/// East Malaysia Property News
Young Working Adults Deterred From Buying
Houses in Sarawak
Draft KK Local Plan: Second
Public Consultation in April
needs to be determined
accordingly.
adult
in the face of increasing
market price. Married
couples, however, could
bear the loan installment
together.
Eager youth wanting to buy property during an exhibition
The significant rise in
cost of living this year has
deterred many young
working adults from buying
their first house.
A survey of 20 young
working adults between
25 and 35 years old
yesterday, found a mixed
response to buying a
house this year.
Many expressed their
concern about the rising
cost of living as the
stumbling block to acquire
a suitable home, citing
income sustainability in
monthly expenses as the
main worry.
The respondents ranging
from executives, bankers,
teachers to doctors and
engineers all agreed that
purchasing a property was
considered an investment.
However, 80 per cent of
them said they would hold
back their decision to buy
a house amid the rising
cost of living and property
prices.
“I think many young adults
will find it challenging
to purchase a property
because it is just too
expensive. The cheaper
ones would be located far
in the city outskirt which
may lack convenience in
terms of workplace distant.
“I expanded my search to
20
Kota Samarahan which is
closer to my work place.
I found a housing project
there and it took me
roughly three months
to take the plunge. The
price of the particular unit
that I wanted went up by
RM10,000 in a span of two
weeks after I first found it.
I could barely afford the
price tag but I jumped on
the purchase for fear it
may go up even more,”
university lecturer Chai
Shin Yi said.
Advising young working
adults to make their own
judgment whether they
could afford their dream
home, the 31-year-old
said she was paying about
RM1,700 monthly on a
30-year loan for a house
costing RM375,000. She
said a similar housing unit
in her area had risen to
over RM400,000.
“If you can afford it, why
not but I am already feeling
the pinch when it comes
to day-to-day expenses.
I’m a bit worried about the
implementation of the GST
(Goods and Services Tax)
in April next year and how
it will affect my expenses,”
she lamented.
Dr Deburra Peak Ngadan,
33, currently pursuing her
PhD in Public Health, said
that 2014 would not be a
good year for purchasing a
house for a single working
www.PropertyHunter.com.my
“Many of my colleagues
are concerned. The clash
between the need to invest
against the high prices can
be depressing to many
young working adults
compared to their more
established peers. I hope
to see more beneficial
housing schemes for the
lower and middle class
young working adults.
When she bought her
semi-detached single
storey house in 2011,
Deburra acknowledged
that her house was already
expensive when compared
to similar units in previous
years.
Industrial Hygiene (1)
engineer Harold Wilson
advised those who could
afford a house to consider
buying one as a long term
investment. He also urged
the lower middle income
group to make enquiries
with the government on
various low-cost housing
schemes.
“In bigger cities, especially
Kuala Lumpur, it is almost
impossible to acquire
a property this year
due to the rising cost of
living. Most of the under
30s working adults are
either burdened to pay
their study loans or still
struggling to find a good
paying stable jobs (due
to lack of experience),” he
said.
The 33-year-old recently
bought an intermediate
corner single-storey house
priced for RM308,000 in
Miri.
Satelite imaging of Kota
Kinabalu in 2001
The 2nd Public
Consultation for the
final Draft Kota Kinabalu
(KK) Local Plan 2010 is
expected to be held in April
this year. Mayor Datuk
Abidin Madingkir said the
comprehensive review
and update of the existing
Draft KK Local Plan 2020,
which has gone through
the processes of the 1st
Public Consultation and
Public Hearing last year, is
expected to be completed
in March.
“City Hall was not able to
proceed with the second
Public Consultation of the
Draft KK Local Plan 2020 as
planned in November last
year as there were some
planning elements that
needed to be added and
resolved.
“These were also done
following the requests from
professional bodies, NGOs
and government agencies
to include clear Planning
Policies and Guidelines for
Ridge Conservation, Special
Residential, Heritage
Site and Mixed Use
Development, road and
transportation,” he said.
Madingkir added that the
Specific Land use zoning
to replace the lands which
have been earmarked as
‘are under investigation’
in the Draft KK Local Plan
2020 and the Development
Setback Guidelines also
He further said a special
committee has been
formed by City Hall that
includes representatives
from professional bodies
(PAM, IEM, AKIM, MIP, ISM),
Sabah Heritage, Sabah
Tourism Board, Shareda
and from the State and
Federal government
agencies to resolve
these additional planning
matters.
According to Madangkir,
City Ha ll is expecting to
complete all amendments
before end of March this
year to enable them to
conduct the 2nd Public
Consultation for the Final
Draft KK Local Plan 2020
in April.
He also said the planning
evolution and accumulation
due to the rapid pace
of development taking
place the city also shows
there is a clear need for
these planning approval
processes and procedures
to be re-looked creatively.
“This is to enable them
to make bold changes to
facilities the processing of
development proposals
in a more efficient and
effective manner in order
to keep pace with the
expectations of the people.
“As for the current
planning approval process,
it is sometimes quite a
complex web of statutory
and administrative
challenges which require
a comprehensive
assessment of
environmental, physical,
traffic, accessibility, basic
infrastructures and utilities,
especially when it involves
a high-rise development
and also development on
the hillside area,” he said.