/// Banking and Investment News
Now Could Be Time to Snap Up Good Deals and
Enjoy the Ride Come 2016
Bhd’s Fennel@Sentul East
condominiums, which saw
a take-up of 80% soon after
it was opened for sale in
mid-November, while tower
A and B of Sunway Bhd’s Geo
Residences were 85% sold
within two weeks, HwangDBS
Vickers Research noted.
Buyers at Tropicana’s booth during Property Hunter Expo in Kota
Kinabalu
The property market might
need at least two years to
digest and recover from the
various cooling measures
that came into effect this
month, but expect it to surge
again in 2016, say industry
officials.
According to Malaysian
Institute of Estate Agents
president Siva Shanker, 2014
is expected to be a tough
year for sales, but the market
will find its footing next year
and catch the next upcycle
in 2016.
“The market ground to
a standstill after Budget
2014. There was a knee-jerk
reaction in sales.
“It will probably stay in the
doldrums for the first half
of 2014. The second half
may be better,” Shanker,
who is also CEO-Agency of
property consultancy PPC
International Sdn Bhd, told
StarBiz by phone.
Shanker believes that
speculation over the past
few years in the primary
market, resulting in “far more
properties bought than
needed”, had been put to a
stop by the new curbs.
“The days of 20%-40%
appreciation in property
prices after only a few years
is over, ” he said.
Even so, Shanker sees the
secondary market, which
he said had languished for
years, regaining its lustre.
“A new launch in Bangsar
could set you back RM1,500
per sq ft, compared to
110
RM800-RM1,000 per sq ft
for an existing property. The
discount goes up to 50% in
some prime areas,” he said.
An analyst with TA Research
said that unlike previous
years, many listed developers
have held back on their 2014
sales targets – a departure
from their usual forward
guidance in December – until
a clearer picture emerges
from the effects of Budget
2014 and other tightening
measures.
The exception is Mah Sing
Group Bhd, which is aiming
for a 20% increase in sales
this year to RM3.6bil.
According to the analyst,
policy uncertainty on several
fronts – such as whether
Iskandar Malaysia’s Medini is
exempt from real property
gains tax, or the pricing of
bank loans using the net
selling price of a property –
remains an overhang on the
market.
“The sector’s fundamentals
are intact, but in terms of
share prices, the catalysts are
lacking,” she said.
Property players have
noticed a marked slowdown
in sales since the various
curbs were put in place,
although it is unclear by how
much.
A number of high-end
launches were also shelved,
as developers switch their
focus to the affordable
segment of the market,
where demand is more
resilient. Some of the
projects launched postBudget 2014 include block B
of YTL Land & Development
www.PropertyHunter.com.my
In Iskandar Malaysia,
however, the response
to UEM Sunrise Bhd’s
Almas Suites and WCT
Holdings Bhd’s Medini
Signature Tower 2 have
been lukewarm, Maybank
Research said in a report last
week.
The brokerage’s only “buy”
call is Glomac Bhd, even
though the firm has cut its
own sales target for the year
ending April 30, 2014 by
18%.
CIMB Research is more
upbeat. It expects buying
interest to return in the
first half of this year, albeit
gradually, when potential
homeowners realise that
prices are unlikely to fall, and
that inflationary pressure
from the impending goods
and services tax, along with
other subsidy cuts, leads to
higher prices.
“As these macro prudential
and policy measures are
meant to curb speculation
and not restrain genuine
demand, the impact (though
negative in the short term)
should be positive over the
longer run because they
should help to remove froth
from some segments of the
market.
“Also, affordability remains
close to its highest ever.
Robust sales by developers
should provide impetus for a
re-rating of property stocks,”
the research house told
clients earlier this month.
Hong Leong Investment Bank
Research, which believes the
market will stage a recovery
in the second half of the
year, advocates a buy-onweakness strategy for shares
amid trough valuations.
How to Determine Liability in
Condo Water Damage
Water damage in a subject condominium
Before filing an insurance
claim, condo owners must
determine who is liable for
water damage.
Determining who is liable
for condo water damage
can be a tricky task, as it
depends on the precise
cause of the damage.
Condo associations
maintain insurance
to cover common
areas in the complex,
while individual condo
insurance policies cover
the interiors of individual
units, such as the walls,
flooring and contents.
Condo owners should
familiarize themselves
with the building’s master
policy, so they understand
precisely what is covered
and what is not. Some
policies cover fixtures
in each of the individual
units, while other policies
provide coverage only
for the building exterior,
basement, roof and other
common areas.
1 Review both the master
building policy and
your individual condo
insurance policy to see
what each policy covers.
If you don’t have a copy
of the building policy, it
can be obtained from a
member of your condo
association.
2 Determine the cause of
the water damage. If the
water damage occurred
because your toilet
overflowed or a pipe in
your kitchen burst, the
claim will likely go through
your personal condo
insurance policy. If the
water damage resulted
from an overflow in an
adjoining unit, however,
the situation can get
stic