H&M anticipated to open in Avenue K near KLCC

May 22, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Avenue K mall near KLCC anticipates welcoming a high-profile tenant under its roof soon: global fashion chain H&M.

The mall’s owners have invited the media to an unveiling of the new anchor tenants next week. According to the invitation, “A notable highlight would be H&M where their anticipated outlet at Avenue K will possibly be one of the most talked about in the region.”

The mall has been undergoing renovation in the last few months, in anticipation of a major revamp. Much of the revamp is being undertaken by Singaporean retail and property consultancy company, Synergistic Real Estate Management & Network Pte Ltd. The track record of some of its executive directors include Marina Center and Junction 8 in Singapore, as well as Gurney Plaza and Great Eastern Mall in Malaysia, according to the company’s website.

Targeted to “the aspirational population and trend-setters in the Klang Valley”, the new Avenue K aims to be the city’s trendiest destination for shopping, dining and entertainment. It will see dedicated foyers for fashion, entertainment, and F&B with the new concept of “Make friends, create trends”.

Even though the mall, first completed in 2005, enjoys an inimitable location next to Kuala Lumpur’s top landmark–KLCC–and direct access from the KLCC LRT station, it has historically suffered from low occupation and footfall, with tenants such as Metrojaya having entered and left the building.

Given the pulling power of H&M, which debuted in Malaysia to strong crowds thronging its Lot 10 and Setia Alam stores however, the store’s entry may potentially change the destiny of this ailing mall.
The crowd at Setia City Mall’s H&M store.

 

Source by: The Star

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Filed Under: ENTERTAINMENT, FEATURED, LIFESTYLE, PROPERTIES Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Lucky winner gets a free Cyberjaya apartment in Mah Sing lucky draw

May 22, 2013 By Leave a Comment

It was a case of buy-one-get-one-free for Choong Kwai Chai. After buying a Clover semi-detached house in Garden Residence, Cyberjaya, in the last few months, she was entered into developer Mah Sing Group Bhd’s 18th anniversary celebrations lucky draw, and won the grand prize of a fully furnished Garden Plaza Serviced Suite worth RM328,800!

Loo Yoke Kam who had purchased another Garden Plaza Serviced Suite won a Toyota Camry 2.0G worth RM152,000. Winners also walked away with prizes from the iSnap Competition which ran concurrently with the 18th Anniversary celebrations.

Both Choong and Loo were among 500 eligible buyers of the eleven projects participating in Mah Sing’s 18th Anniversary celebrations.

The developer also launched the final tower of its M City Jalan Ampang project at the same event. This tower provides a choice of studio, simplex and duplex units. Built-up areas range from 506 sq ft (priced from RM750,000) to 1,903 sq ft for the 3+1 bedroom duplex units (priced at RM2.6mil).

When completed, the apartments  will be fully furnished and in move-in condition.

 

Source by: The Star

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How to ‘make money’ from your home loan

May 20, 2013 By Leave a Comment

At first thought, it might appear prudent to pay off a property loan as quickly and as soon as possible. However, consider using cheaper home loans to grow your net worth, says Lee Mun Wai in StarBiz’s Financial Snacks column.

Home loans usually have lower interest rates than vehicle loans and other unsecured credit, because the use of a home as collateral reduces the lender’s risk of financial loss.

So if you have other debts with higher interest rate, like credit card debts which have rolled over several months, pay these off first, before paying off your home loan.

If you don’t have other debts to pay off, consider using your excess cash to invest in solid, reputable investments (such as unit trusts, Amanah Saham Malaysia, real estate investment trusts, etc) that can potentially give you returns in excess of what your home loan is costing you.

If your home loan is costing you 5% but you can derive returns of 8% from your investments, you are growing your net worth by 3%!

If your home loan terms are not very good, if the interest rate has dropped since you first executed your home loan, consider refinancing it. Refinancing a RM1mil, 30-year loan from 7.5% to 6.5% would save more than RM240,000 in interest over the life of the loan, or more than RM150,000 in today’s dollars given a present value discount of 3%, all other elements remaining equal. Despite market turmoil, interest rates remain at attractive levels.
Source by: The Star

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How to choose a home loan

May 20, 2013 By Leave a Comment

TO the common folk, choosing a home loan is almost as hard as choosing the property itself. If you’re currently in the midst of shopping for a home loan to buy your dream house, here are six things you should consider before making what could arguably be the biggest financial decision of your life.

 

1) Type of home loan

First and foremost, consider what works best for you: a traditional term loan or a flexible home loan (flexi-loan). A traditional term loan requires you to pay a fixed amount each month for the entire tenure of your home loan (eg. 30 years), while a flexi-loan gives you the option of reducing your interest whenever you wish (i.e. by saving your extra money into a linked current account. The more you save, the less interest you pay).

If you have a strict and predictable cash-flow pattern, a traditional term loan may be best. If you prefer flexibility in paying off your loan, a flexi-loan is recommended.

 

2) Interest rate

As with all loans, your priority should probably be to go to the bank that offers you the lowest interest rate. Let’s consider a home loan of RM500,000, over a period of 30 years. The difference in interest payment between an interest rate of 4.2% and 4.15% (i.e. a mere 0.05%) could be well over RM5,000! 3) Margin of financing (how much you can borrow)

Depending on various factors which include the value of the property as well as your standing with the bank, different banks may offer you different margins of financing. As you will be required to pay any amount not covered by the home loan upfront, this becomes very important, especially if you’re short on cash.

Let’s consider a house that costs RM500,000. You will need to pay RM100,000 upfront if your margin of financing is 80%, but you will only need to pay RM50,000 upfront if your margin of financing is 90%. 4) Lock-in period

Lock-in period is the period you will incur a penalty if you choose to pay off your home loan in full before it reaches the end of its tenure. Usually, the penalty is between 2% and 3% of the principle loan amount. When it comes to choosing a home loan, it pays to have a lock-in period that is as short as possible with a penalty that is as low as possible. Also, some banks do not charge a penalty at all if sufficient notice is given. 5) Fees & charges

A home loan application involves professional and government-regulated processes. This includes preparation and disbursement of loan agreement, payment of stamp duty and processing by the bank, just to name a few. All these processes usually come with fees and charges that will be borne by you, the buyer.

In certain cases, it may also be wholly, or partly ,borne by the banks as part of your loan package. Hence, it is best to sit down with the loan officers (with all the banks you are considering taking your home loan from) and get them to run through with you the fees and charges that will be incurred. The task may be repetitive and time-consuming, but it will be time well spent.

 

6) The bank

Lastly, understand that you’ll be dealing with the bank on a frequent basis for as long as your home loan is in effect (which may be 20 to 30 years). With that in mind, you should probably choose a bank you are comfortable with. Some of the things you may wish to think about include:

·Do you have an existing savings or current account with the bank (for ease of inter-account transfer)?

·Are you satisfied with their standard of service?

·Is a local branch available near your home or office?

·Do you consider the bank to be trustworthy and reliable?

·Does the bank offer value-added services that will make your life easier for the long haul?

·How is the bank’s reputation as a whole?

·Does the bank provide online banking facilities? This will allow you to pay your instalments easily.

·Is your loan officer approachable? Can you call him when you have a question?

 

Source by: The Star

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Well-planned land transport network can boost Greater KL area

May 20, 2013 By Leave a Comment

A SOUND and well-planned rail network inclusive of the upcoming Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (KVMRT) Line 2 will form the spinal cord of Kuala Lumpur’s public transportation system that will not only improve the liveability of the Greater Kuala Lumpur (KL) dwellers, but more importantly support the sustainability of the city’s future development.

In recent years, the country’s economy as well as construction industry have been largely buoyed by the massive multi-billion investment to improve the capital’s public transport network.

Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd is now in the midst of developing its RM7bil light rail transit (LRT) extension and MRT Co is currently overseeing the construction of the RM23bil KVMRT Line 1 from Sungai Buloh to Kajang.

Currently, the market is anticipating the approval of the KVMRT Line 2 that spans from Sungai Buloh to Putrajaya with an estimated cost of RM25bil.

Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) chief executive officer Mohd Nur Kamal confirms that the feasibility studies for KVMRT Line 2 is completed and is awaiting Cabinet approval.

According to the the National Land Public Transport Masterplan (final draft), the KVMRT Line 2 or the North-South Line is meant to link developing areas such as Sungai Buloh, Kepong and Selayang with the eastern side of the city centre including Kampung Baru and Tun Razak Exchange.

The third line or the circle line should provide an orbital link between areas such as Mid Valley, Mont Kiara, Sentul Timur, Ampang as well as the planned Matrade.

The KVMRT project, consisting of three lines, is expected to have a total network of 145 km.

By the time the KVMRT Line 1 is completed in 2017, it is expected to carry some 384,000 passengers daily.

A MRT rail system would require some 20,000 passengers per hour per direction to be feasible.

The Greater KL Land Public Transport Master Plan sets out an integrated 20-year plan to transform land public transport in the region responding to local needs and aspirations.

While this investment does give a shot in the arm for the country’s economy in the short term in view of a sluggish global environment, it is interesting to look further into the future at what these rail networks really means tothe Greater KL development. Ideally, Malaysia has the aspiration to be ranked in the top-20 city economic growth while being among the global top-20 most liveable cities by 2020 via nine entry point projects (EPP) which include improvement in land public transport services and networks.

And most of these pertinent issues are highlighted in the country’s first land public transport blueprint.

In the masterplan, Greater KL was identified as the critical economic growth centre as over 37% of the nation’s gross national product is identified as being related to Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.

The region comprises Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Klang, Kajang, Subang Jaya, Selayang, Shah Alam, Ampang Jaya and Sepang.

The 2010 census identified a regional population of 6.3 million in Greater KL that reflects an additional 1.7 million people living in the region compared to 2000.

The largest growth has been to the south and west of Kuala Lumpur in districts such as Sepang, Petaling Jaya and Putrajaya.

“The KVMRT project involves the construction of a railway network which will form the backbone of the Klang Valley’s public transport system.

“The project is a crucial component of the Greater KL National Key Economic Area and is the largest infrastructure project in the country.

“It will significantly improve the coverage of rail-based public transport in the Klang Valley and enable 50% of all trips in the Klang Valley to be done on public transport by 2020, up from the current 17%,” said the masterplan.

While this is a positive aspiration, alarmingly, the masterplan identifies that in recent decades the mode share of land public transport in the morning peak has fallen from 34% in the 1980s to 10%-12% in 2008.

“This share is relatively low compared to other international cities such as Hong Kong at 90%, Singapore at 63%, and London at 55%.

“This reduction in land public transport usage reflects the increase of the highway network supply, changes in household characteristics, the affordability of cars and poor quality of public transport,” it said.

On its economic benefits, the masterplan describes historical data in Malaysia and around the world indicating a correlation between GDP and mobility growth – increased population, employment and economic activity always translate into higher mobility requirements.

“In this context, a first-class land public transport system is especially important given our immediate aims as outlined in the Economic Transformation Programme’s 6% annual growth and 3.3 million new jobs by 2020.

“Travel vehicle demand grew from 13 million trips per day in 1991 to 40 million in 2010. Projections point towards this trend as continuing in Malaysia, with the figure expected to reach a staggering 133 million in 2030,” it said.

The masterplan adds that with urbanisation expected to reach 7% by 2020, there is a need to enable an efficient and smooth flow of people, which in turn also enables growth of new urban areas through increased connectivity.

“Beyond satisfying a growing demand, land public transport plays a catalytic role in accelerating and shaping economic growth. Provision of effective public transport services has the potential of opening up new growth clusters, enhancing the attractiveness of existing clusters and driving urban revitalisation.

“And there are other positive spill-over effects of increased economic activity built upon an advanced land public transport network – it yields employment and business opportunities in local economies by having synergies with other industries like advertisement, retail and property development,” says the masterplan.

 

Source by: The Star

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Mahu mengenali Jutawan Hartanah (Faizul Ridzuan) dengan lebih dekat?

May 16, 2013 By Leave a Comment

 

Interested? Kindly click on this link to join http://wtfuniversity.com.my/property/propcrownspecial/

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Selangor Properties to develop 105ha in Selangor

April 26, 2013 By Leave a Comment

PETALING JAYA: Selangor Properties Bhd plans to develop about 105.22ha in Selangor over the next few years.

Firstly, it hopes to develop its landbank of about 32.38ha in the areas of Bukit Permata and Selayang Mulia, Selangor, where it has had previous housing projects.

Its chief operating officer Chong Koon San said the projects, which would comprise semi-detached houses, would be launched next year. However, no gross development value had been determined yet, he said after a shareholders meeting here yesterday.

Chong said apart from that, Selangor Properties, which generates most of its income from property investment, also had a 60.70ha in Ulu Langat that it was looking to develop into a mixed development. On top of that, it had 13.76ha in the vicinity of Damansara Heights.

“For Damansara Heights, we are waiting for the MRT line, which is under construction, to be completed before we decide on any solid development plans.”

He said the group had proceeded on a masterplan for its landbank in this area to provide a blueprint for an integrated future development.

Chong said Selangor Properties was still in negotiations with Mass Rapid Transit Corp Sdn Bhd (MRT Corp), which is overseeing the development of the MRT, with regards to the latter’s proposed acquisition of some land owned by Selangor Properties, intended for MRT Corp’s project.

“We will not sell the land and we are still talking to them about options,” he said.

The current Sungai Buloh-Kajang MRT line, which is under construction and which will run through Damansara, is expected to be completed by 2017.

Chong said Selangor Properties currently owned seven properties in Selangor, including Wisma Damansara and Menara Millenium, and these had an average occupancy rate of 96%.

In Australia, it has a shopping mall in Claremont, Perth, which has an occupancy rate of 98.5%.

The group’s last pillar of business, education, is run under HELP International Corp Bhd. HELP is currently under an expansion programme to venture into the business of private international education.

The private school is expected to be located within HELP University’s proposed campus at Subang 2 and expected to have its first intake of students by the end of this year.

Selangor Properties’ net profit fell 56% to RM19.28mil in the fourth quarter ended Oct 31 from RM43.96mil a year ago, impacted by its investment holdings. A delay in its property launches also impacted its earnings in this division.

 

Source by: The Star

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Apartments in London’s regenerating Elephant and Castle launch in KL

April 24, 2013 By Leave a Comment

The Elephant and Castle area in London has historically been considered down-at-heel because of its location in the less affluent south east of London and the several social housing estates there.

The massive traffic roundabout which the area centres around is often characterised by its quirky eponymous statue of a red elephant with a castle on its back, but also several tower blocks from the 60s and 70s, and the decrepit Elephant and Castle shopping centre.

Anyone who’s ever needed to traverse south east London would know, however, that most roads lead to this roundabout (almost like most roads in Georgetown, Penang, converge upon Komtar), thus making this area strategically located. It is also located next to London’s Southbank University, and within 10 minutes’ drive to the South Bank, where the London Eye is located.

In terms of Tube lines, Elephant and Castle also features the interchange station for the Northern and Bakerloo Tube lines.

It isn’t surprising then that the city borough which it is located in, Southwark, has invested into regenerating this area. New projects have also been developed here including the slick Strata Tower which features three wind turbines at its top.

Among one of the regeneration projects is a redevelopment of one of the area’s social housing estates by Australian integrated property and infrastructure group, Lend Lease.

Located off Rodney Road, London SE17 1UU, the development has been renamed Trafalgar Place (not to be confused with Trafalgar Square on the northern side of the river).

Due to be completed by summer/autumn 2015, it will comprise 235 units of studio, one, two and three bedroom apartments ranging in size from 431 to 1,210 sq ft. These apartments are spread out within seven blocks which  range in height from ranging from four to 10 storeys. Guide prices for the first release start at £522 psf.

Sales of Trafalgar Place will take place in Kuala Lumpur from Apr 27 to 28, at the Westin hotel in Kuala Lumpur.

The concept for this development is “green living in the heart of the city” with each apartment having a range of innovative and environmentally sustainable features and either a garden, terrace or balcony. This includes energy-efficient lighting, heating and water recovery systems, as well as better insulation and ventilation including air purification systems.

According to the developer, the homes will be 30 per cent more energy efficient than current regulations require and use 30 per cent less water than the average London household.

The development also promises a “woodland walk”, a rain pool water feature, a garden square and an al fresco café for residents and the local community.

“Trafalgar Place will provide the first new homes to be completed as part of the £1.5 billion regeneration of Elephant & Castle, driven by Lend Lease in partnership with Southwark Council,” said Mark Dickinson, Lend Lease, Managing Director of Development, in a release. “The regeneration is gathering real momentum and will unlock the area’s potential with almost 3,000 new homes, as well as new parks, shops and improved transport taking shape over the next 12 years.

For those interested in learning more about the regeneration of Elephant & Castle, Tom Branton, Lend Lease Development Manager, will be conducting a brief talk at 11.30am each day at the exhibition.

The exhibition will be on Sat 27 and Sun 28 April from 11am to 7 pm at Level 2, The Straits Room,The Westin Kuala Lumpur, Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur. More info from www.hartamas.com.

 

Source by: The Star

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InvestKL may secure up to 12 global firms to invest in Greater KL

April 22, 2013 By Leave a Comment

PETALING JAYA: InvestKL targets to secure another ten multinational companies (MNCs) to invest in Greater KL in 2013, and if plans sail smoothly, it could even attract up to 12 MNCs.

At the moment, the agency is in talks with five MNCs from the United States, Europe and Japan to make Kuala Lumpur their business hubs.

If the talks are successful, the number of MNCs investing in KL will increase to 22 because thus far, InvestKL has brought in 17 MNCs in collaboration with partners such as the Malaysian Investment Development Authority and Multimedia Development Corp.

According to InvestKL, the investments from the 17 MNCs are expected to create 15,113 high value jobs and generate gross national income (GNI) of up to RM2.71mil by 2020.

Among these MNCs, six are establishing their centres of excellence, five their operational headquarters, four their shared services centres, one is setting up a hub for its trading of non-petroleum commodities while another for its retail business.

Chief executive officer Zainal Amanshah has been dubbed “a man with a 2020 mission”. Indeed, as he has a mission to attract 100 of the world’s largest multinationals from the lists of Fortune 500 or Forbes Global 2000 to invest in Greater KL by that year.

InvestKL, the government entity set up under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) has been in operations since August 2011 and it believed that the ETP and the Government Transformation Programme have also been critical to InvestKL’s success.

Under both programmes the initiatives of which have bore results, InvestKL has been able to convince investors that Malaysia is serious about its commitment to transform.

In the 18 months it has been established, Zainal and his team have proven they can deliver results with the strategic oversight provided by the agency’s three ministers – International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Zainal Abidin and Performance Management and Delivery Unit chief executive and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Idris Jala.

“At the same time, there is still a lot of work to do. While we have done much over the past 18 months, we have to work closely with the MNCs to ensure their investment is realised,” Zainal said.

“If they succeed, we succeed.”

He also commended the ministers for lending a big hand for fast-track processing and approvals for all investments through their strategic guidance and support.

“Datuk Raja Nong Chik as the minister-in-charge of the Greater KL National Key Economic Area has been instrumental in helping us achieve our key performance indicators,” said Zainal.

He added that Raja Nong Chik is a very hands-on minister who worked closely with InvestKL to ensure that the agency brought in MNCs that would spur innovation, talent and income growth.

“The minister is very focused on ensuring we bring in high quality investment that will create high value jobs, a high income society and contribute to Malaysia’s GNI,” he said.

The 100 hotshot companies InvestKL intends to bring in are expected to contribute RM40bil in GNI and create more than 60,000 jobs by 2020.

InvestKL notes that investors have also been impressed with the Government’s focus to improve Greater KL’s liveability.

“The commitment to resolve transport woes by constructing the mass rapid transit (MRT) and increase connectivity which, among others, include building the high speed train to Singapore,” the agency said, “The greening of the city and the ongoing work to transform the Klang River into a world-class water front have been positively received.”

Top international talent

To support the MNCs’ growth and ensure availability of talent, InvestKL is also working closely with the MNCs to bring in top international talent and is building a pipeline of talent from within the country through tie-ups with institutions of higher learning.

Among the companies already on board, Fortune 500 company Darden Restaurants Inc from the United States will make Malaysia its hub in Asia Pacific.

“We definitely see a lot of potential in this part of the world. We are looking to expand in Asia Pacific and bring some of our brands here,” Darden Inc chairman and chief executive Clarence Otis Jr has been quoted as saying.

The group intends to eventually introduce its chain of restaurants, such as Red Lobster, here and establish a regional operations hub in Malaysia to assist future restaurant growth in the Asian market.

On collaborations with local companies, Darden will also be developing the world’s first integrated lobster aquaculture park in Sabah under a US$600mil (RM1.86bil) deal with two Malaysian companies.

French international group and global leader in innovation and high-tech engineering consulting, Altran has set up its regional centre in Greater KL and will be setting up an innovation centre too.

In a report, chairman and chief executive Phillippe Salle said Malaysia was Altran’s surest way to foray into South-East Asia.

“We’re here for the infrastructure, access to surrounding countries and a wide talent pool.”

He added: “In Europe, we are an innovation centre where we have a pool of engineers who develop patents of their own.”

Salle believes that Kuala Lumpur will offer a fitting environment for Altran to expand in its key areas of business in aviation, automotive, healthcare, telecommunications and smart society.

Philips Malaysia and University of Malaya Specialist Centre are also collaborating to open the region’s first sleep disorders centre in July this year.

The first in the region, the Asean Sleep Research and Competence Centre will run clinical research, training and sleep medicine services to raise awareness and provide early diagnosis of sleep disorders.

On board is also Promat, a leading professional fire protection products and systems manufacturer, which will relocate its existing Asia-Pacific operational headquarters in Hong Kong to Greater KL.

This company is the main subsidiary of Belgium’s Etex Group, which is headquartered in Brussels.

Other companies InvestKL has brought in are European oleochemicals producer Oleon, which will set up its regional headquarters here to complement its processing plant and leading energy solutions and transport company Alstom, which will open its centre of excellence for regional projects in the city.

 

Source by: The Star

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Number of property transactions dropped in 2012

April 19, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Market slowed in Penang, KL and Selangor but recorded double digit growths in Kelantan and Putrajaya.

Source: National Property Information Centre

After several years of growth, the number of transactions within the property market fell for the first time last year. This number fell from 430,403 transactions in 2011 to 427,520 transactions in 2012, a drop of 0.7%, as revealed at the recent launch of Property Market Report 2012 by the Ministry of Finance’s Valuation and Property Services Department.

Sub-sectors which suffered were the commercial sub-sector (which declined in number of transactions  by 5.9%), the agricultural sub-sector (-5%) and the industrial sub-sector (-4.7%).

Taking up the slack was growth in sales of development land which grew by 6.1% but less than in 2011 when it had grown by 14.8%. The residential sub-sector also grew but at 1.1%, compared to 18.9% in 2011.

In terms of states, the states with major property markets saw transactions drop in 2012. These included Penang (which declined about 21%), Perak (-8%), Johor (-7%), Kuala Lumpur (-3%) and Selangor (-2%).

States which have smaller property markets, in the meantime, flourished last year: Kelantan (increased by 50%), Putrajaya (27%), Pahang (15%) and Terengganu (12%). One of the factors to boost Kelantan’s property market was a bulk transfer of 2,603 units of vacant residential plots, which caused its residential sub-sector to nearly double.

While number of transactions has dropped, the value of transactions has increased from RM137.8bil in 2011 to RM142.8bil in 2012 (an increase of 3.6%).

In terms of value, the sub-sectors which increased the most due to prices of transactions being higher, were development land (increased by 16.6%), residential (increased 9.6%), industrial (4%) and commercial (0.6%).

While number of property transactions dropped in Selangor by 1.7%, the value of transactions in Selangor increased by 13.8%, indicating a significant increase in the prices of transactions.

Home sales increased in quantity by 1% but in value by nearly 10%

At the launch of Property Market Report 2012: Valuation and Property Services Department director Datuk Abd Hamid Abu Bakar, Treasury secretary general Datuk Sri Moh Irwan Serigar, National Property Information Centre director Khuzaimah Abdullah

The number of residential property transactions last year grew by 1.1% to nearly 273,000 transactions, totaling about RM68bil in sales.

This 1% growth came from increase in home sales in Kelantan, Pahang and Putrajaya, among others. The growth in these states were offset by drops in transactions in Penang (-24.2%), Perak (-9.1%), Johor (-7.2%), Sarawak (-2.6%), Kuala Lumpur (-1.3%) and Selangor (-0.5%).

The drop in Penang, for example, may have been attributed to a correction in the market. For example, home sales in Penang dropped by 24% last year, after it had already climbed by 68% in 2011.

While home sales in Selangor dropped slightly last year, the state still maintained the highest market share with 28% of the country’s home sales being in this state, followed by Perak (11%), Johor (11%), Kuala Lumpur (9%) and Penang (9%).

Even though the number of sales of homes in Malaysia increased only slightly at 1%, the value of sales increased by 9.6%. Compare this to the increase in value of sales for all sub-sectors at 3.6%, indicating that prices for homes have increased more than prices for other sub-sectors.

As such, even though six states recorded a drop in number of sales, nearly all reported an increase in the volume of sales, except for Penang and Perak.

Putrajaya in particular showed a marked value appreciation, with number of transactions having increased by 27% but value increasing by 78%!

And even for the biggest loser, Penang, even though number of transactions dropped by 24%, the value of these transactions dropped by only 8%, so prices were seen to have held somewhat.

In terms of pricing, the segment with the highest activity was the RM250,000 to RM500,000 segment, taking 18% of the market. Sales of homes priced above RM500K also increased from around 22,000 units in 2011 to around 26,500 units in 2012.

In terms of property types, terraced houses remained the most popular with about 36% of the market, while condos made up 15%. Many of these houses were located outside of the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, however, given that 75% of of condo/apartment transactions were conducted in KL and Selangor.

In terms of developer units, the number of new launches increased from around 49,000 units in 2011, to around 57,000 units last year. Over 60% of these new launches were in KL, Selangor, Johor and Perak.

Take-ups from these launches were the best in KL (with 60% sales), Penang (56%) and Melaka (51%).

In terms of residential overhang, number of unsold developer homes dropped and Putrajaya and Labuan even recorded zero overhang. Among those units which remain unsold, 21% were condos/apartments, with nearly half of this number priced over RM1mil and located in Kuala Lumpur.

Source by: The Star

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