home ownership among the majority of the population.

Senator Datuk Abdul Rahim Rahman is the executive chairman of Rahim & Co group of companies. - By Datuk Abdul Rahim Rahman (The Star)

Resort lifestyle of condo a draw for westerners

Caucasians comprise the bulk of those purchasing the RM255mil Infinity Beachfront Condominium that recently clinched the FIABCI Malaysia Property Award 2011 under the residential (high rise) category.

Hunza Properties Berhad executive chairman Datuk Khor Teng Tong said the project attracted Caucasians because it had access to a 105m-long beachfront as well as a 136m-long river frontage.

“Beachfront accessibility is a key attraction for Caucasians as they prefer a beach resort lifestyle.

“While the project was still under construction in 2008, we adopted Sungai Kelian to beautify and maintain its cleanliness for the long term.

“Hunza and the FIABCI Penang Branch used the effective microorganism (EM) biotechnology to clean the river. It is now free of sludge and its water clearer,” Khor said.


“The Caucasians, forming about 65% of the buyers, are from countries such as Britain, the United States, Australia, Belgium, Switzerland and Canada,” he said.

He said other foreign buyers came from countries such as Vietnam, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, Macau and Singapore.

Khor also said the company’s RM480mil Gurney Paragon condominium project attracted many purchasers from Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Korea and Macau as the project was close to shopping malls and lifestyle facilities.

He said this at a recent cocktail event in Penang to celebrate Infinity’s FIABCI award win.

The event was attended by business partners of the project and corporate leaders.

The project, comprising 119 condominiums units and penthouses, obtained the certificate of fitness (CF) in 2010.

It is all sold out except for four of the eight penthouses.

Initiated 19 years ago, the FIABCI Malaysia Property Award invites the best projects in Malaysia to contest in various categories.

The winning projects this year will represent Malaysia in the international competition FIABCI Prix d’ Excellence awards which will be held in St Petersburg, Russia, in May next year.

FIABCI is the acronym for Federation Internationale des Administrateurs de Bien-Conselis Immobiliers (International Real Estate Federation). - By The Star

Tan brothers look to 'conquer' Penang

For a while now, there has been speculation about who would partner Ivory Properties Bhd in its multi-billion ringgit Bayan Mutiara project in Penang.

That was ended when it roped in Dijaya Corp Bhd. They now plan to build residential and commercial properties on the land, estimated to generate sales of some RM10 billion.

This is not their first tie-up. Within the Batu Ferringi tourism belt, Dijaya has a joint-venture project called "10 Island Resort" with Ivory.

In Bukit Mertajam, Dijaya has a mixed development project dubbed Aston Villa, in which Ivory is the turnkey developer.

But that partnership has overshadowed an interesting fact. Penang has now seen the entry of two highly successful businessmen and both happen to be brothers.

Dijaya is controlled by Tan Sri Danny Tan Chee Sing, the younger brother of Berjaya Corp Bhd founder and chairman Tan Sri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun.

Barely three months ago, the senior Tan made a comeback to Penang as a property developer after a hiatus of nearly two decades.

The Berjaya Group - via Berjaya Land Development Sdn Bhd - signed a deal to buy 22.8ha of prime freehold land within the Penang Turf Club for RM459 million.

At the signing ceremony in Penang, Vincent did not mince his words in expressing his displeasure with the previous state government.

Vincent's approval of the current state administration is a strong signal to other developers that the island state has plenty of potential.

And this probably explains Danny's continued interest.

The latest alliance with Ivory is a very big undertaking and one which will ensure its presence in the state for many years to come.

Danny, the man behind Petaling Jaya's Tropicana Golf and Country Resort, will have his hands full with the latest venture. As for Vincent, he did not discount the possibility of enlarging Berjaya Group's footprint in Penang.

Together, the Tan brothers will be a force to be reckoned with in Penang. - By Marina Emmanuel (Business Times)

Is Penang’s property growth sustainable?

We’ve just finished analyzing the results for the 3rd quarter Malaysian Housing Property Index (MHPI) property report (until September 2011), compiled by the National Property Information Center, NAPIC. Malaysian Housing Property Index is an index of all-house prices in Malaysia. These are reports available for public on a quarterly basis. All information is based on secondary or sub-sale residential property transactions, meaning, buying and selling of existing residential properties in Malaysia.

Register at www.aboutpropertyinvestment.com to know more.

We will be running a series articles to highlight the interesting findings that we’ve obtained from report. For your reference, the data will be taken in reference from year 2000 onwards until 3rd Quarter 2011. We will also do some data comparison with post 1998 periods.

In this current article, we will be highlighting on Penang. In summary, it can be said that Penang, as a whole is experiencing a healthy property market, with prices increasing on an average of 6% for the period of 2009 to 2011. In comparison with the highs of 1995-1996 and 1992-1992, 6.0% capital appreciation is relatively low, and doesn’t show an unsustainable growth for the state of Penang.

Let’s look at Penang’s standing in the national standings, referencing the average house prices in the country. Looking at the statistics, Penang’s prices are at an average of RM232k. Comparing this with the national average of RM209k per unit, Penang is among the other states where property prices are higher than the national average.

One of the questions that arise from this analysis was the fact that Penang’s data takes both housing prices in the island state as well as the mainland properties.

The final chart we would like to highlight would be the property prices in Penang Island as compared to the mainland. Looking at the chart below, if you were to do a comparison study with regards to the prices, since 1999, until 3rd quarter 2011, you will notice that the appreciation of residential property prices have been significantly higher in the island state as compared to the mainland. Residential properties in the island state have seen a substantial growth exceeding 100%, since 2001.

We suspect that the figures could be higher, as the information pertaining to residential property growth doesn’t include statistics from primary market sales, or properties from developers.

In the next article, we’ll look more into the national statistics to measure if the current growth is sustainable or not.

For those of you who are interested to know more on our studies, we would like to invite you to our property talk, this coming Sunday, at Vistana Hotel, Penang.

For the first 17 people who sign up for the talk will receive one complimentary book from Ho Chin Soon. To register your seat, please visit www.aboutpropertyinvestment.com

By FREEMEN

FREEMEN is an organization that has been training investors since 2008 to benefit from any market and helped 200 individuals to invest in over RM30Million worth of properties, ALL with no money down! There will be a workshop this coming Sunday, 4th of Dec in Vistana Hotel, Penang entitled “How to achieve your financial freedom in 5 years of less” from 1:00pm till 6pm. Book early as we will be expecting a full house.

.:Interesting Sites:.