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CRITERIA TO INVEST IN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT & THE

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Loan Pre-Approval In 30 Minutes At Perth Propertyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s World Premiere, Drew Overwhelming Response Sibu: Marching Into The Next Decade Many See Sibu As A Sleepy Town, To Some, It Is An Untapped Gold Mine

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COVER STORY | Homelite Development Sdn Bhd

Lite View Park

Affordable Living, Impeccable Lifestyle

ncorporated in year 2004, Homelite started as a landed-property developer in Miri, Sarawak with only 6 units of double storey semi-detached houses in the beginning. Over the years, Homelite has grown tremendously with completed landed projects which had been fully sold. Now, Homelite has become a leading pioneer in developing condominiums in Miri City with seven gated-guarded projects launched and Homelite even seize the tide to venture into the vibrant market of Sabah with their New Kimanis Town project. Until now, Homelite’s projects has reached development value of RM1 billion.

Centre and a 10 minutes’ drive away from Mosjaya, Merdeka Mall and E-mart Riam Commercial Centre areas. On top of that, Lite View Park is also surrounded by public amenities such as playschools, schools, churches, mosque and the famous Esplanade beach, which are easily accessible on foot.

This year Homelite will expand its territory to Tukau area and transform the lower Tukau area into Lite View Park. To keep up with modern lifestyle, Lite View Park offers not only 12 blocks of residential apartments but also a commercial area to complement its residential area. Without having to break the bank, the residents can now enjoy an environmentally-landscaped living space with everyday convenience, surrounded by lush greenery and a peaceful, secure environment.

The Lite View Green Belt is designed to be at the center of the residential area. The long stretch of garden, which is approximately 350-meter long, is the ideal place for jogging, cycling and other recreational activities. A free bicycle parking area will also be added in effort to support green transportation and in promoting a healthy, balanced lifestyle. Towards the end of the green belt lies the commercial area of Lite View Park, the Lite View Arcade, which is the highlight of this project.

This three-storey walk-up residential area consists of approximately 384 residential units. Selling at affordable prices, each unit comes with three rooms, two toilets, a living room, a dining area and a kitchen, complete with a shaded car park. The kitchen is enclosed and finished with wall tiles up to ceiling height. The layout is designed in such way to maximize the utilization of the area. This modern living lifestyle concept is especially suitable for small families and retirees who are looking for a simple and convenient lifestyle.

Offering 22 units of three-storey shop lots, this commercial area comes with a wide range of retail offerings, including a food court, grocery stores, sundry shops, mini markets, bakery, tuition center and gym. The area also offers service centres, such as a computer service center, general service center for utility payment, ATM, health clinic, ‘my cube’ and every modern amenities there is.

Lite View Park offers 24-hour security monitoring in the form of a guardhouse entrance to the neighbourhood. So, residents can rest assured and feel protected in their own home, while relishing the privacy of their personal living space.

Picture Perfect Living In Nature’s Enclave

trategically located within the vibrant Miri City suburb of Lopeng, this integrated mixed-use development is designed as a 360° lifestyle hub for a vibrant, upwardly mobile community. Lopeng Heights offers residents one of the most luxurious condo-living to be found in Miri. Due to its great location and accessibility via three major highways in Miri, Lopeng Heights offers a great investment profile for buyers who are always on the go, yet prefers better lifestyle.

Artist Impression

This project contains seven-storeys of underground car park, two storeys of commercial lots and ten storeys of residential units. With up to 200 units of SOHO-style apartments, residents can choose from six different layouts to be utilized as either a modern living space or lavish office area. The world is at the resident’s doorstep when they choose Lopeng Heights as their home. Lopeng Heights offers a complete lifestyle experience for the most discerning of tastes. Every modern lifestyle resources that a home owner could wish for are available within reach: excellent schools, state-of-the-art recreational facilities, retail outlets and many more. Beyond the wonderful expanses of sustainable highland, the community is only a short drive away from the hub of Miri City and Mosjaya area. Furthermore, the two-storey commercial lots in this project offer greater convenience for its residents.

Homelite’s mission is to equip their residents with everything they need right at their doorstep.

Surrounded by multiple traveling routes, Lite View Park is located merely 20 minutes’ drive away from the Miri City

Artist Impression

Ever since its inception over a decade ago, Homelite is dedicated to create sustainable communities and vibrant residential neighbourhoods. Hence, Homelite have created for the community this beautifully landscaped

space that combines the aesthetic aspects of gardens, cascading water features and reflective pools, recreational facilities, as well as food and beverage offerings, making it the perfect place to spend quality time with loved ones whatever the mood, whatever the occasion. Lopeng Heights also offers worldclass outdoor and indoor facilities for its residents, turning everyday into a magnificent living experience. A jogging track and a green field takes residents across to a fresh-air outdoor experience, while they work their bodies at ease. With in-house entertainment and outdoor facilities provided, this luxurious self-contained living space is everything a home owner could ever wish for in a home. To top off its magnificent view, Lopeng Heights features a 24-hour security service with perimeter fencing and CCTV, which is sure to give residents a peace of mind. Offering two different guardhouse entrances to the building, residents can be sure to feel protected in their own home while still enjoying the privacy of their personal living space. Surrounded by the glorious sights and sounds of nature without foregoing the modern convenience of city life, residents can now live the picture perfect life they’ve always imagined at Lopeng Heights. Thanks to its strategic location on top of the hill, residents can enjoy a spectacular view of the sun-glazed Miri City. Wake up to a blissful sunrise in the morning, and sit back and relax at the balcony after a tiring day at work to enjoy the majestic sunset view with loved ones.

085-680555 (MIRI)

Sales Representatives Edison Wong (019-8607755)

Sales Representatives Lyn Cheng (012-8852778) | Florence Lai (019-8857755) Viktor Tiong (019-8627755) | Edison Wong (019-8607755)

www.homelite.com.my

Lopeng Heights

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COVER STORY | Homelite Development Sdn Bhd

New Kimanis Town

Airport Avenue

A Sea of Vast-Growing Opportunities

Offering state-of-the-art Modern Living Convenience

ocated at the Miri Airport’s doorstep, Airport Avenue is a one-stop solution to a hassle-free and seamless connection to the rest of the world. Nestled amidst the up and coming Airport Road and Mosjaya development, Airport Avenue is another Homelite housing development that is due to take flight. This new development offers modest apartment living in the form of 76 units that are just waiting to be grabbed.

Artist Impression

Other features of the rapidlyrising area, such as Merdeka Mall, Mosjaya Shopping Area, Emart commercial centre, option of schools aplenty and proximity to a splendid beach strip all add to the convenience and value of this property. These spacious apartments come in five rooms with four bathrooms and four rooms with three bathrooms options, selling at a very competitive and affordable price range. Without

having to break their budget, the residents can now enjoy an environmentally-landscaped living space with lush gardens. For a stress-free lifestyle, security is vital. Therefore, Homelite strives to provide this essential service for its residents at Airport Avenue. Not trading practicality for a more costsensible approach, 24-hour topnotch security in the form of guard housing and CCTVs are the staple security features of this project. With fast-paced lifestyle, rapid information-sharing facilities and technology know-how, Airport Avenue residents will enjoy a guaranteed option of accessing the fastest speed internet available to meet their surfing needs. Homelite’s partnership with Telekom Malaysia will ensure that home owners will enjoy the latest and fastest high-speed internet connection in the form of Unifi internet connection.

Artist Impression

085-680555 (MIRI) www.homelite.com.my

Sales Representatives Lyn Cheng 012-8852778 | Florence Lai 019-8857755 Viktor Tiong 019-8627755 | Edison Wong 019-8607755

Artist Impression

he New Kimanis Town project is a new milestone for Homelite. It will be a great investment goldmine as the Oil and Gas industry is currently on the rise. Now, it is Sabah’s turn to gear towards this direction, as Petronas’s billion-ringgit project in the Sabah Oil and Gas industry is established. With all the experience attained from Oil & Gas industry, Homelite strive as the pride of Sarawak to venture into Sabah with the mission to become a pioneer to transform the Kimanis of Sabah to become the Bintulu of Sarawak. Being the only 30-acre land commercial zone owner within the industrial zone in Kimanis, Homelite has set foot in Sabah. Its subsidiary of New Kimanis Town Sdn Bhd will embark on its journey to awaken the up and coming Oil Township of Kimanis that will light the fire of Sabah Oil and Gas industry. This will ensure an investment gold wave for the next 30 to 40 years in Kimanis. Homelite continues to be groundbreaking in its progressive and outstanding endeavours. The New Kimanis Town project comes in two phases. Phase 1 will be sure to appeal with a variety of two or three-storey shop lots or office spaces, totaling up to six units of three-storey corner lots and 69 units of two-storey intermediate lots that can be used for shops or offices. Buyers have flocked for the Kimanis Commercial Phase 1, as of today, it is already 90% sold out. Homelite now returns with the launching of bigger and higher Kimanis Commercial Phase 2 of three and fourstorey shop lots and office spaces,

with 22 four-storey corner units and 85 three-storey intermediate units for buyers to choose. Homelite is also looking to launch a variety of larger properties as part of their future development plans. A shopping mall is part of the grand proposal, only rivaled by the hotel and service apartment that will capitalize on the participation of trainees and course attendees who will converge in Kimanis for their work and training in the nearby SOGT and Kimanis Petroleum Training Centre. A two-storey food court will be one of the main features of this Homelite space, potentially sitting beside an eight-storey office block with the convenience of 1st, 2nd and 3rd floor carpark bays that speaks to the modern design of current office blocks.

Artist Impression

With dual carriageway widths of 7.3m compared to the ordinary 6.7m, easier traffic flow will be established. Equipped with 767 parking spaces, the 612 required spaces will be more than easily accommodated. Homelite is always committed to excel in all aspects of development through 5 value adding points that emphasize on advance project planning, unique property design, superior construction quality, impeccable customer service and gated-guarded Management Corporation team in order to develop high quality properties and provide outstanding experience to the buyers whereby provides unbeatable returns to the shareholders through involvement, innovative, initiative and integrity.

088-283366 (KK)

Artist Impression

www.homelite.com.my

Sales Representatives Bobby Hiew - 012-877 2778 | Eskay Wong - 012-877 1778

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HOT TOPIC | PH Sibu Expo

SIBU MARCHING INTO THE NEXT DECADE

MANY SEE SIBU AS A SLEEPY TOWN, TO SOME, IT IS AN UNTAPPED GOLD MINE The riverine town of Sibu, located at the confluence of the Rajang and Igan rivers, is getting ready to reach its full potential as a city of commerce, human resource development and sustainable living. The last few decades have seen Sibu develop into the nerve centre of the central region with the implementation of visionary development projects that, when completed, will see even more dramatic changes to its infrastructure and economic landscape.

THE RIVER OF LIFE

SIBU’S DECADE OF CHANGE was interrupted twice, in 1889 and 1928, when the town was burnt to the ground. The outbreak of WW II in 1941 and the ensuing communist insurgency which although significantly curtailed in the 1970s lasted till 1990, dealt Sibu a tough hand in its efforts to pick up the pieces.

James Brooke

ibu was founded in 1862 by James Brooke when he build a fort in the town to fend off attacks by the indigenous Dayak people. The earliest inhabitants of Sibu were the Melanau, Iban and Malay with the first Chinese settlers, mainly Hokkien, arriving in the 1860s to set up small businesses around the fort. Large scale Chinese migration, particularly from Fujian province led by Wong Nai Siong who brought in 1,118 Foochow Chinese in 1901, saw larger tracts of land opened up for cultivation. Attempts to cultivate rice were unsuccessful due to unsuitable soil and the Chinese farmers turned to rubber plantations which proved to be a goldmine. The town’s steady development Rubber plantations

Nevertheless, Sibu’s economic resilience shone through with emergence of a flourishing timber industry in the 1940s and 1950s, surpassing rubber in importance by the 1960s. The timber industry was buoyed by loans from the early Chinese banks set up in Sibu such as Wah Tat Bank (1929), Hock Hua Bank (1952) and Kong Ming Bank (1965). Global timber conglomerates were setting up their headquarters in Sibu and business was booming.

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One of the biggest, and most definitive, challenge for Sibu now is to carve its place in Sarawak’s development master plan with its role in the mega SCORE (Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy) project, which by 2030, is expected to attract a vast amount of investments and potentially employ some one million people.

SCORE

population of up to 800,000 — including people from other major towns along the mighty Rajang (River),” he said. A significant component in the master plan mentioned by Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh is the development of the 1,400 acre Sibu Jaya Township located about 1 km from Sibu Airport to meet the anticipated population increase in Sibu. The township began in the mid-1990s with the intention of being an affordable township to serve the needs of Sibu’s lower and middle-income groups. Of the net developable area of 1,100 acres, about 360 acres have been completed with a gross development value (GDV) of RM395 million.

The SCORE corridor stretches In 2007, the Housing for 320km along the coast from Tanjung Development Corp (HDC) Manis to Samalaju and extends to the surrounding teamed up with Amcorp The shipbuilding business areas and the hinterland. Covering an area of 70,708 which started in Sibu sq km with a population of 900,000 people, the project is Group to form HDCAmcorp Joint Venture Sdn in the 1930s to supply expected to attract some RM200 billion in investments Bhd for the re-planning wooden boats for the with its core hinging on the development of energy and development of the river and coastal navigation resources, particularly hydropower, coal and undeveloped 750 acres of the was also on an upswing in the natural gas.

1970s and 1980s along with the increase in timber exports. The industry later shifted its focus to steel boat building and has continued to be a major contributor to Sibu’s economy with RM525 million in exports recorded in 2011. Shipbuilding business

The timber industry

Sibu town was upgraded to a municipality on 1 November 1981 and its area of administration expanded from 50 sq km to present day 129.5 sq km. The municipal council decided to adopt the swan as the symbol of Sibu to inspire the people to work towards the goal of becoming a city of the future.

Local Government and Community Development Minister, Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh was quoted to say that the next 10 years would be ‘Sibu’s Decade’. “With infrastructure in place, such as the port at Tanjung Manis and the expected expansion of Sibu Airport in the future, Sibu would be able to cater to a much bigger

township, which is known as Sibu Jaya New Township. Based on the revised master plan, the township is expected to be completed by 2023 with a total population of 60,000 and will see an additional 5,600 medium to high-end residential units, 476 commercial and 83 industrial units and four parcels identified for commercial buildings with a total GDV of RM1 billion.

SIBU CAPACITY BUILDING TO MEET THE FUTURE

The University College of Technology Sarawak (UCTS), the first institution of higher learning in Sibu, was set up in 2013 in anticipation of the vast amount of skilled manpower required to support the SCORE project. The learning structure in UCTS will be based on more hands-on learning rather than theoretical to attract more rural youths to take advantage of the educational opportunity. Prominent Sibu businessman and philanthropist Tan Sri Clement Hii Chii Kok is also in the forefront of creating opportunities to uplift human capital development in Sibu. Tan Sri Clement is a former senior journalist holding positions in several newspapers, including Chief Editor of Borneo’s leading English daily, “The Borneo Post”. Currently, he is also the Group Managing Director of SEG International Bhd, Malaysia’s largest private higher education provider listed on Bursa Malaysia, and Executive Chairman of HCK Group of companies, a diversified group with investments in properties, technology, manufacturing and F&B. HCK Capital’s media division, dubbed HCK Media, owns a number of print media and online news portal including Focus Malaysia, The Heat, The Ant Daily and The Big Issue.

PROPERTY TRENDS AND OPPORTUNITIES Changing trends and adaptation to new regulations imposed on the property development industry has seen this particular economic segment slowly but surely shifting into higher gear. In a report by CH William Talhar Wong & Yeo Sdn Bhd (WTWY), the performance of the residential sector in Sibu continues to be stable with an increase in selling prices. WTWY said that for the first half of 2014, Sibu’s selling prices for newly-launched standard built double storey intermediate terraced houses within 10 kilometers radius from Sibu Town Centre has breached the RM400,000 mark.

sub-sector by the locals in Sibu, have seen an increase in incoming supply of newly launched or under construction strata titled apartments such as Waterfront Residence, Lee Garden and Salim Height Apartment concentrated at Sibu Town Extension, Jalan Pedada and Jalan Salim.” Newly-launched shophouse project at Sibu Jaya Township has experienced a fairly fast take up rate. In the meantime, prices for shophouses have remained stable.

“Generally, developers remain optimistic despite slower sales rate than previous years,” it said in the report.

“The most significant shophouse development in Sibu, namely the Sibu Commercial Town Square, is progressing well with selling prices of remaining unsold units in this project continuing to rise.”

“Condominiums or apartments, which are generally regarded as an unpopular residential

Notably, 25 units of threestorey shophouses along Jalan Tun Abang Haji Openg, beside the Kin Orient Commercial

Complex and 33 units of four-storey shophouses at Sibu Town Extension (both regarded as prime areas) have been completed and currently waiting to be fully occupied, which might take some time as experienced by previous shophouse developments in Sibu. The rental yield is forecasted to remain stable, it said. Apart from office spaces to be built for owner occupation such as the upcoming Wisma RH and Sibu Islamic Complex, WTWY said there are incoming office spaces of over 30,000 square feet from two blocks of six-storey purpose-built office buildings together with an adjoining 14 units of threestorey shophouses, regarded as one project located along Jalan Pedada developed by Liberty Properties Sdn Bhd. This project is currently 50 per cent completed.

One of the biggest, and most definitive, challenge for Sibu now is to carve its place in Sarawak’s development master plan with its role in the mega SCORE project, which by 2030, is expected to attract a vast amount of investments and potentially employ some one million people.

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FEATURED PROPERTY EVENT | Affinity At The Springs

Loan Pre-Approval In 30 Minutes At Perth Property’s World Premiere, Drew Overwhelming Response

nvestment opportunities in Perth will now be amplified with the launch of Affinity at the Springs, a modern and visually striking landmark in one of the most vibrant apartment precincts in the city. Kota Kinabalu was selected by Enoch Khoo as the first city to preview The World Premier of Perth Property- Affinity at the Springs with a 2-day showcase at The Magellan Sutera on July 25 and 26. Affinity Apartments with its dramatic sharp angles and asymmetrical design is set to raise the bar for achieving the optimum level of style and convenience with a host of top-quality facilities and services within easy reach.

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The 147 units of apartments have been architect-designed to create a feeling of space, comfort and contemporary lifestyle. Options include studio, one bedroom, two bedroom or three bedroom apartments, with each having a balcony area for entertaining and open-plan living areas.The 6 units of retail lots on the ground level offer the convenience of retail stores and a public café just a short ride down the lift. The freehold property is priced from AUD$325,000, and with weekly rental fetching from AUD$375 – 420, it is a standout investment option. Apart from its affordable price range, Affinity Apartments has the advantage of being exceptionally

well positioned to some of the finest leisure, entertainment, sports and educational facilities in Perth. Situated on Great Eastern Highway, Affinity Apartments is connected to the Perth Domestic and International Airport to the East and Victoria Park to the South West. The Affinity at the Springs showcase featured several prominent guests to meet interested investors, and offer advice on housing loan facilities and Australian migration. Westpac Banking Corporation Australia, the second largest bank in Australia with over 1,200 branches nationwide and up to 12.2 million customers was represented by its regional

manager Nic Wilson and his team in providing eligible Affinity Apartments buyers the convenience of pre-approved loans within 30 minutes to make the buying process as easy as possible. The showcase proudly coordinated by Property Hunter was held at The Magellan Sutera on 25 & 26 July, andattracted over 500 guests over the two days preview including a property talk for those who wish to know more about Perth presented by Enoch Khoo, “Growing your wealth through Perth properties”, an in-depth holistic view into investing in Perth.

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Maggie Cai, Chief Executive Officer of Dragon Century Group Pty Ltd the developer of Affinity at the Springs From left: Luka Marinovich of Jones Ballard Property Group, Alex Lee, Associate Director of Laurelcap (Sabah) Sdn Bhd, Maggie Cai, Chief Executive Officer of Dragon Century Group Pty Ltd, Zoe Wong, Sales Manager for Affinity at the Springs, Enoch Khoo, Vice President of Property Hub Sdn Bhd unveiling the scaled model of Affinity at the Springs Sam Yoong, Australia’s Top 10 Home Lender cum Branch Manager from Westpac Banking Corporations Full house crowd at the World Premiere of Perth Property Investors studies the project prior to the official launch From left: Zoe Wong, Sales Manager for Affinity at the Springs, Allen Liew, Branch Manager from Westpac, Maggie Cai, Chief Executive Officer of Dragon Century Group Pty Ltd, Nic Wilson, Regional General Manager of Westpac, Sam Yoong, Australia’s Top 10 Home Lender cum Branch Manager from Westpac

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EAST MALAYSIA PROPERTY NEWS

With Loans Hard to Come By, Kota Kinabalu’s Real Estate Market Doldrums

Although demand for low- to medium-cost apartments was high, there was a distinct lack of supply with only 5 out of over 70 properties on offer during the expo costing below RM300,000.

EAST MALAYSIA PROPERTY NEWS

“But in general, sales have slowed down in all sectors at every event compared to previous years.

Keep track of the latest property and real estate news plus reviews in the property market in East Malaysia 2

President Of SHAREDA Advices Young Entrepreneurs To Be Active In Local Politics

professionals and entrepreneurs in the industry today. Among others, he encouraged the youth to be more aware and involved in politics as they play an important role in the future development of the state. “What we are today is the result of our forefathers who came to Sabah to earn money to send back to their families in China,” he opined of the early Chinese settlers who migrated to Sabah generations ago.

atuk Francis Goh, president of the Sabah Housing and Real Estate Developers Association (SHAREDA) spent about 2 hours at a round table discussion with members of JCI (Junior Chamber International) Luyang, to share his personal and professional experiences in the property development industry. His invitation by JCI Luyang was to kick-start a new initiative by the organization to encourage and motivate young entrepreneurs to broaden their business perspective and acumen. According to Seth

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Quek, president of JCI Luyang, the initiative is aimed at providing a useful forum for the constructive exchange of ideas and opinions between its members and leaders of various industries and professions. This is the first of a series of round table discussions JCI Luyang will be planning for this year. During the first round table discussion held at La Vintage, Wisma Kinsabina in Penampang, Datuk Francis shared anecdotes from his considerable experience in the property development industry, and views on a variety of topics and current issues relevant to young

“Politics was not important to them then because of their mindset. But the present generation is now well integrated into society and should play a part in its political future. We cannot blame the government for the current situation in the state because we are not getting involved and having our opinions heard.” Datuk Francis was recently appointed MCA Penampang division chairman and has been a vocal advocate for the property development industry as a catalyst for change and development in Sabah. While Kota Kinabalu has been selected as one of four major cities in Malaysia to stimulate

still in demand because provided packages were attractive,” said Property Hunter Expo organiser Elson Kho.

national development under the 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP), Datuk Francis says that there are still issues overcome for this to come to fruition. “Being a leader in the property industry, you have to fight for critical issues such as water and electricity which are basic necessities for development to progress and survive. You cannot make profit from these because it is jeopardizing the industry more than helping,” he said referring to several hotly debated issues related to water and electricity tariffs that made headlines over the last few months. “The government has forgotten that if the property industry is damaged, it will affect more than 100 other related industries,” he adds. In ending the round table discussion, Datuk Francis advised young entrepreneurs to not fear failure in their endeavors. Having been through some hard financial times earlier in his life, he thinks that to be a success, you must learn how to embrace failure and move on. “Failure is a good reminder to be more cautious in the future.”

roperty launches here have ground to a halt as some buyers struggle to secure financing amid stringent lending conditions while others remain wary over the fallout from the Goods and Services Tax (GST), said an article by The Malay Online. The situation was also exacerbated by a shortage in the low, and midrange segment where interest is highest, leaving developers with far fewer units that buyers are clamouring for and a surfeit those they are struggling to buy. According to Knight Frank Malaysia (Sabah branch) associate director Ginn Lai, the local property sector came to a near standstill in the past six months, with few property launches and no large-scale projects taking place. “The first half of 2015 remained relatively stagnant with no significant new developments being released to the market. Transactional activity was largely limited to secondary market properties and balance units in projects under construction,” he said. Lai said this was because demand was being pent up by difficulty in securing mortgages, and believed

sales would recover if lending rules were relaxed. In a move to curb spiraling household debt, Bank Negara Malaysia pinned in place two years measures including banning pre-approved loans by housing developers, which previously allowed many Malaysians to buy properties outside their affordability. The measure, along with stricter guidelines on a borrower’s aggregate credit repayments, made it harder for banks to approve housing loans or other loans, for that matter. While the impact of the measures were not immediately apparent, difficulty in financing is a growing refrain within the property sector today. A property exhibition here in March — one in a series across main cities in east Malaysia — saw half as many sales from before, more signs of the softening market. “Sales has gone down by about 50 percent in all markets. Luxury residential units upwards of RM800,000 are the worst hit while medium range products between RM400,000 and RM800,000 were

“From a market survey we did, there are still interested buyers but many are waiting it out to see the dust from the GST settle and for the economy to stabilise,” said Kho. Lai also agreed that there is dormant activity, but said the weakened ringgit has stimulated foreign interest, particularly for luxury properties priced upwards of RM 1,000 per square foot, as well as prime location property in the city. Despite the glum outlook, however, figures from the National Property Information Centre (NAPIC) showed only a marginal drop in residential property transactions in the first quarter of 2015, going from 1,298 to 1,286 while overall value increased from RM409 million to RM426.3 million.

the current turbulence, the property market will bounce back in the upcoming year with friendlier and “less harmful” measures announced in the Budget 2015. “The measures, which include building more affordable housing for low income groups and civil servants along with loan and financing schemes, will spur the market and provide more opportunities for growth in their respective sectors,” it said in its report. Lai contended that until lending conditions improve, however, Sabah’s property market will remain stagnant even with several new developments in the second half of the year and if the general economy is not stimulated.

“The outlook on retail will very much depend on tourism arrivals and consumer spending habits going forward. The additions of Oceanus mall and Imago mall have significantly increased retail shopping centre space in Kota Kinabalu and it is yet to be seen whether this will be sustainable,” he said.

Based on the Property Market Report 2014 by the Valuation and Property Services Department, there were 8,926 transactions in Sabah last year with a combined transacted value of RM4.36 million or a two per cent decrease from 2013. Four in five of transactions were priced below RM500,000 and only 6.7 per cent were priced at RM1 million and above. Most of the transactions were from the residential sub-sector. The research arm of Sabah Housing and Real Estate Developers Association reported that despite

JCI Luyang’s president Seth Quek presenting a momento to Kinsabina Group’s CEO cum SHAREDA president Datuk Francis Goh with other members of JCI Luyang Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

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FeatureD Property Showcase| UEM Sunrise

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FeatureD Property Showcase| UEM Sunrise

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EAST MALAYSIA PROPERTY NEWS

Ho Hup to Build RM774 Million Mixed Projects in KK

Great Savings and Promotions at SHAREDA Property Hunter Expo Tawau

o Hup Construction Co Berhad has revealed that its 75 percent-owned subsidiary Ho Hup (KK) Sdn Bhd (HHVKK) will undertake a RM774 million mixed development project in Kota Kinabalu. The property development and construction firm said HHVKK will participate in the project after it inked an agreement to acquire a 70 percent stake in Golden Wave Sdn Bhd for RM30 million. Notably, Golden Wave entered into an agreement with Kota Kinabalu City Hall subsidiary DBKK Holdings Sdn Bhd in May 2010 to build a bus terminal and car parks on land vested with DBKK at a cost not exceeding the agreed land value of RM46.92 million. In return, Golden Wave will receive an adjacent commercial leasehold land measuring 4.988 acre. As reported by local media, the development is set to be completed in June 2016 while

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the terminal is about 19 percent complete as of 30 April. The land — which Golden Wave plans to develop over a period of five years into integrated serviced apartments, hotels and other commercial developments — has an indicative market value of RM185 million as appraised by Knight Frank Malaysia Sdn Bhd. Ho Hup noted that proposed acquisition is in line with the strategy of the group “to carry out development projects in strategic locations with high development value,” adding that its board is optimistic that the proposed development will enhance the group’s future earnings and revenue. When the financial year ended in 31 December 2014, Ho Hup’s property development business contributed an after-tax profit of RM58.07 million, which is significantly lower compared to the construction business’ RM13.46 million.

Ho Hup Construction Co Berhad website Visitor during SHAREDA Property Hunter Expo Tawau Rahim & Co property market preview

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ome of the most outstanding developments in Sabah, Peninsular Malaysia, Australia and the UK were showcased at the SHAREDA Property Hunter Expo Tawau on 3 – 5 July at the Lau Gek Poh Foundation building. The three day expo was officially launched by Minister of Youth and Sports YB Datuk Haji Tawfiq Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Abu Bakar Titingan on 3 July. This year, visitors were offered some great savings with rebates, freebies and even a trip to Australia for buyers of selected properties. If you are looking for a property north of Kota Kinabalu, Greenfield Residence in Menggatal is offering a 7% rebate on its condominiums featuring a host of lifestyle facilities such as swimming pools, themed gardens, indoor and outdoor activity areas. The offer package includes a free kitchen cabinet and air-con. Also in the north is the 4-storey Inanam Mall with up to 300 covered car park bays to make shopping in the heart of busy Inanam easy and convenient. Buyers got free SPA legal service when they booked a space in the highly anticipated commercial development Inanam Mall that is

set to change the retail experience for residents in Inanam and its surroundings. Nestled in one of the most exclusive residential addresses in Kota Kinabalu is The Peak Vista, a high-rise condominium with commanding views of the South China Sea and surrounding greenscapes, and The Peak SOHO, trendy suites that perfect for the young professional and young at heart. Developer SBC Corporation is offering a rebate of between RM5,000 to RM50,000 for the chance to own one of these designer units. Offer packages from Peninsular Malaysia include De Centrum Unipark Condominium which is located in the heart of De Centrum City, the first mixed development project by Protasco Land Sdn Bhd consisting of residential, commercial, educational and modern lifestyle attractions. Situated at the intersection of the KL-Seremban and Silk Highways, De Centrum Unipark Condominium is exclusively designed for those who appreciate modern urban living, great connectivity, easy access to KL City Centre, universities, international schools, five-star hotels, great shopping and expansive green areas. Enjoy an 8% rebate for a residential property that fits into your up-tothe-minute lifestyle.

Property investors with their sights set on overseas properties will get the opportunity to view one of the most exciting lifestyle centres in Australia. Fusion is offering a 4D3N trip to Australia when booking one of its luxurious apartments in Burswood, Perth that is designed for the ultimate in urban living space. Its proximity to Perth’s premiere entertainment precinct, new sports stadium and connectivity to Perth CBD, Swan River, freeway and airport makes Fusion apartments the ideal residential address for active living. The latest development by Lumen Properties is its de Oasis apartments in Beckenham, Perth. This 50 unit apartment development has set a benchmark for modern and affordable luxury living which delivers uncompromising quality and value for money – including stylish architectural design, secure parking, modern finishes and a swimming pool. Buyers will enjoy an additional 2 years guaranteed rental return of 5% for every purchase of a de Oasis apartment during the Tawau expo. OZ Property will be marketing its Dominion development in South Bank, Melbourne which is a 1-bedroom unit with a car park priced at A$410,000. Its sales package includes 7 years Guaranteed Rental Returns 5% and free legal fees. The SHAREDA Property Hunter Expo Tawau 2015 will be opened from 10am – 9pm daily and admission is free. Visitors are also invited to the “Buka Puasa Buffet Dinner” which will be served from 6pm – 8pm at the expo venue. For more information, please visit https://www.propertyhunter.com. my/expo or call Victor Yong at +60 13 835 1898 or e-mail victor@ maxxmedia.com.my

KK Property Prospects Are Good, Says Report

he idea of owning your first home may seem overwhelming, and appears to be increasingly out of reach for wage earners here, said an article in New Sabah Times. The prices of residential properties in urban areas are increasing at a faster pace than before, spurred by the influx of residents lured by rapid developments across the country. The government has defined ‘affordable housing’ as those priced below RM300,000. While public-spirited real estate developers have pledged to build such units along with government housing agencies, the price range looks ‘ridiculously low’ when viewed against the market trend. According to valuation firm Rahim & Co’s Sabah Branch manager Max Sylver Sintia, in The Edge/ Rahim & Co Housing Property Monitor first quarter of 2015 said, that the value of singlestorey terraced house in Sabah is continually rising. “Existing 1-storey terraced houses in areas closer to the city centre, such as Luyang, have larger land areas of more than 2,200 sq ft (intermediate units), making them very attractive to home-buyers. The asking price for non-intermediate units with land areas of 3,000 to 4,100 sq ft is as high as RM800,000,” Max was

quoted as saying. According to him, the highest price growth was seen in Taman Nelly Phase 9 (Kolombong area, +10 percent to RM330,000) and Taman Tuan Huat (off Jalan Penampang, +10 percent to RM275,000). The overall average price growth of 1-storey terraced house was 3.33 percent. Meanwhile two-storey terraced houses recorded an average price growth of 8.24 percent or about RM36,500 in the first quarter of 2015 compared with RM27,100 in first quarter of 2014. Existing 2-storey terraced houses in Jalan Tuaran and near Taman Rimba are going for an average price of RM400,000. By comparison, those in Phase 3 of Wah Mie’s Taman Rimba are priced at RM558,000. Both developments are located in the vicinity of Bandar Sierra/Grand Merdeka developments. On the other hand, the 1Borneo Condominium and Jesselton Condominium were the best performers with prices rising RM20 psf to RM360 psf at the former and RM30 psf to RM540 psf at the latter. With the exception of Likas Square, Alam Damai and Radiant Tower, the other condominiums sampled by the monitor recorded aboveaverage growth. Overall, condo prices grew 0.93 percent in first quarter of 2015 compared with 0.75 percent in fourth quarter of 2014. Except for Jesselton Condominium, Alam Damai and The Peak Condominium, which saw a price growth of 1.9 percent, 2 percent

and 3.5 percent respectively, the rest of the condominiums sampled by the monitor did not register any quarter-on-quarter growth. Nevertheless, due to escalating land and development costs and the scarcity of suitable sites for landed residential projects, condominiums are expected to continue to fare well. Harrington Suites by Interland Properties Sdn Bhd in Luyang, near Gaya College, which is expected to be completed in 2016, is priced at RM700 psf to RM900 psf. Existing condos in the area are going for RM500 psf to RM600 psf. While a wage-earner’s prospect of owning his own home may mathematically look up 10-20 years after he starts working, real estate gurus continue to advise ‘buy what you can afford, as soon as you can’ instead of being choosy or waiting to build up one’s savings. “By the time you save enough, the property you desire may have risen beyond your reach,” said a real estate negotiator here. “Buy one you can afford, and before long it may appreciate sufficiently for you to consider buying a better one.” Property portal The PropertyGuru. com.my forecasts that the prices for residential homes and high rise residentials will definitely increase over the coming years. “With rising costs of living and scarcity of urban lands, prices of houses are expected to be on the rise in the long term view. Therefore, young buyers are encouraged to buy their first home as soon as they can afford to do so,” it urged.

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FeatureD Property EVENt| UEM Sunrise

UEM Sunrise East Malaysia Property Showcase Gets Positive Response From Local Investors

roperty developers from Peninsular Malaysia are increasingly looking towards investors in Sabah and Sarawak to invest in their properties and diversify their client list. UEM Sunrise Berhad, the master developer of Nusajaya, one of the five flagship zones of Iskandar Malaysia in Johor, has added East Malaysia into its series of annual roadshow, covering the major cities of Kota Kinabalu, Tawau and Sandakan in Sabah, and Kuching, Miri and Bintutlu in Sarawak. The Nusajaya properties showcased during the roadshow included Almãs @Puteri Harbour, Nusa Idaman Twin Villas II, Ofiria @East Ledang, Bayu Angkasa and the upcoming new development, Estuari.

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Almãs @Puteri Harbour, situated on approximately 12.22 acres, is an integrated development comprising of residential, office and retail components nestled in the award-winning Puteri Harbour and home to main attractions such as the Puteri Harbour Satellite Clubhouse, The Little Red Cube and Hotel Jen (formerly known as Traders Hotel). According to a spokesperson of UEM Sunrise, its residential component, Almas Suites, which stands majestically in a single block of 34 storeys, is very popular not only because of its enviable location next to a marina but also for its more affordable onebedroom units priced at RM900 per sq ft, within a premium neighbourhood where units usually range from RM1,200 – 1,300 per sq ft.

Nusa Idaman is a hillside suburb that spans 250 acres which is conveniently located amidst a 343-acre nature reserve. Its eight individual precincts including Twin Villas II, come with individual parks and comprehensive security features where accessibility is limited to a single entry-exit point at each precinct with guard post and perimeter fencing. The exclusive semi-detached Twin Villas II units are priced from RM1.5 million and above. The modern and contemporary Ofiria @East Ledang is an inspiring coveted garden community within the award-winning East Ledang, where there are altogether 31 gardens and seven parks. It comprises six blocks of threestorey townhouses with built up ranging from 2,330 sqft to 2,561 sq ft.

Privacy is at the optimum here with private lifts servicing between 2 – 6 units only. There are three different floorplans with units designed with a balcony garden facing the swimming pool having the luxury of direct access to the pool via a private path. These features have made Offiria@East Ledang a popular choice among international investors from more than 20 countries. UEM Sunrise is looking forward to attract more local investors, particularly from East Malaysia, to take up the opportunity to enjoy the prestigious lifestyle that is the epitome of East Ledang. Bayu Angkasa is yet another thriving real-estate in Nusajaya. This urban residential development spreads across 8.49

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FeatureD Property EVENt| UEM Sunrise

acres of freehold land and features 322 tastefully designed apartment units which has a Gross Development Value of approximately RM128 million. The guarded and gated development offers a secure living environment with security access cards and 24-hour surveillance in place. Estuari is built on 394.41 acres of land in the north of Kota Iskandar. It consists of 3,785 mixed landed and high rise residential units with terraces sitting on large built-up areas in a gated and guarded environment. It is within five kilometres of Johor Baru via the Nusajaya Highway and less than 15 kilometres from the Custom and Immigration Quarantine Complex via the Second Link Expressway. The UEM showcase series in Sabah and Sarawak ended on a positive note with the target of creating awareness of the investment potential of Nusajaya met, and which will hopefully translate into a higher rate of purchase of its range of affordable and high-end properties.

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EAST MALAYSIA PROPERTY NEWS

The Reasons Why SESB CCC Is Unfair And Should Be Removed - Junz Wong

contribution to build their basic infrastructures to provide electricity to the developments when SESB will be the one profiteering from the utility business thereafter. When a developer buys a land, a portion of the land has to be given free to SESB for sub station, has to buy their transformer, has to help SESB dig and bury cable under ground, install the electricity poles and wires, only for SESB to do business and earn profits. Therefore, it is totally not fair to Sabahans. He added that SESB should come out with their own capital to do business.

ikas Assemblyman, Junz Wong has urged SESB capital contribution to be removed as it is unfair for Sabahans.

“Local Housing Ministry has proposed to reduce SESB capital contribution. I think that is another brilliant proposal by government but I think we should materialize it. People of Sabah will be grateful and appreciate the government if SESB capital contribution is removed,” he said during the state assembly recently. He pointed that SESB capital contribution should be removed for two precise reasons. “It is one factor causing high prices of housing property,” he said.

“From SHAREDA report, last year alone developers have paid SESB capital contribution at a staggering figure of RM180million. That’s the total amount of extra money Sabahans have paid on properties last year,” he spoke on. Junz also boldly said that SESB was caught lying with its pants down when SESB reply statement claimed that they only have received RM72million of capital contribution. “SHAREDA responded that 34 members alone have paid a staggering capital contribution of RM121million,” he said. He also questioned why house buyers or developers in Sabah should pay for SESB capital

Top Developers JC Alliance and Hap Seng Land Inks JV Project In Putatan with Hap Seng Land to establish Hap Seng Land Development &amp; JCA Sdn Bhd for a residential highrise development within the vicinity of Taman Seri Ketiau in Putatan. 2

C Alliance a renowned developer in developing the Putatan area with its Ketiau flagship has recently joint ventured

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Datuk Edward Lee Ming Foo, JP, Managing Director of Hap Seng Consolidated Berhad and Dato’ Ir. John Chee Shi Tong, JP, Managing Director of JC Alliance were

“SESB always gives stupid excuses that they are unable get enough capital to finance infrastructure development for electricity connections and that this utility business can hardly earn profits,” spoke Junz, who believed that the earlier statement is a lie. He said that SESB had earned a lucrative revenue of RM1,427,693,000 in 2013 financial year alone but the declared profit after tax was only RM13,861,000 which is less than 1 percent of the revenue. “That was the money collected from consumers in Sabah including the capital contribution from developers. We want to know where is the collected revenue of RM1.427

present at the joint venture signing ceremony which was held on 17 October 2014 in Kuala Lumpur. The joint venture has brought the best of both worlds from the Sabah development scene by synergising JC Alliance’s experiences and large sum of land bank in Putatan area and property colossal Hap Seng Land who has delivered Sabah. JC Alliance’s strategies in the joint venture of to fast track the

billion? How was it spent?” “With such enormous revenue collected, SESB could still claim that they needed capital contribution and higher electricity tariff to sustain this utility business?”

World Bank Report Highlights Worsening KK Traffic Woes

“As reported, GKK is expected to hit one million population in 2020. This is worrying if you look at the fast decreasing number of people using public transport in KK and the equally fast increasing number of people driving their own cars.

State government must demand SESB to come clean by revealing its account publicly to prove that the revenue collected was spent prudently and the high electricity tariffs charge was indeed a fair charge, he urged. There is nothing wrong to demand this because SESB being the monopolized utility provider has the social responsibility to ensure that Sabahans are not overcharged. “I ask Chief Minister of Sabah Government not to change the CEO but to demand TNB to return the 80 percent shares to Sabah State Government and run the utility business on its own. Or consider to let Sabah interested companies to take over SESB with Sabah government as the gatekeeper,” he said. “I sincerely ask the govt to make a stand and take this matter seriously. Do not let SESB exploit the people of Sabah including the developers when they are already given a protected monopolistic utility business environment.”

expansion of their development area with their newly inked JV partner Hap Seng Land and acquiring more landbank in Putatan for future developments are Managing Director of JC Alliance, Dato’ Ir. John Chee foresees greater growth to spur in the area as the centre of gravity of Kota Kinabalu is seen to be shifting south along with the addition of current road widening to be completed soon and Pan Borneo Highway on the horizon.

The situation in GKK could still be salvaged with “early intervention”, as changes could still be carried out to reform its whole transportation system.

he ever increasing traffic congestion in Kota Kinabalu has become a more serious problem than we may have thought, said a report by The Borneo Post. As it causes people to spend more time behind the wheel and burn more fuel, the problem is a drain on the city’s economy and could potentially be the biggest obstacle hindering its progress in the future. A report by the World Bank comparing Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur revealed that the smaller city actually fared worst in some aspects when it came to traffic issues. Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sabah Public Policy Bureau director Phoong Jin Zhe, in sharing the report, noted that transportation costs in Malaysian cities were high compared to other East Asian cities. Compared to other countries, Malaysians spend a relatively large amount on transport costs and for us in Kota Kinabalu, it represents about 10 per cent of our household expenditures. This is shockingly higher than Kuala Lumpur and any other cities in Malaysia, and 59 percent higher

than East Asian countries such as Tokyo and Hong Kong. “In a never-been-done-before report, the World Bank used Greater Kuala Lumpur (GKL) and Greater Kota Kinabalu (GKK) as their case studies. This is very rare that Kota Kinabalu is highlighted by the World Bank, I think we should take it very seriously,” Phoong told reporters here recently. The World Bank estimated that traffic congestion had contributed GDP loss of 1.1 percent to 2.2 percent a year in Malaysia, according to Phoong. The report also warned that urban mobility was a key challenge to Malaysia’s developed-nation ambitions, where a failed and congested road system could not only become obstacles to economic growth but could destroy a city’s competitiveness as a whole. The report also described transport solution for GKL as “Late Intervention”, as the urban sprawl was too fast over the last 30 years and its population as well as numbers of private vehicles had increased drastically until it was too late to build a public transportation system that can effectively cope with the immense pressure.

“From 34% in 1996, the percentage of the population using public transport dropped to 12% in 2008 and four to 8% in 2012. At the same time, the increase in private transport in KK has been one of the fastest in Malaysia. “While GKL represents a case of late intervention, GKK is in need of ‘early intervention’ solutions and could offer lessons to medium-sized populated areas such as Kuching and Kuantan. But we need to do it before it’s too late,” he said. Phoong urged the government to heed the report and take preemptive measures accordingly. He said city planners should adopt the World Bank’s suggestion to set up a lead integrated transportation agency to help transform the whole transportation network in GKK. He said the lead agency should be tasked with the planning and delivery of public transport solutions of the city. He noted that as of now transportrelated powers were controlled by various agencies such as Public Works Department, Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board, City Hall, and various other state and federal agencies without proper coordination. “It is high time for us to transform the old model of relying on private transport into a comprehensive and well-connected public

transportation network, to provide better connectivity and to reduce traffic congestion. In order to achieve this, the government must have commitment to stop the increase in private vehicles and build better public transport starting from now. “It was mentioned by Prime Minister in the 11th Malaysia Plan that Kota Kinabalu would be the ‘Growth Catalyst City’ and that the status of the city would be uplifted to increase its competitiveness. However, he failed to outline the road map on how to make KK a better city with better connectivity. “Although DBKK has released its Public Transportation Masterplan as well as Greater KK Plan, it seemed their implementation is not on track and DBKK appeared lacking power and resources to carry the plans through,” he said. Phoong opined the proposed integrated transport agency should not be placed under the control of the federal government but be fully decentralized to DBKK. He said DBKK should be given full power and support, including financially, to develop its own public transport system. “We cannot let SPAD or the federal government to decide everything. In most successful cities, the power in public transportation is controlled by city government, not federal or central government.

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Kota Kinabalu Joint venture agreement signing ceremony, Datuk Edward Lee Ming Foo, JP, Managing Director of Hap Seng Consolidated Berhad and Dato’ Ir. John Chee Shi Tong, JP, Managing Director of JC Alliance Kota Kinabalu

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FEATURE INTERVIEW | Alex Ting

Elevating The Standard Of Real Estate Agents An interview with Alex Ting, Chairman of MIEA Sarawak Branch

he Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA) headquartered in Petaling jaya is the recognized body representing all registered real estate agents in the country. Since its inception in the 1970s, it has endeavored to develop, monitor and maintain the professional integrity of the real estate industry by establishing branches in major cities in the country to provide the necessary support for its members.

(REN) and increasing to 30 upon approval by BOVAEA.

The MIEA Sarawak branch was established in 2013 and has since been working tirelessly to resolve critical issues affecting the progress and development of the industry in Sarawak.

MIEA is very concerned with the serious shortage of Registered Estate Agents in Sarawak. As such, since 2013, MIEA has been conducting the Professional Diploma in Estate Agent Course in conjunction with Open University Malaysia (OUM). We have just commenced recruitment for our next intake in Kuching. The students are still required to pass the BOVAEA exams for their registration.

Alex Ting, who was appointed chairman of MIEA Sarawak branch for the 2015/16 term, sat down Property Hunter to talk about these challenges, and the steps being taken to address them. PH: How many registered real estate agents are there in Sarawak? AT: According to The Board of Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents Malaysia (BOVAEA), there are 44 registered estate agents in Sarawak. PH: Are unregistered real estate agents a serious threat in Sarawak? AT: Yes, there are a large number of illegal brokers in Sarawak. They are a definite threat to the Registered Estate Agent. In fact, BOVAEA spent RM1 million in 2014 to publicize the severe penalty under the Act, and BOVAEA will soon conduct raids in Sarawak. Each Registered Estate Agent can only employ a maximum of 20 Registered Estate Negotiators

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PH: Is response to the training courses organized by MIEA for real estate agents still positive? How many more courses will MIEA conduct this year? AT: In 2013/2014, the negotiator courses conducted by MIEA trained over 15,000 negotiators. So yes, the response has been very positive with another 55 people attending the latest course in Kuching last month.

The course is very intensive and as most of the students are working, many have difficulty coping. MIEA is looking at how we can give more to help the students. In 2015, besides the Diploma course, MIEA plans to organise 2 Negotiators Certification Course (NCC) as well as 1 Real Estate Professional Seminar (REPS), which meets BOVAEA CPD programme. PH: How has the real estate market fared in the first half of 2015?

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by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) on all banks. LRV 70% for 3rd unit. Increase in RPGT. Uncertaintly of the impact of GST resulting in buyers adopting the “wait and see” attitude.

However, we are seeing signs of increase in sales this month, and we project a better H2. PH: Can you elaborate on which market segment has shown an increase, decrease or remained unchanged over this period? AT: During the last 6 months, even though the number of units sold has decreased, the house price has remained steady. In fact, there has been an increase in sales of multi storey apartments, both in number of units and price per square feet. For the landed properties there have been very few new launches during the last 9 months. Therefore going forward, we foresee a slight increase in prices as the increase in cost of construction, because of GST, are passed on. PH: Where are the real estate hotspots in Sarawak? AT: Real estate hotspots in Sarawak remain in Kuching, especially in the condominium market. Even Sibu and Miri have shown serious signs of interest in condominiums. This is due to Generation-Y and retirees wanting to downsize as their children move out and for ease of travel and security.

AT: During 2015 H1, the market was soft as various measures by the government to cool down the assumed bubble took effect. The measures included:

PH: Now that you are the Chairman of MIEA Sarawak, what is your vision for the organization under your leadership?

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AT: My foremost vision is to see an uplift in our standards so that

No DIBS scheme “Responsible lending” guideline

estate agents can be accepted as professionals. To this end, we will be organizing more training courses. I want to see estate agents practice professionalism so that we can be of international standard/recognition. My other vision is, with the help of BOVAEA, to seriously curtail the activities of illegal brokers. Real estate is a big industry, contributing to some 25% of the state’s economy. It is therefore imperative that estate agents play an important role. PH: What are the top 3 changes that you would like to implement in the real estate agent industry? AT: The top 3 changes I would like to see are: 1.

Estate agents must be knowledgeable, well trained and professional in their dealings. Engagements with other Associations (e.g. Sarawak Advocates Association and Bankers Association) to inform them of the illegal activities (brokering) of some of their members. Educate the public to only deal with Registered Estate Agents and RENs.

PH: What do you foresee to be your biggest challenge during your term? AT: Curtailing the activities of illegal brokers. PH: Any final words for those aspiring property agents / negotiators out there? AT: To all aspiring estate agents and negotiators, come and join this noble profession. It is not only very challenging but also very rewarding.

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EAST MALAYSIA PROPERTY NEWS

Why Are Sabahans Paying More For Everything: Wong To Bring Cabotage Issue To Coffin

atuk Seri Panglima Wong Khen Thau has urged the government to locate and find a solution to help Sabah deal with the effects of the Cabotage Policy. Wong, who effectively became the past president of Federation of Sabah Industries (FSI) recently said, “The effect of the policy is on the people, the goods and the industry in Sabah. Don’t get it wrong. We never challenge the cabotage policy per say. We only challenge the effect of the cabotage policy on the people in Sabah. “Any right minded person in Sabah here, you can imagine this policy is affecting us. If you say no effect to the people of Sabah, I think they are lying. I don’t care who gave whatever opinion, whether they are a minister, or prime minister. “I stress my statement; I carry my statement to the coffin. This is a real fact. Directly or indirectly it is affecting people,” said Wong adamantly at a press conference held after the FSI annual general meeting here. He said partial liberalization of the cabotage in 2009 did not solve the issue and the cabotage is indirectly hindering foreign ships from coming into Sabah directly as they are not allowed to bring goods out of Sabah. “For the simple fact that to say that cabotage policy the problem is already resolved, then I believe it is too naïve to say that. As far as we are concerned the problem is still there.” “I think it is basically a very misleading statement. Of course, the minister concerned who said that, we respect his opinion and if

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he thinks the problem is already resolved, I wish him good luck. But the people in Sabah must be informed properly. That is what I feel,” he said. Wong added that this alone hinders Sabah’s export potential among many other things. “We do not want to argue why the government wants to keep the policy but while you are keeping it people in Sabah are asking for something.

“We are not against anyone but we want to deal with the issue. For the sake of the industry in Sabah, can the government do something for us such as the development of Sepanggar Bay as the hub of the far east,” he said, while adding that the Philippines had already sought for the United States of American government’s assistance to develop a regional hub in the country. Wong also highlighted the absence of developing the Sepanggar Bay in the 11th Malaysia Plan. “If they say it is already gazetted, where? Then why didn’t they do it? To seek for the funding they should put it under the 11th Malaysia Plan so the federal government can come in but why is it not in?” questioned Wong. He also urged the federal and the state government to conduct a proper study on the logistics supply chain to pinpoint the source that is causing the difference in price between Peninsular Malaysia and

Sabah.

general, more expensive than in Peninsular Malaysia. Don’t tell me every business is profiteering here,” he said.

“They should do a proper study. I have given the benefit of the doubt. The highest contributor to this is definitely in the shipping. “There are ten entities in the logistic supply chain, if each entity contributes 8 percent to the total logistics 1 cost that would account for 80 percent of it, so where is the 20 percent? The Ministry of Industrial Development however said it is 6 percent, which will make it 60 percent. What happened to the 40 percent?” queried Wong about the unaccountable percentage contributing to the total logistics cost that would affect the price. He also said that the implementation of the cabotage policy in Malaysia should not be compared to places like Indonesia, who is also implementing the cabotage policy. “If it doesn’t benefit the people in general, why should they have it? Singapore and Hong Kong do not have cabotage policy, Europe already do away with their cabotage policy. Places like Indonesia have cabotage policy because it is obviously benefitting them. “In our case, who is benefitting from the cabotage policy? The people of Sabah and Sarawak? You can tell me one thing that we can benefit. The government is already very strongly helping their shipping industry only. So helping the shipping the industry at our expense?” He felt that the leaders and even national leaders have been misled

SHAREDA Seeks Faster Development Plan Approval viewed in the interest of economic stability and viability in accordance with demand,” said SHAREDA Vice President Ben Kong who was also at the courtesy call.

“That is exactly the statement made by one or two of the leaders, which is very unfair to the business community. As if the business community is not contributing to the society. Mind you that, we are the largest contributor to the national income tax. We have been paying income tax and paying for the development of the country,” added Wong. Wong also reiterated the need for a logistics council that has been proposed by Tan Sri Pairin Kitingan by the Ministry of Transport. “If they cannot convince, they confuse them. The people in Sabah are confused especially the people in rural areas, who in fact are the most affected ones. The elite people in Sabah who have benefited from a little bit of education would understand what is happening,” said Wong. Blaming the unstandardized prices between the Peninsular and East Malaysia on unscrupulous business practices is also illogical, said Wong.

“Now the whole thing is thrown back to Sabah. So now you are accusing every businessman of profiteering including Bumiputera businessmen. In any business, we accept that there are such people like the good, bad and ugly. The bad will obviously go for profiteering, increase the price unnecessarily. “But don’t tell me every businessman is profiteering because now the present market prices for goods are more or less the same here. Our goods are in

“It is very unfortunate; we have been talking about it. Tan Sri Pairin Kitingan also with us but there is nothing happening. This is the sad thing. That is what I said earlier on, we change our format. Last time we ask them to abolish the cabotage it will solve the problem but since they still want to maintain then okay you need to do something for us here because the industry in Sabah is not growing, if the minister is saying that the industry is growing, I don’t know,” he shrugged. Datuk Mohd Basri Abd Gafar, the new FSI president reiterated the need to set up a logistics council. “Now Sabahans are divided, I think the best way is to have that logistics council where all stakeholders are in a meeting place so they come together and discuss and make decisions there. If Kuala Lumpur is not willing to have a logistic council, Sabah logistics council with Ministry Infrastructure, maybe start with Tan Sri Pairin and the stakeholders. “To me that is a better approach but it is not guaranteed if we will be able to achieve this, but of course there are other issues. FSI doesn’t exist just because of cabotage there is so many other issues that we need to address.

he Sabah Housing and Real Estate Developers Association (SHAREDA) has expressed his concern to mayor Datuk Abidin Madingkir over the time taken to approve development plans. As reported by The Borneo Post, SHAREDA President Datuk Francis Goh pointed out to Abidin during a recent courtesy call that via a joint memorandum between SHAREDA and other professional bodies such as Persatuan Arkitek Malaysia (PAM Sabah Chapter), a proposed top-down system has been accepting in principle by Central Board chairman Datuk Matius bin Sator who is also the permanent secretary of the Local Government and Housing Ministry, including Hai Murshidi Haji Sapie, director of Town and Regional Planning Development. “Thus, thus will shorten the procedure by at least 12 months as well as reducing the risk of property developers,” he said. Francis said Abidin agreed with the proposed rules as long as it is within the framework of the law provision in the planning act approved by State Government. The SHAREDA President also said the Central Board has improved

tremendously in the past one year to minimize and shorten the delay in the development plan approval. “Right now if with the new proposed top-down system, the Central Board can anytime approve the development plan within three to six months upon presentation of complete documents as long as the zoning and planning of the area were complied with.”

Francis said SHAREDA welcomed the proposed formation of a special task force by the mayor to work together and find solutions to improve the approval processes for a more effective property development growth in order to feature Kota Kinabalu as one of the four catalyst Growth Cities in Malaysia as announced by the Prime Minister recently. During the courtesy call, Francis introduced to Abidin the new office bearers of SHAREDA council for the 2015-2017 term and shared same opinions and perspectives from the developers on how to improve Kota Kinabalu City as a Catalyst Growth City.

“The local authorities concerned are duty bound to formulate and announced all policies adopted by the State Cabinet to the relevant authorities or agencies and to property developers,” he remarked.

“The significant drop of property development from a gross development value of RM7.65 billion to RM3.747 billion as at the second quarter of 2015 in Sabah is an apparent concern. “thus, we are asking not solely for the interest of property developers, but any new regulations and procedures should be

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Datuk Seri Panglima Wong Khen Thau Datuk Abidin Madingkir

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EAST MALAYSIA PROPERTY NEWS

10 Flyovers To Be Built In Kota Kinabalu To Ease Traffic

he Works Ministry has submitted proposals to build 10 flyovers at four major roads in Kota Kinabalu under the 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP), in addition to two flyovers currently under construction at Jalan Lintas. Works Minister Datuk Seri Haji Fadhillah Haji Yusuf said whether they would be approved is expected to be announced in June this year. Fadhillah said this in response to Barisan Nasional (BN) Senator Datuk Chin Su Phin’s question at the Dewan Negara sitting here. Chin, who is also Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) deputy president, had asked the Works Ministry the number of flyovers that would be built in Kota Kinabalu by 2020 besides the two flyovers currently under construction, as reported in media. Fadhillah said the Government has approved an allocation of RM262 million to upgrade two intersections along Jalan Lintas by building two flyovers at Jalan Kolam and Jalan Tuaran intersections. The scope of the project involves expanding the road to a dual threelane carriageway that stretches 6.3 kilometres, he said.

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Luyang & Inanam Traffic Pressure To Ease With New Flyovers

Fadhillah said this project was part of the outer ring road project in Kota Kinabalu which would be implemented in phases as it incurred a huge cost of RM1.11 billion. Apart from the projects at Jalan Lintas, Fadhillah said the ministry through Phase 2 of the Highway Network Development Plan (HNDP) in Sabah and Sarawak, has identified several other intersections to be upgraded, namely: 1.

To build three flyovers at Jalan Kingfisher, Jalan UMS junction and Indah Permai junction to upgrade Jalan Sulaman/UMS To build three flyovers at Jalan Penampang Bypass, Jalan Lido junction and Lintas Plaza junction, which are part of the second phase of upgrading works for Jalan Lintas.

To build three flyovers at Perkasa roundabout, Jalan Istiadat junction and Jalan Pasir Putih junction to upgrade Jalan Tun Fuad.

To build a flyover at Damai/Foh Sang intersection to upgrade Jalan Kolam-Minintod.

alaysia’s private car ownership level is fast catching up to those in wealthier countries that have an even longer history of car culture. This affinity with car ownership as a symbol of freedom and flexibility can wear pretty thin once you are caught up in a bumper-to-bumper traffic jam which is becoming more and more common on our roads. What is more worrying is that the problem of traffic congestion is no longer confined to city centres but also its outlying areas.

Kota Kinabalu has been wrestling with traffic congestion in its high-growth areas along the main road arteries of Bundusan-Luyang and Inanam-Menggatal which has reached acute levels. The construction of flyovers in critical areas with high traffic flow is currently underway to alleviate the problem and bring some relieve

to road users who have had to contend with daily long commutes. The areas identified for the new flyovers are at the intersection of Jalan Lintas / Jalan Kolam, and Jalan Lintas / Jalan Tuaran Mile 5 ½. These two intersections cut through the city’s most populous residential and commercial hubs which have seen an accelerated growth pattern over the last 5-10 years with the development of new high-rise condominiums, office shop lots and industrial buildings. The number of road vehicles has also increased concurrently with this rapid expansion and the resulting severe traffic congestion has impeded the progress of new property developments and economic activities in these areas. Construction of these flyovers is not only timely but essential to improve traffic flow and connectivity between the city and its residential and commercial hubs, and to create a more conducive living environment.

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Traffic congestion in Kota Kinabalu Luyang flyover construction site

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FEATURE CONSTRUCTION PROGRESS| The Park Residence

The Park Residence

Alluring luxury in luscious green setting

he construction for Ibraco’s maiden condominium project at the prime area of Tabuan Tranquility, The Park Residence, is running in accordance to schedule. Construction for all four blocks are running concurrently, and is at approximately 50% completion stage. Accentuating a new model of urban living, The Park Residence is strategically located within minutes drive to Sarawak’s educational hub of higher learning, research and technology, city centre, banks, eateries, schools, medical centres, community market, and many others. Once completed, the ‘Live In The Park’ condominium will be facilitated with lavish club house complete with a gymnasium overlooking the central green and swimming pool connecting the curvy lazy river that reinforces elegance and positivity, children

playground, bbq pit, indoor games room, guest rooms, and a ground floor private storage room for each unit. Residents can relax and interact in comfort in a stylish and spacious contemporary-design lounge or chill out in the open pavillion. The 10-storey and 6-storey exclusive condominium consisting 90 units and 88 units respectively, presents a variety of three-bedroom, four-bedroom, and penthouse units, accommodating to the various lifestyles of its residents. It also offers exclusive privacy to its owners by engaging total and comprehensive security system ensuring maximum comfort living - security check, CCTV, card access and intercom in each unit.

This residence, set against an atmosphere of lush tropical green, welcome you home to be rejuvenated in a harmonious and serene environment, perfumed with nature’s flora and fauna notes.

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The Park Residence Block A Entrance View

The Park Residence Block D View

The Park Residence | www.ibracoberhad.com

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HOT TOPIC | Property Development and the 11MP

GREATER KUALA LUMPUR PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT

PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT AND THE

THE RAIL CONNECTION

ELEVENTH MALAYSIA PLAN

he 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP) announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in May 2015 is the last five-year plan that is supposed to lead the nation into ‘developed’ status by 2020. Although there was not much to get excited about in terms of property development, the massive investment in development expenditure, which has been increased from RM223.6 billion to RM260 billion, is expected to bring some benefits to the market. Half of the RM260 billion has been allotted to infrastructure expenditure but analysts are however cautiously optimistic given the government’s determination to reduce budget deficit and the current market sentiments in the property sector. The lukewarm response is also partly due to the fact

that the mega projects mentioned during the announcement of the 11MP are more of a reiteration of pipeline projects that have been anticipated by the market. “The revelation of a few construction projects, namely the MRT2 and Pan Borneo Highway is merely a continuation of either the 10MP or the economic transformation plan (ETP), says M&A Securities Sdn Bhd analyst Rosnani Rasul. “Given the fiscal constraint, we are not surprised that there will not be fresh construction projects to be rolled out until 2020. It is not a bad thing either as the construction players will still be very busy given that the government will lift off about RM120 billion of railway-related projects until 2020,” she says.

FOCUS MALAYSIA, AN ENGLISH BUSINESS WEEKLY:

Although significant, the development of the third Light Rail Transit (LRT) system to further enhance connectivity and mobility among residents in Greater Kuala Lumpur, and the MRT Line Two between Selayang and Putrajaya can only do so much to influence property development.

now is, how high can property prices go before people stop buying.

Developments within close proximity to the lines and stations would certainly have the added advantage but the main challenge for the property market and its players would be the intense competition for land along the MRT lines which would eventually push up the price of property.

“If you go to property exhibitions regularly enough, you may notice that some of the properties that were marketed last year, are still marketed now. This is not to be mistaken with new phases,” he says, adding that sales also have slowed following the tightening of loan applications by banks.

Construction of the MRT2 and LRT3 in Greater Kuala Lumpur, totaling RM34 billion, will be the key selling points for many property developers. Projects like Mah Sing Group’s D’sara Sentral, Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd’s (MRCB) Kwasa Sentral, Tropicana Corp Bhd’s Tropicana Gardens, SP Setia Bhd’s KL Eco City and Sunway Bhd’s Velocity projects are prime examples of property developers capitalizing on the MRT factor as a key selling point.

A property observer remarked that there are already signs of the property market slowing down particularly in Johor and parts of Greater Kuala Lumpur.

HO CHIN SOON OF HO CHIN SOON RESEARCH SDN BHD, A PROPERTY INFORMATION COMPANY: The property segments that stand to benefit most from the new MRT lines will be the residential sector in the outskirts of the Klang Valley and the commercial sector in downtown KL, especially in the central business district.

The last two years have seen more players moving towards mid- to high-end development, banking on this advantage. It is an eventuality that land prices will escalate as everybody is scrambling to grab land close to the MRT and LRT stations. Higher land cost means higher property prices so the question

The one consolation for the property development sector would be the benefits that can be derived from the investment in infrastructure development, particularly the urban rail-related infrastructure in Greater Kuala Lumpur, the Penang Transport Master Plan, and the Pan Borneo Highway. Here’s a quick look at how infrastructure developments during the 11MP will impact the property market in selected hotspots in Malaysia.

Greater Kuala Lumpur / Klang Valley rail ridership Passenger, million +7% p.a. 171

ERL KL Monorail KTM Komuter

190

187 5 24

226 9 24

215 7 25

44 60

LRT Ampang Line

LRT Kelana Jaya Line

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Growth, % p.a.

22%

Source: Suruhanjaya Pengangkutan Awam Darat (SPAD)

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HOT TOPIC | Property Development and the 11MP

PENANG PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT

office versatile office (SOVO) Suites, the 37and 39-storey condominiums and a 16-storey business hotel. Its Street Mall and SOVO Suites have already been launched.

UNLOCKING THE GRIDLOCK The Penang Transport Master Plan costing RM27 billion will be rolled out in stages beginning in 2017 with the aim to resolve traffic woes in the state. It involves massive infrastructure works and a comprehensive public transport system incorporating light rail transit (LRT), trams, buses and catamarans, expanding roads and building new highways. It also includes an ambitious undersea tunnel linking George Town and Butterworth.

TRANSFORMATION OF PENANG’S WATERFRONT Improved connectivity and accessibility will augur well for a landmark waterfront development in Gelugor town, located on the eastern coastline of Penang. This 50-50 joint venture between Singapore-based Perennial Real Estate Holdings Limited (PREH) and IJM Land Berhad will turn the 13ha freehold waterfront site into what is described as ‘Penang’s first mega integrated waterfront icon’ with retail, entertainment, recreational, residential, business, hospitality and Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) components. Spanning about 4.1 million sq ft in total gross floor area, the preliminary concept of the onestop destination is expected to comprise a shopping mall and thematic shops, residential towers, an office tower, two hotels with over 750 rooms and a convention centre. In close proximity will be landmarks such as the first and second Penang Bridges, and Phase 1 of The Light Waterfront Penang, a residential development by IJM Land comprising 1,177 condominium units and luxury villas which have been largely completed and almost fully sold. The

total development cost is estimated to be more than RM3 billion.

Another prominent integrated development is Town Square Bintulu by Ibraco Berhad with its offerings of shop office, small office home office (SOHO), an office block, mall and hotel as well as condominiums and apartments with 75 units of the 3-storey modern shop offices already launched.

BRIDGING THE GAP The opening of the RM4.5 billion Second Penang Bridge in March 2014 is also slowly opening up the southern part of mainland Penang and its periphery towns. Batu Kawan in southern Seberang Perai is slotted to be the next satellite township after Bayan Lepas and Seberang Jaya with mixed developments comprising commercial districts, housing estates and education hub. Upcoming projects by Eco World Development Group Bhd which was reported to have accepted a letter of award from Penang Development Corporation to develop the 450-acre Eco Marina, a mixed development with an estimated gross development value of RM10 billion, is poised to benefit from its strategic location close to the Second Penang Bridge. Other notable projects in the pipeline include the deal between Aspen Vision and Ikano Pte Ltd, the Ikea franchise company for Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, to have Ikea anchor a

PENANG WATERFRONT

Gelugor

Other major projects that are still under construction are Times Square Mall and Commerce Square Mall.

Batu Kawan PENANG SECOND BRIDGE

shopping mall, business centre and residential area covering 98 hectares of land. There is also the RM1 billion Penang Designer Village project consisting of a premier outlet shopping mall, hotel and mixed developments by PR Land Sdn Bhd, the operator of Sarawak’s premier mall, The Spring Mall. Batu Kawan may also be the next education hub, with the University of Hull and KDU slotted to set up a campus there. These developments are expected to have a positive and transformative effect on the property market in Penang in the coming decades.

Prices of new residential homes and commercial shophouses in Bintulu’s prime locations are reported to be on the rise, fuelled by demand from large-scale projects in Samalaju Industrial Park located some 60km away. The anticipated increase in resident population as a result of increased number of migrant workers, expatriates, investors and businesses from SCORE will make the property market in Bintulu more vibrant and competitive in the coming years.

On the Sibu property front, condominiums or apartments which is generally regarded as an unpopular residential sub-sector by the locals, has seen an increase in incoming supply of newly launched or under construction strata titled apartments such as Waterfront Residence, Lee Garden and Salim Height Apartment concentrated at Sibu Town Extension, Jalan Pedada and Jalan Salim. Although there is no significant improvement in demand for shophouses, its most significant shophouse development – Sibu Commercial Town Square – is progressing well with selling prices of the remaining unsold units continuing to rise.

WAITING IN THE WINGS Real estate on Sabah’s west coast is also expected to get a boost with the completion of the Pan Borneo Highway with towns such as Beaufort in the south-west region well-positioned to not only benefit from the highway accessibility but also its proximity to Brunei and Labuan. The development and activities from the Sabah Oil and Gas Terminal located in Kimanis is expected to spur property development in the surrounding areas particularly in Beaufort which has already seen several developments taking off

such as Bandar Mingo by VC Bumijaya Sdn Bhd, Lumat Centre 2 by Pemborong Hasil Emas Sdn Bhd and Beaufort Square by Kimis Development Sdn Bhd, which will add to the supply of residential and commercial properties in the area. Sabah’s tourism industry is poised to capitalize on the ease of travel offered by the Pan Borneo Highway to enhance connectivity to all its major tourist attractions and leisure destinations. The planning of the 299ha Tanjung Aru Eco Development as a premier tourism destination with residential, leisure and commercial components in a beachfront site will have a significant impact on the industry. As will the multi-million-ringgit Jesselton Quay and KK Waterfront projects in the CBD with the addition of new luxury hotels, high-end condominiums, office towers, lifestyle malls and a cruise terminal. The easy accessibility of these projects to Kota Kinabalu International Airport, with direct air links to domestic and international cities in the region, will only improve Kota Kinabalu’s standing as a regional transportation, tourism and business hub that will be a significant contributor to its future property development prospects.

Pan Borneo Highway A construction and upgrading of 1,663km of roads in Sarawak and Sabah, with 936km in Sarawak and 727km in Sabah

EAST MALAYSIA PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT

THE ROAD BETWEEN TWO CITIES The Pan-Borneo Highway, to be built at the cost of RM27 billion, involves the construction and upgrading of 1,663km of roads in Sarawak and Sabah, with 936km in Sarawak and 727km in Sabah. It is targeted to link all the major cities in East Malaysia, with the first phase launched in March 2015 involving construction of 43km from Nyabau to Bakun expected to be completed at the end of 2017, followed by the Tanjung Datu-

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Sematan-Miri-Limbang-Lawas stretch that is expected to be ready in the middle of 2023.

KEEPING SCORE The Pan Borneo Highway project would also benefit the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) located within the central region of Sarawak, stretching for 320km along the coast from Tanjung Manis to Samalaju, and extending

into the surrounding areas and the hinterland. The major urban centres within the Corridor are Sibu, Bintulu, Mukah and Kapit. Bintulu has already seen some significant changes in its property development landscape with integrated development projects such as Bintulu Paragon by Naim Holdings Bhd consisting of a 3-storey Street Mall and 6-storey small

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WEST MALAYSIA PROPERTY NEWS

Sharing news and information about various issues related to the property industry from Peninsular Malaysia.

Real Estate Agents Lose 40 Percent Sales To Bogus Agent Every Year - MIEA

he Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA) estimates that bogus agents have caused registered real estate agents to lose as much as 40 percent in sales last year, or about RM40 billion of the RM100 billion worth of property transactions that were carried out by ‘real estate agents’ that year, reported by The Edge Property. MIEA immediate past president Siva Shankar said the total value of property transactions done in 2014 were RM162.97 billion — for both the primary and secondary markets — and 60 percent of that or RM100 billion were carried out by real estate agents. Of the portion that were carried out by real estate agents, about 30 percent–40 percent were estimated to be deals sealed by bogus agents, Siva told reporters recently. Siva who is also a member of the The Board of Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents Malaysia

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(BOVAEA)’s Estate Agency Practice Committee (EAPC), together with chairman Eric Lim Chin Heng are waging a war against the bogus agents to safeguard the interest of its members, property owners and buyers. Lim said BOVAEA gets an average of 30–40 complaints a month pertaining to illegal agents, which he believes is just the tip of the ice bergs. He said the practice of the real estate agents and negotiators is regulated by the Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents Act 1981 and anyone who is not a registered agent but poses as one and engages in the selling or leasing of property on behalf of property owners for a fee or commission is breaking the law. Those found guilty of this could be fined RM300,000, jailed for three years, or both, said Lim. However, after 34 years of enforcement, no one has been

charged under the act, claimed Siva. Lim said the EAPC is currently working with the police’s commercial crime division to take action against illegal agents. 1 He highlighted four areas of illegal practices, including cheating, absconding with deposits, profiteering and misrepresentation. These areas would be the focus of EAPC in its latest campaign scheduled to be launched in endJuly to raise public awareness. Last year, BOVAEA launched its Real Estate Negotiator (REN) tag with identification numbers for its members as proof of their identity. There is a Quick Response (QR) code on each tag so customers can scan the code with their smart phones to check the agent’s background. The customer can also verify the agent’s REN number on BOVAEA’s website or call up the board, Lim said, adding that BOVAEA

has certified 16,000 real estate negotiators in the last two years. To be a registered agent under BOVAEA, one has to study for four years, undergo two years of practical period, and pass an oral test. “When an earnest deposit is paid to us, we are bound by law to hold the money in trust. If anything goes wrong, or the deal does not go through, we are obliged to return the money. If we don’t, we can lose our licence,” said Siva. Lim urged the public to engage registered real estate agents to avoid being cheated or getting stuck in a legal entanglement if a deal goes wrong.

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WEST MALAYSIA PROPERTY NEWS

EcoWorld Eyes To Launch Three Projects In London

Weaker Ringgit Will Boost Foreign Investment in Property Sector, Says Developer

SUBSCRIBE NOW! Subscribe With Us Today And Receive Free Notifications To Developer Launchings / Events & Property Hunter Events And News Updates Property Hunter - Sabah’s leading property magazine is packed with indepth property industry news, fresh perspectives, exclusive interviews, development progress, contribution from leaders of the industry, property launches, events and more from Sabah, Malaysia and around the region.

ith major approvals in place, Eco World Investment Co Ltd plans to launch three property projects in London over the next two years. As reported by The Star, with a total gross development value (GDV) of £2.257 billion (RM13.33 billion), the three projects are London City Island, Wardian London and Embassy Gardens. Eco World International executive vice-chairman Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin said a £1.1 billion (RM6.48 billion) financing package for the development of the three projects had been secured from Maybank Investment Bank Bhd and CIMB Bank Bhd. He revealed that they had been building up momentum and customer base prior to launching their projects. “Most of the units are expected to be sold prior to the launches,” said Liew after formalising a partnership with English National Ballet, one of the most treasured artistic institutions in the UK. The robust demand was seen in London City Island Phase 2, which achieved a take-up rate of 84

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_________________________________________________________________ percent with firm bookings for 419 units several weeks after its launch on 30 May. Eco World Ballymore has so far registered strong sales value for Phase 2 of around £210 million (RM1.238 billion). Eco World Ballymore is a joint venture firm between Eco World Investment as well as UK-based Ballymore group, with the former owning the majority stake. Meanwhile, Liew said the English National Ballet will move from its current space in Kensington to London City Island. He noted that the move is a testimony of East London’s everexpanding arts scene and cultural vibrancy. “This partnership demonstrates our deep commitment to establishing City Island as one of the most exciting new destinations in London and we are honoured that English National Ballet, a truly inspiring artistic institution, has decided to make its new permanent home there,” said Sean Mulryan, chairman and group chief executive of Ballymore group.

weaker ringgit will attract more foreign investment into the country’s property sector, Guocoland (Malaysia) Berhad managing director Tan Lee Koon said recently. The property arm of Hong Leong Group expects the current exchange rate scenario to spur demand for luxury residences in its Damansara City development, which has a gross development of RM2.5 billion. On Monday, the ringgit breached the 3.80 level against the US dollar, the level at which it was pegged against the greenback in September 1998. Today it is hovering at the 3.8000/8030 level versus the greenback. Tan said Guocoland has received encouraging response from overseas buyers, especially Singaporeans and Cambodians, at its recent roadshow. “The lower local currency has been favouring them, especially versus the Singapore dollar,” he told reporters after announcing that Hong Leong Group has chosen Damansara City for its global headquarters.

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Expected to be fully operational by mid-2016, the integrated development comprises two office towers, two towers of luxury residences, a lifestyle mall and a five-star hotel.

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Tan said the first phase of the residency tower, which has 185 units, has recorded a take-up rate of 60 per cent and half the buyers are foreigners. The whole residency tower project consists of 370 serviced apartments priced at RM1,350 per square foot. To a question, Tan said the company’s current landbank is about 4046 hectares. “We are constantly looking to acquire more land, and we see the Klang Valley as a location with a lot of sustainable growth potential,” he said. Going forward, the property firm is expected to launch three more mid-high segment residence projects in the Klang Valley.

Siva Shanker and a registered real estate negotiator presenting identification tag

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WEST MALAYSIA PROPERTY NEWS

Malaysia’s Property Market To Remain Flat In 2015 - MIEA he property market is

expected to remain flat this year due to weak buying sentiment, said Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents past president, Siva Shanker. “Currently, the market is at a moderate level as buyers are staying on the sidelines and maintaining a cautious approach. “The market will not see an increase in the number of transactions but likely a rise in prices. “This is not mainly due to the GST (Goods and Services Tax) because

Mulpha Land Berhad Is Now Thriven Global Berhad

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ulpha Land Berhad (MLB) today announced that the Company has obtained its shareholders’ approval to change its name to Thriven Global Berhad, signaling the company’s new leadership, focused business plans and positive growth trajectory. Combining ‘thrive” and “driven”, and true to the meaning of the two words, Thriven, under its new management team, plans to be a leader in the property market, set new standards and build innovative ‘forward living’ lifestyle projects for its customers. The management team, led by Datuk Fakhri Mahiaddin, who was appointed as Executive Chairman in April this year; Ghazie Yeoh Abdullah, the Group Managing

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Director since 2013 and its Executive Director Dato’ Low Keng Siong, collectively own 46.67% of Thriven. “We have a dynamic and forward thinking team with vast and diverse business skills and experience in property development, facilities management and hospitality, as well as corporate finance and law. Our focused business plans and inventive product offerings will help drive us to become a leading property player in Malaysia,” said Datuk Fakhri Mahiaddin, Executive Chairman of Thriven. “Thriven’s vision and mission is to be a market leader, set new standards and innovate lifestyle developments with passion and purpose. A fresh approach to property, delivering the concept of ‘total living’- building vibrant

after all with or without GST, the prices will continue to go up as the construction, building and land costs keep increasing,” he told Bernama after Affin Hwang Asset Management Investment Forum 2015 here recently. Moving on to next year, Siva said the market would see demand improving slightly by five to six per cent for residential properties.

Earlier during the forum, Siva said those looking for properties, especially first-time buyers, should purchase those that are affordable and then upgrade gradually. “People tend to buy properties that they cannot afford. They end up saving money for the targeted property but by the time they can afford it, the price already has gone up further.

“We expect the market to continue growing higher by 2018 driven by the supply, demand and location of the properties. If you intend to buy a house, now is the right time because the longer you wait the higher price you need to pay,” he said.

“It’s better to buy a cheaper property and then sell it and later upgrade to a bigger and better one,” he said.

communities with a harmonious blend of residential, commercial and public spaces. These are the qualities which will define Thriven’s dynamic vision of leadership in the Malaysian property market,” he added.

Boasting on-going projects worth an estimated GDV of over RM1.2 billion, Thriven’s projects are primarily in the Klang Valley, Penang and Kedah and they comprise serviced apartments, service officeshome offices, bungalows and industrial land, terrace houses and shop lots.

As part of the name change, the main-board listed company will focus on growing its three business divisions, namely property development and investment, hospitality and lifestyle retail and facility management. It will generate recurring income streams by investing in retail, commercial offices and car parks, and collaborate with retail F&amp;B operators and grocers to service its property assets and investments. In terms of growth trajectory, Datuk Fakhri said Thriven plans to build the company over the next five years to generate annual revenues of RM500 million. It expects to achieve this by elevating the company’s brand profile, increasing its land bank via outright purchase or joint ventures, and engaging and building the confidence of land owners to work with it.

“True to its new company name, Thriven will continue to ensure operational efficiency, maximize resources, acquire and enlarge our land bank, develop more affordable and luxury properties, establish a stronger presence in the property market and register better revenues. That is the Thriven objective to our shareholders and customers,” Datuk Fakhri added.

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Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents past president, Siva Shanker www.thriven.com.my

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INTERNATIONAL PROPERTY NEWS

Slump Sees Over 2000 Property Agents Leave Major Firms

Industry players also blamed in part the slowdown of the residential property market for the construction industry’s fall in employment by 3,600 in the first three months of the year from the fourth quarter of 2014.

INTERNATIONAL PROPERTY NEWS

Catch up on the latest property and real estate news, views and analysis from across the globe featured

Brisbane’s Controversial ‘Champagne Flute’ Gets To Go Ahead

describing the towers, located some 4 km west of Brisbane’s CBD in Toowong, as out of keeping with Brisbane’s history and heritage. Public lobbying when the plans were announced last year managed to reduce the number of towers from the original five proposed to the three that have been assessed and approved, according to the Brisbane Times.

risbane’s City Council has given Zaha Hadid’s new residential development the go-ahead despite it breaching city height laws, said Property Report. The trio of champagne fluteinspired residential towers that make up renowned British-Iraqi architect Dame Zaha Hadid new Brisbane development ‘Grace on Coronation’ have been given

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the green light by the council for construction to begin later this year. Developed by Sunland, the towers have not been without controversy; with two of the three towers hitting 24 storeys whilst the third reaches 27, they eclipse Brisbane’s height limits for development of 15 storeys, according to Architecture and Design. Some local residents have also expressed their dissatisfaction with the plans,

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk spoke of the development and Brisbane City Council’s decision to give it the go-ahead: “Grace on Coronation proposes a striking design, which is certainly different in terms of its style to what this city has experienced before and there are differing views, but it is certainly a one-off design and a unique feature for our city.” “The site will be landscaped with a line of large jacaranda trees and shallow risers along the pedestrian spine to provide views to the river and reinforce a direct, tangible and

activities and good administrative support. The agency also expanded its management team to deepen its expertise in the industry.

visual connection from a series of urban common areas and riverside on what has been an eyesore site for almost a decade since the ABC left in 2006,” he added. As is characteristic across Hadid’s portfolio, the design of the towers is uniquely innovative and aesthetically striking. The AUD430 million (USD333 million) development sees each tower sporting a multi-layered façade with glazed curtain walls overlaid with glass-reinforced concrete patterns, according to Dezeen. “The design tapers each structure to minimise their footprint and open the riverfront to the public; creating a vibrant civic space for Toowong within a new riverside park,” said Zaha Hadid in a statement. The development will enjoy 7,300 sqm of public park space, reported Dezeen, alongside the 555 residential units, retail space, and 800 car parking spaces.

he annual churn compounded by the sluggish property market has led to more than 2,000 property agents leaving major real estate agencies here in the first three months of the year, industry data showed. As of Apr 1, there were 23,947 agents, an 8 percent drop from 26,014 towards the end of last year, reported Channel News Asia. Recently, the Ministry of Manpower’s latest labour market report showed that the number of people employed in the real estate services fell by 1,900 between January and March, compared with the fourth quarter of last year.

He said: “It used to be that we can close rentals very quickly and then things started slowing down and that process could go on for months. If that’s the case for rentals, it’s even worse for sales. It’s become very competitive because agents have to earn a living and there are so many agents around.” ERA Realty Network, which is the largest agency here, had 5,866 agents on its books at the start of April, down from 6,132 towards the end of last year. Nevertheless, it has managed to bump up its numbers to above 6,000 this month, said ERA key executive officer Eugene Lim.

Mr Jeff Foo, president of the Institute of Estate Agents, said: “When the market is going through a lull period ... it is only logical that some will seek temporary incomegenerating jobs or alternatives. Many have in fact left the industry because of poor income.”

Mr Lim said having a larger team of agents would help put the company in a better position to pitch for marketing assignments with developers. The firm has also ventured into new business areas by starting a commercial sales and leasing team as well as an auction department, he added.

The real estate agencies said they typically experience 10 to 15 percent attrition at the start of the year, partly a result of agents switching companies. But this year, many have left the industry because of the current market slump, which has seen the number of launches hit a record low amid slow sales. Among them was Mr Brian Chan, 31, who decided to take a break to further his studies.

Bucking the trend among the major agencies was Savills Residential, which registered a rise in the number of agents from 739 to 781 over the first quarter. It has increased its strength further to almost 800 now. Mr George Tan, senior director and head of Savills Associates, attributed the increase to the firm’s initiatives, such as conducting training for its agents, providing ample project marketing

Victoria State Government Introduces New Tax Ruling

Nevertheless, Dr Ho Ngok Yong, president of the Singapore Contractors Association, said there were more infrastructure projects up for grabs. The Building and Construction Authority said earlier this year that construction contracts are expected to reach a value of between S$29 billion and S$36 billion this year. The previous year saw the public and private sectors dishing out deals amounting to a record S$37.7 billion. Dr Ho said: “We do see a slowdown in housing projects, but at the same time, we also have more civilengineering projects for airport, sea ports, roads, MRT, so these help to balance things. I think the drop in employment is probably cyclical it’s a small number when you look at the size of the whole industry.” He added that the Government’s push for greater use of machinery and manpower restrictions could also have contributed to the decline. Construction companies that TODAY contacted said there is still a high demand for skilled employees. Mr Rajan Krishnan, CEO of KTC Group, said: “There are sufficient projects out there, but civilengineering projects are labour intensive. We try to adapt to the situation by using more machinery, for example, but machines have limits, so there’s always demand for people with the right experience.”

s news announces this week, the Victorian State Government now implements a special stamp duty tax on its foreign investors to ensure the cost of the state’s infrastructure is shared evenly throughout the state. Foreign buyers of residential property will pay a surcharge of 3% on the purchase price or the market value of the property, in addition to any other stamp duty payable. The surcharge will apply to contracts entered into on or after 1 July 2015 and payable at settlement. A landowner who does not ordinarily reside in Australia will be liable for an absentee landowner surcharge of 0.5 per cent in addition to any other land tax payable. The absentee owner surcharge will apply from the 2016 land tax year. Permanent Australian residents and New Zealanders will be exempted. In the case of joint owners, the surcharge will be applied to the foreign owner’s share only.

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INTERNATIONAL PROPERTY NEWS

Mitsubishi Driving Mega Property Project In Vietnam

Biggest Property Agency Holding Up In Cheerless Market

S$5.2 million in fiscal 2014 ended Dec 31, after a S$5.4 million loss in 2013. Steven Tan, managing director at OrangeTee, attributed his agency’s FY2014 net loss to the decision to push ahead with a S$1 million “business stimulus package” to beef up areas like branding, training, project marketing and research.

itsubishi Corporation (MC) recently announced that it had teamed up with Singapore-based firm Sembcorp Development to build a 1,419-unit housing complex in the north of Ho Chi Minh City, said Property Report. Comprising eleven 16- to 18–storey condominiums, the new venture will be MC’s first-ever housing project in Vietnam, and the first to be executed under its 2012 strategic partnership agreement with Sembcorp.

According to the Japanese conglomerate’s press release, the 40,100 sqm development will be constructed in phases in the “main gate” area of Binh Duong’s Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP), which was set up in 1996 between the governments of Vietnam and Singapore. International investments have been pouring in Vietnam due to the country’s strong economic growth in recent quarters, allowing the growth of the real estate industry and increase in demand for urban projects such as the 500-hectare VSIP.

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The firm also lowered training fees to help agents through the rough patch despite the agency’s 38.6 percent slump in revenue to S$69.9 million in fiscal 2014.

MC, whose operations around the world involves a wide range of industries, from machinery to finance, chemicals, energy, environmental, retail, and real estate, among others, is already engaged in property development in Japan, China, North America and Southeast Asia. In the ASEAN region, the company has residential projects in collaboration with local developers in Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore. Its Vietnamese development will start selling its first phase in October 2015 with a target completion date of Q1 2017.

he Business times has reported that Singapore’s largest real estate agencies appear to be weathering the dismal market better than their smaller counterparts. While the smaller firms sank into the red last year, those larger in size managed to stay above water by cutting costs, streamlining operations or focusing on highermargin deals.

some mid-sized agencies that failed to tuck in a profit. While revenue at ERA slipped 9.9 percent to S$214 million last year, its profit was propped up by higher-margin investment sales and commercial transactions even as the firm kept up with its training and technology offerings to agents.

Despite a revenue drop for the year ended Dec 31, ERA Realty and PropNex - the two largest agencies by agent force - reported a 10.6 percent and 3.8 percent rise in profit after tax to S$11.5 million and S$6.3 million respectively.

PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail explained that while PropNex’s revenue dipped 2 percent to S$194.8 million in 2014, the group streamlined its processes and upgraded its software for the back-office, which allows the firm to cut headcount by about 5 percent. Still, the S$7.9 million of profit shared with team managers and leaders was similar to 2013’s. During the year, it spent close to half a million dollars in training to improve agents’ productivity.

Citing economies of scale, these agencies note that their ability to generate activities to stimulate sales and support their agents with value-added services is hard to be replicated by the small and mid-sized agencies.

But the picture was not so rosy at OrangeTee, even though it’s the fourth largest agency here. It recorded a net loss of over S$690,000 for the year ended June 30, 2014, after scoring a net profit of S$3.9 million the year before.

“When you don’t have scale, your compliance and overheads will kill you,” said ERA Realty chief executive Jack Chua, pointing to

Meanwhile, there is no sign of a turnaround for HSR International - ranked seventh by number of agents - which inked a net loss of

These moves have helped them to clock in average profit margins of 4 to 5 percent, and even raise their earnings for the year.

SLP’s agency business under SLP Realty and SLP Scotia saw revenue surge 66 percent to S$32.3 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2014 on the back of higher commissions offered by developers; but as most of these commissions went to the property agents, its net profit slumped 98.6 per cent to S$7,295 from S$533,921 as it incurred higher operating expenses for newly formed SLP Scotia. With the current commission structure heavily skewed towards greater commissions payout to the sales agents, a small and mediumsized agency will find it tough to make ends meet, PropNex’s Mr Ismail observed. “As such, only the mega or bigger agencies can make some profits,” he said. “Looks like in Singapore, there is only room for two or three or at best four big agencies to make any meaningful business with our existing commission-sharing scheme.” Agents typically take home some 70-90 percent of the commissions clocked. In the case of new project launches however, an agency may take a first cut of 30-50 percent on the commission before splitting the balance with the agent. For relaunched projects, the developer offering a higher commission may dictate a larger split for agents.

There are “over-riding” fees that agencies pay to the team managers and leaders for the commissions earned by their sales agents, said Tan Tee Khoon, executive director of Knight Frank. “Meanwhile, the fixed costs of running the agency business such as office rent and staff salaries have not plummeted.” But Mr Tan conceded that the incomes of most property agents have also been affected by the market slump. “We certainly have to review how we do business and seek innovative solutions to reduce business costs, as well as initiatives to increase revenue.” Already, a major consolidation is underway among some agencies. Australia-listed Global Property Strategic Alliance (GPS Alliance), which now has close to 480 registered agents, on Friday confirmed a BT report that it is in discussions with other real estate agencies in Singapore to form a joint venture with its agency business. Mr Ismail pointed out that the bigger agencies have the benefit of having their own legal and compliance teams to cope with increased compliance requirements, and buying advertisements and printing services in bulk with discounts. Last year, over 50 agencies closed shop and close to 4,000 real estate agents dropped out of the industry. As of Jan 1, there were 1,369 licensed agencies and 30,830 registered salespersons with the Council of Estate Agencies. Close to 80 percent of these salespersons are with the 10 biggest agencies here. Agents are apparently moving from the smaller agencies to the larger firms, with the number of registered agents with the top five agencies here increasing in the past one year. ERA, PropNex and Huttons saw their number of registered agents continue to rise this year to 5,975, 5,667 and 3,257 respectively.

OrangeTee’s agent strength also increased from 1,850 registered salespersons at the start of the year to 1,950 currently. But the outlook for real estate agencies this year remain mixed. PropNex’s Mr Ismail said the agency’s transactions have risen by 17.5 per cent given an increase in market share, greater productivity and investors slowly creeping back. OrangeTee’s Mr Tan also said his agency is “starting to see better prospects in terms of the number of projects already secured for next one year”, including new launches in the pipeline and deals stemming from its partnership with Tokyu Livable Inc, which took up a 22.5 per cent stake in OrangeTee. Some smaller agencies are less sanguine. Sieow Teak Hwa, founder and managing director of boutique realty Teakhwa Real Estate, told BT that net profit for the firm this year is half of that last year. The agency of 40 property agents is seeking out residential projects that are not fully sold where developers are paying a higher agency commission - often in the range of 3-5 percent compared to the typical 1 percent or less for new launches.

“

When you don’t have scale, your compliance and overheads will kill you,” said ERA Realty chief executive Jack Chua, pointing to some mid-sized agencies that failed to tuck in a profit. While revenue at ERA slipped 9.9 percent to S$214 million last year, its profit was propped up by highermargin investment sales and commercial transactions even as the firm kept up with its training and technology offerings to agents.

“It’s tougher for agencies that are not doing (developers’) projects as the resale market has been hit and the rental market is also down,” Mr Sieow said. “I think many agencies are not doing as well unless they can find a niche.” International Property Advisor, which has 11 agents, is developing a niche in marketing properties in Japan and Indonesia by leveraging on the global franchise of Century 21, said its key executive officer Ku Swee Yong, also CEO of Century 21 Singapore. This has helped the agency stay afloat so far, he said.

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The trio of champagne flute-inspired residential towers in Brisbane Illustration Photo Melbourne, Australia

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Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Property agent seminar

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BANKING AND INVESTMENT NEWS

$₤ € BANKING & $ INVESTMENT

NEWS

The banking and investment industry has a crucial role to play when it comes to property. Read about the most recent news and trends in this trade

Property Investment Conference Returns For 2015 - Race Of Being A Property Millionaire!

roperty Investment Conference (PIC) which will consist of Property Investment Conference and Exclusive Property Exhibition running concurrently. It is an opportunity for all property investors & homebuyers to explore and learn about the latest property Investment strategies & updates. It is also an excellent place for

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developers & real estate agencies to showcase their products to the potential audience. We are targeting around 800 – 1000 inclusive of local and foreign buyers and investors. We will also be expecting about 1000- 2000 visitors for the convention exhibition. Held over two days, August 8th and 9th at Intercontinental Hotel,

Kuala Lumpur. PIC 2015 will feature speakers such as Milan Doshi, Property Investment Guru & Bestselling Author; Chris Tan, Managing Partner at Chur Associates; John Lee CEO & Co-Founder of Wealth Dragons UK; Tan Hwa Chuan Founder of B.I.G Companies;Ho Chin Soon, Chairman of Ho Chin Soon Research and Veena Loh, General Manager of Malaysia Property Incorporated and more… This year PIC will consists of both essential and valuable topics which are mainly to educate the investors on making smart choices when it comes to property investment that suit their personal investment profiles, hotspots that investors should keep track on, and latest strategies that market experts are implementing in order to avoid massive losses that may take years to recover. It will provide an in-depth coverage on property investment topics from speakers who are from various background, experience and knowledge. Experts shared various powerful strategies and tips which escalates participants’ knowledge. Thus, this

is an excellent platform for property buyers & investors to update their investment knowledge and restructure their investment plans. As for the property convention exhibition, it will help exhibitors to expand their marketing network globally through different channels. There will be good deals and properties below market price for soft launch and pre-launch. This special promotion is only available during the two days event. Our topic highlights are;1.

Property Protagonist: From Zero to Her

No Capital? No Longer a Problem…

X Factors: Property Prices Up or Down?

Pathway to Financial Freedom by Age 30!

Trending Now: Joint Venture Investing The Right Way

Post GST Impact to Property Investors

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BANKING AND INVESTMENT NEWS

Know The Steps In Selling Your Malaysia Property

chargeable asset is sold within five years of its acquisition.

weaknesses of your property when you market it.

Chargeable assets sold more than five years after acquisition are subject to a much lower gains tax 5 percent of the net profit.

Mr Mah noted that certain factors will appeal to Malaysian buyers, such as the fengshui or the vastu shastra (ancient Indian science of architecture) of the property.

4. Getting the sale process going If you decide to proceed with the sale, you need to make sure your finances are in order. Mr Mark Mah, senior negotiator at L and C Properties, said that sellers need to clear all outstanding fees applicable to the property, otherwise there will be a delay in completing the sale.

1 1. More complicated to sell to foreigners Last week, we looked at how to sell your property abroad, in countries such as Britain and Australia. This week, we focus on how to sell your Malaysian property. The process is complicated, with several parties involved, and can take up to six months from signing the sale and purchase agreement (SPA) to the official transfer of the property. 2. Knowing your property First, foreigners are not allowed to buy properties priced below RM1 million (S$364,000) in Malaysia. If for some reason you are selling a property now worth less than RM1 million, you must look to Malaysian buyers only. Second, Malaysia has two types of units - bumiputera units and nonbumiputera units. Bumiputeras are indigenous Malaysians, including Malays. Only bumiputeras can buy reserved bumiputera units at special prices from developers. These units can

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be resold or transferred only to other bumiputeras. Bumiputera owners can sell their units to non-bumiputera Malaysians, but they need to get the state authority’s consent. Sellers also need to prove that no bumiputera buyers were interested in the property, such as showing evidence of advertisements placed. “The state government, in deciding whether to approve or not, takes into account the racial make-up and present bumiputera ownerships in the area where the property is situated,” said Ms Chang Mei Kee, managing partner at law firm Henry Soong and Chang. 3. Initial steps and checks For a start, sellers should keep track of how long they have held the property. This will determine the Real Property Gains Tax they have to pay under Malaysian laws, which affects the net proceeds of the sale. With effect from last year, the gains tax rate payable by foreigners disposing of a chargeable asset is 30 per cent of the net profit, if the

These include the “quit rent” (cukai tanah), a form of land tax paid annually to the state, and the “assessment tax” (cukai pintu), a local property tax for services provided by the local council. A key part of selling is to set an acceptable price by looking at recent transactions in the area or project.

“A bad condo management will also definitely reduce the property price,” he added. Mr Ricky Lee, executive director of Knight Frank Malaysia Johor Branch, and Mr Herbert Leong, associate director of project marketing with Knight Frank Malaysia, say that township developments have become more attractive. If the township is popular with good amenities, buyers will want to live there, regardless of its surroundings. 6. Be clear on who your target buyers are. In Malaysia, selling a property to a foreigner is more complicated than selling to a local.

Sellers should work with a reliable real estate agency to market the property. You need to appoint a registered estate agent.

All intended purchases of real estate property, except industrial property, by any foreigner require approval from a state authority.

Normally, the agent’s commission for completing a sale is 2 to 3 percent of the final sale price.

The approvals are given at the discretion of the state and are subject to payment of a consent fee or 2 per cent of the sale price, whichever is higher.

You have to give your agent some key documents to assist in marketing your property. These include the copy of the title to the property, renovation plans and copies of the quit rent and assessment receipts for the property. Most prospective buyers would need those details to obtain a valuation from a bank to get financing. 5. Finding a buyer Know the strengths and

In Johor, the approval process can take as long as six months from the date of application. 7. Legal fees Excluding disbursements, legal fees are standardised by the country’s Solicitors Remuneration Order. It is 1 percent for the first RM150,000 of the sale price, 0.7 percent for the next RM850,000, 0.6 per cent for the next RM2 million, 0.5 percent for the next RM2 million and 0.4 percent for the next RM2.5 million.

So if a seller disposes of his condo unit for RM1.5 million, he pays about RM10,450 in legal fees. For any sale amount above RM7.5 million, the legal fee rate is negotiable but it cannot be more than 0.4 percent. 8. Documents to prepare The seller must provide his lawyer with the same documents that he gave to the estate agent. He must also supply copies of the latest bank mortgage statement, his identity card and passport. If the seller’s passport number stated in the title deed or purchase agreement differs from his present passport number, he ought to provide copies of both passports. Before you sign the sale and purchase agreement (SPA) The option agreement is usually the first document a potential buyer will sign to make an offer to the seller to buy the property at a certain price. Along with that offer, the buyer will enclose a part deposit to secure the deal while he sorts out his financing. At this stage, the buyer’s lawyer sorts out the SPA’s terms with the seller’s lawyer. This part deposit - known in Malaysia as an “earnest deposit” - is usually 1 to 2 per cent of the sale price. The seller or his lawyer should review the terms of the option document carefully.

In Malaysia, once the option agreement is signed, sellers generally wait 21 to 30 days for the buyer to execute the SPA and pay the balance of the full 10 per cent deposit. However, this 10 per cent is negotiable. Some buyers offer to pay the seller a higher deposit upon execution of the SPA, in exchange for a lower sale price or to obtain keys to the property earlier. If the buyer is unable to take these steps, the option usually provides for the failed buyer to forfeit the part deposit to the seller as agreed liquidated damages. Similarly, if the seller has signed the option but no longer wants to sell to the buyer, he has to return the part deposit and provide an equal additional amount as compensation. After the signing of the SPA, there are two possible scenarios, depending on whether the buyer is a Malaysian or a foreigner. Scenario 1: Malaysian buyer The sale and purchase transaction would be completed about three months after the SPA is signed. If the buyer cannot pay the 10 percent full deposit within three months, he will usually be given one more month, but he will have to pay late interest charges to the seller. If the seller’s property is subject to a charge or mortgage payment during this time, the seller’s lawyer will obtain the buyer’s financing details.

They will be bound by its terms regardless of the seller’s subsequent instructions to his lawyer.

This is because the buyer’s bank has to disburse part of the loan sum to the seller’s bank.

Some option agreements state that the deposit should be refunded to the buyer if he cannot obtain financing. If a seller is not agreeable to this, he should raise the issue.

Unless the buyer pays in cash, the seller’s lawyer will also get the redemption statement to redeem the property from the seller’s bank. Scenario 2: Foreign buyer A conditional SPA will be signed,

as it depends on whether the state authority approves of the transaction. The agreed deposit may be released to the seller, but is often kept by an impartial “stakeholder” who could be either the buyer’s or the seller’s lawyer. The buyer has about three to six months to apply for the state authority’s consent for the purchase. If consent is denied, the buyer can appeal, but he has to wait for another three to six months for the result. If the appeal is rejected, the transaction is aborted and the stakeholder solicitors will return the deposit to the buyer. The seller then looks for a new buyer. If approval is granted, the stakeholder solicitors will release the deposit to the seller as the buyer proceeds to secure his financing. The sale transaction should conclude three to four months after the approval is granted. The loan funds used to seal the deal are disbursed in a similar way to deals involving Malaysian buyers. Completing the transaction: Loan disbursement The buyer’s bank will disburse the loan monies in two stages. The first stage, called “redemption amount”, goes towards redeeming the property from the seller’s bank, assuming the seller still owes money on the property. The second stage is after the seller’s bank releases to the buyer’s lawyer all security documents, such as the original title or original principal purchase agreement, depending on whether the titles are available at the point of sale.

The buyer’s lawyer can then register the title in the buyer’s name and the buyer’s bank can create the charge or mortgage over the property. If the seller’s property has no outstanding loans at the point of sale, then disbursement of the buyer’s loan involves only one stage. However, the seller has to hand over the security documents to his lawyer, to transfer the property to the buyer and create the charge or mortgage by the buyer’s bank over the property. This transfer process must occur before the seller receives any money from the buyer’s bank. After the balance of the sales monies has been provided to the seller’s lawyer, the seller has to disconnect and pay the bills for all utility connections servicing the property. The seller must then present proof of payment of these bills, along with keys to the property. Assessment rates and quit rent will be divided between seller and buyer at the date of delivery of vacant possession or legal possession. As both taxes are paid once or twice a year, the seller would have paid the rates for the calendar year. So after taking legal possession, the buyer will reimburse what the seller has paid for the part of the year that the property belongs to the buyer. Asiaone

Sales and Purchase Agreement

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CONTRIBUTORS | Chris Tan

Property Transferred Through A Will

esides sale and purchase, property may be transferred through many other ways. For instance, property can be transferred as a gift, by way of assignment, as a result of the court’s auction and others. What about upon the death of the owner? This article will focus on property transferred through a will upon the demise of the testator. Writing a will is no longer a taboo nowadays and people are willing to spend money on preparing a Will by engaging the relevant professionals. Besides that, having a will is no longer an elderly man’s kind of thing. Young couples have started to acknowledge the importance of a will to cater to the needs of their offspring in case of any unexpected misfortune. As modern as the meaning of a will has become, the root purpose of preparing one is still the same. A will is only effective when the testator dies. After a person has moved on from this life to wherever one believes, everything he left behind will create doubts on its rightful successor. As melancholic as life can be, what will be more distressing than to see family members/ connected persons of the deceased engage in dispute over his/her estate. This is where a will may come in handy. What is a Will? With a will, one person can specifically choose his beneficiary for certain property in his estate. The testator can appoint the person of his choice including any of its beneficiaries to administer his estate, i.e. to be his executor. However, do note the beneficiary cannot at the same time be the witness to the will. Where there is a valid will, i.e., a will that conforms to the Wills Ordinance, the first question will be the availability of the executor. If the appointed person is available and willing to be his executor of the will, then

the executor can commence to file in High Court the Petition for Grant of Probate. Otherwise, any person other than the appointed person will need to prepare for the Petition for Grant of Letters of Administration with Will Annexed if the appointed person is unable or unwilling to be the executor. Grant of Probate The Executor has to petition for Grant of Probate as his first step to execute the will. These documents are necessary for such petition: 1.

original death certificate;

the original will;

the identity card of the executor; and

and a list of the deceased’s assets and liabilities.

After filing for the petition, a hearing date will be given. On the hearing date, the petitioner is personally required to attend before the registrar. The court will inform whether Borang C has been issued of which ther is a return form under Section 77A and a notice of assessment under Section 90 (2) of the Income Tax Act 1967. Upon fulfilling all the Court requirements, a court order shall be granted with a letter requesting for payment with necessary documents. The executor or if legally represented, his Lawyer will then comply with the contents of the letter issued by the court. The documents mentioned are: 1.

a copy of will

list of assets and liabilities;

payment; and

others.

How property transfers through a Will Upon the procurement of the Grant of Probate, the executor may commence the execution of the Will, maybe by the assistance of his lawyer. The proper instrument is used in transferring the property from the deceased / his executor to the rightful beneficiary. The property will first be transferred to the executor from the deceased, then subsequently it be transferred to the beneficiary from the executor. 1.

If the property has a title, Memorandum of Transfer as provided in the Land Ordinance will be used;

If title has not been issued then Deed of Assignment (by way of transfer) is to be used.

A nominal amount will need to be paid as the Stamp Duty for the above mentioned transferring instruments. Real Property Gains Tax (RPGT) on property transferred by a Will The document to transfer above will be accompanied by 3 (or commonly known as CKHT, abbreviation for Cukai Keuntungan Harta Tanah in our national language) forms

which shall be executed by the executor and the beneficiary respectively. The date of acquisition of a property has to be ascertained in order to compute RPGT. The Real Property Gains Tax (RPGT) Act 1976 takes the date of death of the deceased as the date the executor acquires the property. This was the result of an amendment made by the Finance Act (No.2) 1985 to Section 39 (g) of the RPGT Act which took effect on 1 January 1986. As such, if the beneficiary/ executor sells the property within 5 years, the following RPGT rate shall apply. The rate of RPGT is illustrated in the following table: (Table 1) Conclusion The transfer of property through Will is a lengthy process, i.e. upon death of the testator till completion of transfer will require months but nonetheless is workable when conducted in proper way. Nonetheless, the Will gives more freedom to the testator to decide on the distribution of his estate and possibly minimizes the risk of dispute over the estate. The fees and costs of the transfers are also catered for in the Will to lessen the burden of the executor in executing the Will.

2015 RPGT RATES Disposal

Citizens / PR

Non-Citizens

Companies

<= 3 Years

30%

<= 4 Years

20%

30%

20%

<= 5 Years

15%

30%

15%

> 5 Years

Table 1

After all the procedures and formalities are confirmed, the Grant of Probate may be granted by Court within two weeks.

Chris Tan Chris Tan is a lawyer specializing in real estate. He is the founder and now Managing Partner of Chur Associates, a boutique legal practice that thrives on delivering business friendly solutions for its clients. Having authored several books on real estate, Chris is a much in demand speaker on the Malaysian property talk circuit. You can get in touch with him at consult@churassociates.com or on facebook: Chur Associates

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