News
MAPEX gets vote of confidence from house buyers
03-May-2013
ANOTHER RECORD: This year‘s exhibition attracted the participation of 97 developers filling up all the halls of the Mid Valley Exhibition Centre to full capacity
The Malaysia Property Expo or MAPEX 2013 organised by the Real Estate and Housing Developers‘ Association Malaysia (REHDA) has proven its mettle once again.
This year‘s exhibition witnessed 97 developers, financial institutions, non-developers and government agencies filling to full capacity all three halls on Level 3 of the Mid Valley Exhibition Centre of Mid Valley Megamall, Kuala Lumpur with 238 booths on display.
Drawing an estimated visitor count of approximately 44,000 during the course of the three-day exhibition, a total of approximately 20,000 residential and commercial units with prices ranging from RM200,000 to RM3.5 million were on display during the exhibition that ended last Sunday. In all, the value of the properties that were showcased amounted to more than RM20 billion. At press time, the exact transacted figures were not yet available but the organiser expects the total sales to hit the RM44 million mark.
Braving stormy weather, the anticipation of the upcoming 13th General Election (GE13) and the thought of having to navigate one‘s way through the traffic over the weekend did little to deter members of the public from making a beeline to check out the properties on display.
Post-election investment strategies
The first key speaker up on stage was Gavin Tee, founder and president of SwhengTee International Sdn Bhd. Presenting to a well-attended audience, Tee expounded on the topic of Post-Election Investment Strategies in Greater KL.
Basing his premise on three main questions, namely what types of properties to invest in, where the hotspot locations are as well as investment strategies, Tee stressed that a key investment strategy is to make the right forecast in terms of hotspots by identifying their potential and quickly investing to get back your yield.
He predicted an upward surge of momentum in the property market after the GE citing that property investment will take on a global feel as the world “raises funds“ through real estate.
Inflow of foreign funds
“Although Malaysia is still not that attractive for foreign investments, it still holds a lot of potential. Foreign investments will still play a big role in the property market. The biggest foreign groups coming to Malaysia to invest are the Japanese, Hong Kong and Taiwanese businessmen who are looking south for investment opportunities.
“Malaysia is still the top investment choice for Singaporeans while many foreign companies say Greater KL is a key destination for overseas investment,“ he said.
Tee added that Malaysia will remain a top investment destination for Japanese and German businesses among all the Southeast Asian (SEA)nations. Tee also expressed optimism that investment from China is also making its way into Malaysia.
The anticipation of the high-speed railway connecting Greater KL with Singapore will further boost the value of properties especially along its route.
“During our property forecast at the SwhengTee‘s Property Market Forecast 2013 three months ago, I predicted that in 2015, Greater KL will overtake and be as hot as Iskandar today and in fact will be the hottest spot, just like Jakarta will be setting records in 2013 especially in the third quarter of this year.”
Eye on Southeast Asia
According to Tee, the rise of the SEA property market started three years ago and it is now the world‘s fastest and top emerging property investment market.
To move forward, Malaysia must remain competitive in the next five years as competition for foreign funds is getting very fierce in SEA. Given Indonesia‘s rising profile among the international investment community and the new chapter emerging in the US-Myanmar relations, Malaysia must carve out a stronger profile to remain competitive.
Already, Japanese investors are relocating to Indonesia and the Chinese government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Indonesia.
“As such, our government‘s role is important because it is relevant to our future here.“
“Among the Southeast Asian nations, Malaysia has the advantage in terms of culture, legal framework and infrastructure,” he said.
Tee also predicted that tourism-related properties will hold a lot of promise in SEA judging from its double-digit growth in Bangkok last year. Malaysia has spent a lot of money in promoting tourism-related properties in Kota Kinabalu, Malacca, Penang, Iskandar and KL as they are all located in tourism-related destinations.
Strata living — moving forward
Chris Tan, managing partner of Chur Associates spoke on Strata Living — Moving Forward to keep attendees abreast of the latest in the strata law.
“The new Strata Act is paving the way for the key and title to be delivered at the same time unlike previously. It also makes the upper floor owner responsible for any leakages that affect the lower floor.”
Tan shared that currently, no one can compel anyone to co-operate in this regard.
According to him, strata living is an important topic because about 20 per cent of Malaysian citizens currently reside in strata developments.
“The trend is increasing because the price of real estate is going up and landed property has become very expensive so strata living is the way forward. About 20 to 25 per cent or one in every four Malaysians living in Peninsular Malaysia - and the figure could be bigger – live in a strata property as a result of the rise in mixed-used developments.”
Properties beyond KL
Meanwhile, Khairudin bin Yacob, senior manager, Ho Chin Soon Research Sdn Bhd touched on the topic of Hotspots for Penang, Greater KL & Iskandar and the High-Speed Train to Singapore.
Using a 22-year House Price (HP) index graph from 1990 to 2011 to look at the movement of the value of property housing in Malaysia, the chart took into consideration the two recent financial crises, i.e. The 1997-98 Asian Financial Crisis and the 2008 Global Financial Crisis.
“Our HP index is moving northwards with a gradual movement and with no significant price bubble emerging unlike what was experienced by our neighbour Singapore.”
The population graph from the Statistics Department he shared, indicated that a significant number of the population is in the 15 to 25 age group which means that in 10 years’ time, there will be a steady demand for housing products.
Identifying hotspots, he touched upon Penang Island‘s development trend. The Penang bridge caused developments to move south, and with the completion of the second bridge, property values for Batu Maung and Batu Kawan nearest to the second bridge in the mainland will be enhanced.
Generally, developments near interchanges hold great potential. In Greater KL, there are various infrastructure developments and highways that will connect the outskirt areas to KL.
“Highways will help develop townships in the outskirt areas while infrastructure projects like MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) stations and LRT (Light Rail Transit) extensions will further raise the prices of properties in their vicinity.”
“Everyone is aware of the Blue Line (running from Sungei Buloh to Kajang) and the location of the stations. Go for developments within walking distance of the stations on its route. Another two MRT lines that will be announced this year will be the Circle Line and the Selayang Putrajaya Line,” he said.
More buying tips
Datuk Ng Seing Liong, MAPEX 2013 organising chairman also shared his views on Where & How to Buy Affordable Houses last Sunday.
“When we talk about value, we must also look at yield,“ he cautioned the audience, stressing on the importance of ensuring a good return of investment on properties.
He advised them not to rush into purchasing properties and that they must seriously consider the location of the property which should ideally be located within a 30-minute distance by car or one hour by public transportation.
Referring to a 2010 census, Datuk Ng pointed out that Malaysia‘s population then was 28.9 million with an annual growth rate of 2.3 per cent.
Comparing this to the housing stock in the country, as per the NAPIC (National Property Information Centre) Property Market Report for the third quarter of 2012, landed units stood at 3,193,783 units while high-rise units were at 1,397,984 units.
Clearly, the total of 4,592,767 units then were not sufficient to meet housing demands.
Singling out second hand houses in established developments, he said units there were competitively priced as compared to new developments.
“You can choose to go for established developments where there are second hand houses.
“The other option is to add in the cost of renovation into the purchase price of the secondary property so as to be able to get a higher loan. In fact, REHDA will be proposing this option to Bank Negara,“ said Datuk Ng, who is also the immediate past president of REHDA.
He added that the mindset in Malaysia needed to be changed as 20-year old houses tended to be viewed as old. In other countries, the opposite prevails where older properties are highly valued, for example in Sydney, Australia, where Victorian houses are considered a prized heritage.
To make houses more affordable, Datuk Ng said REHDA is talking to the government to look at how to speed up the building process and explore the alternative use of lightweight building materials.
He also proposed that developers be allowed to build core houses or IBS (Industrialised Building Systems) to cut down on construction wastage and manpower.
To make the buyer’s experience more smooth-sailing, it pays to make friends with real estate agents and staff working in banks and financial institutions. These people are familiar with the market and may be the first to know when a distressed property is put in the market, he said.
“Sometimes, by the time you go to an auction which is towards the tail-end, it‘s too late as all the good properties have already been auctioned off,“ he observed.
Last weekend’s MAPEX was officiated by the Mayor of KL, Datuk Seri Haji Ahmad Phesal Haji Talib.
In addition to developers and bankers, this year‘s edition of MAPEX also saw participation from the House Buyers Claims Tribunal, Ministry of Tourism Malaysia - MM2H (Malaysia My Second Home), Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and the National Housing Department.
NewStraitsTimes | 03 May 2013
03-May-2013
ANOTHER RECORD: This year‘s exhibition attracted the participation of 97 developers filling up all the halls of the Mid Valley Exhibition Centre to full capacity
The Malaysia Property Expo or MAPEX 2013 organised by the Real Estate and Housing Developers‘ Association Malaysia (REHDA) has proven its mettle once again.
This year‘s exhibition witnessed 97 developers, financial institutions, non-developers and government agencies filling to full capacity all three halls on Level 3 of the Mid Valley Exhibition Centre of Mid Valley Megamall, Kuala Lumpur with 238 booths on display.
Drawing an estimated visitor count of approximately 44,000 during the course of the three-day exhibition, a total of approximately 20,000 residential and commercial units with prices ranging from RM200,000 to RM3.5 million were on display during the exhibition that ended last Sunday. In all, the value of the properties that were showcased amounted to more than RM20 billion. At press time, the exact transacted figures were not yet available but the organiser expects the total sales to hit the RM44 million mark.
Braving stormy weather, the anticipation of the upcoming 13th General Election (GE13) and the thought of having to navigate one‘s way through the traffic over the weekend did little to deter members of the public from making a beeline to check out the properties on display.
Post-election investment strategies
The first key speaker up on stage was Gavin Tee, founder and president of SwhengTee International Sdn Bhd. Presenting to a well-attended audience, Tee expounded on the topic of Post-Election Investment Strategies in Greater KL.
Basing his premise on three main questions, namely what types of properties to invest in, where the hotspot locations are as well as investment strategies, Tee stressed that a key investment strategy is to make the right forecast in terms of hotspots by identifying their potential and quickly investing to get back your yield.
He predicted an upward surge of momentum in the property market after the GE citing that property investment will take on a global feel as the world “raises funds“ through real estate.
Inflow of foreign funds
“Although Malaysia is still not that attractive for foreign investments, it still holds a lot of potential. Foreign investments will still play a big role in the property market. The biggest foreign groups coming to Malaysia to invest are the Japanese, Hong Kong and Taiwanese businessmen who are looking south for investment opportunities.
“Malaysia is still the top investment choice for Singaporeans while many foreign companies say Greater KL is a key destination for overseas investment,“ he said.
Tee added that Malaysia will remain a top investment destination for Japanese and German businesses among all the Southeast Asian (SEA)nations. Tee also expressed optimism that investment from China is also making its way into Malaysia.
The anticipation of the high-speed railway connecting Greater KL with Singapore will further boost the value of properties especially along its route.
“During our property forecast at the SwhengTee‘s Property Market Forecast 2013 three months ago, I predicted that in 2015, Greater KL will overtake and be as hot as Iskandar today and in fact will be the hottest spot, just like Jakarta will be setting records in 2013 especially in the third quarter of this year.”
Eye on Southeast Asia
According to Tee, the rise of the SEA property market started three years ago and it is now the world‘s fastest and top emerging property investment market.
To move forward, Malaysia must remain competitive in the next five years as competition for foreign funds is getting very fierce in SEA. Given Indonesia‘s rising profile among the international investment community and the new chapter emerging in the US-Myanmar relations, Malaysia must carve out a stronger profile to remain competitive.
Already, Japanese investors are relocating to Indonesia and the Chinese government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Indonesia.
“As such, our government‘s role is important because it is relevant to our future here.“
“Among the Southeast Asian nations, Malaysia has the advantage in terms of culture, legal framework and infrastructure,” he said.
Tee also predicted that tourism-related properties will hold a lot of promise in SEA judging from its double-digit growth in Bangkok last year. Malaysia has spent a lot of money in promoting tourism-related properties in Kota Kinabalu, Malacca, Penang, Iskandar and KL as they are all located in tourism-related destinations.
Strata living — moving forward
Chris Tan, managing partner of Chur Associates spoke on Strata Living — Moving Forward to keep attendees abreast of the latest in the strata law.
“The new Strata Act is paving the way for the key and title to be delivered at the same time unlike previously. It also makes the upper floor owner responsible for any leakages that affect the lower floor.”
Tan shared that currently, no one can compel anyone to co-operate in this regard.
According to him, strata living is an important topic because about 20 per cent of Malaysian citizens currently reside in strata developments.
“The trend is increasing because the price of real estate is going up and landed property has become very expensive so strata living is the way forward. About 20 to 25 per cent or one in every four Malaysians living in Peninsular Malaysia - and the figure could be bigger – live in a strata property as a result of the rise in mixed-used developments.”
Properties beyond KL
Meanwhile, Khairudin bin Yacob, senior manager, Ho Chin Soon Research Sdn Bhd touched on the topic of Hotspots for Penang, Greater KL & Iskandar and the High-Speed Train to Singapore.
Using a 22-year House Price (HP) index graph from 1990 to 2011 to look at the movement of the value of property housing in Malaysia, the chart took into consideration the two recent financial crises, i.e. The 1997-98 Asian Financial Crisis and the 2008 Global Financial Crisis.
“Our HP index is moving northwards with a gradual movement and with no significant price bubble emerging unlike what was experienced by our neighbour Singapore.”
The population graph from the Statistics Department he shared, indicated that a significant number of the population is in the 15 to 25 age group which means that in 10 years’ time, there will be a steady demand for housing products.
Identifying hotspots, he touched upon Penang Island‘s development trend. The Penang bridge caused developments to move south, and with the completion of the second bridge, property values for Batu Maung and Batu Kawan nearest to the second bridge in the mainland will be enhanced.
Generally, developments near interchanges hold great potential. In Greater KL, there are various infrastructure developments and highways that will connect the outskirt areas to KL.
“Highways will help develop townships in the outskirt areas while infrastructure projects like MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) stations and LRT (Light Rail Transit) extensions will further raise the prices of properties in their vicinity.”
“Everyone is aware of the Blue Line (running from Sungei Buloh to Kajang) and the location of the stations. Go for developments within walking distance of the stations on its route. Another two MRT lines that will be announced this year will be the Circle Line and the Selayang Putrajaya Line,” he said.
More buying tips
Datuk Ng Seing Liong, MAPEX 2013 organising chairman also shared his views on Where & How to Buy Affordable Houses last Sunday.
“When we talk about value, we must also look at yield,“ he cautioned the audience, stressing on the importance of ensuring a good return of investment on properties.
He advised them not to rush into purchasing properties and that they must seriously consider the location of the property which should ideally be located within a 30-minute distance by car or one hour by public transportation.
Referring to a 2010 census, Datuk Ng pointed out that Malaysia‘s population then was 28.9 million with an annual growth rate of 2.3 per cent.
Comparing this to the housing stock in the country, as per the NAPIC (National Property Information Centre) Property Market Report for the third quarter of 2012, landed units stood at 3,193,783 units while high-rise units were at 1,397,984 units.
Clearly, the total of 4,592,767 units then were not sufficient to meet housing demands.
Singling out second hand houses in established developments, he said units there were competitively priced as compared to new developments.
“You can choose to go for established developments where there are second hand houses.
“The other option is to add in the cost of renovation into the purchase price of the secondary property so as to be able to get a higher loan. In fact, REHDA will be proposing this option to Bank Negara,“ said Datuk Ng, who is also the immediate past president of REHDA.
He added that the mindset in Malaysia needed to be changed as 20-year old houses tended to be viewed as old. In other countries, the opposite prevails where older properties are highly valued, for example in Sydney, Australia, where Victorian houses are considered a prized heritage.
To make houses more affordable, Datuk Ng said REHDA is talking to the government to look at how to speed up the building process and explore the alternative use of lightweight building materials.
He also proposed that developers be allowed to build core houses or IBS (Industrialised Building Systems) to cut down on construction wastage and manpower.
To make the buyer’s experience more smooth-sailing, it pays to make friends with real estate agents and staff working in banks and financial institutions. These people are familiar with the market and may be the first to know when a distressed property is put in the market, he said.
“Sometimes, by the time you go to an auction which is towards the tail-end, it‘s too late as all the good properties have already been auctioned off,“ he observed.
Last weekend’s MAPEX was officiated by the Mayor of KL, Datuk Seri Haji Ahmad Phesal Haji Talib.
In addition to developers and bankers, this year‘s edition of MAPEX also saw participation from the House Buyers Claims Tribunal, Ministry of Tourism Malaysia - MM2H (Malaysia My Second Home), Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and the National Housing Department.
NewStraitsTimes | 03 May 2013