For each state, different weightage has been given to different house
types in accordance to their existing stocks within the state. Sabah
having vast amount of land makes it no surprise that landed property
makes up 86% for the index with the bulk of it 53.5% for terraced
houses. Now the question is, on average, who would have made more
money in terms of capital appreciation. An individual who bought a
landed property (where stocks are plenty) or a high rise property?
Measuring from the past 5 years, terraced houses appreciates by 48%
but high rise property saw an increase of 74%. We can interpret the
trend as high rise properties are in demand. Now that we know the
“what”, let us figure out the “where” in Sabah.
One of the best indicator to gauge the potential of all 25 different
Sabah district is by its population growth data. To have a sense of
space and size, let us compare some figures. Greater KL (Selangor +
Wilayah Persekutuan) holds a population of 7million people whereas
Sabah has approximately 3million and Sarawak has around 2.4million
people.
Of the 25 states, only Tawau, Sandakan and Kota Kinabalu has
a population on more than 400,000. Although the highest in
population, at 453,000 people, Kota Kinabalu is actually smaller than
Seremban which has 540,000 in population. It is interesting to note
that out of the 3 major states, Sandakan’s population growth rate is
actually half compared to Tawau and Kota Kinabalu.
That leaves us to compare between the West Coast division and
Tawau Division. Kunak is in the middle of nowhere with a weak
population of 60,000 people. While Lahad Datu is on par with Kota
Kinabalu in population growth rate (2.46%), it currently only has
200,000 people (half of Kota Kinabalu). On raw data alone Tawau
seems to be a little bit better compared to Kota Kinabalu.
However, if we consider Kota Kinabalu, Penampang and Papar as
one economic activity area, we are looking at a population of 750,000
with high growth rate of 2.42%, 3.90% and 3.32%. Making West Coast
division a better bet for property investment purposes.
For each state, different
weightage has been given
to different house types in
accordance to their existing
stocks within the state. Sabah
having vast amount of land
makes it no surprise that
landed property makes up 86%
for the index with the bulk of it
53.5% for terraced houses.
Looking at the growth pattern in Kota Kinabalu, development
locational centre of gravity is moving down south-westtowards
Tanjung Aru. The sea depth of waters off Kota Kinabalu in the
northern part is much deeper whereas the direction towards Tanjung
Aru is much easier to reclaim and cost less.
Recently a China party has invested and took over Sutera Harbour.
There are plans to reclaim from the sea from Sutera Harbour all the
way to Tanjung Aru. It is only a matter of time that this will happen.
Imagine the economic activity in that area, and its effect on the
property prices within the vicinity.
Another strong factor of the popularity of Sabah over Penang and
Malacca when it comes to natural beauty of the land and water,
Sabah wins hands down. When it comes to water quality the islands
just off Kota Kinabalu via a quick speed boat gives a superb refreshing
welcome to clear tropical waters unlike Penang, Morib, Port Dickson
and Malacca. The Straits of Malacca is very shallow and the mass of
water not sufficient to clear the silt and mud that flows from the rivers
of Peninsular Malaysia.
Having covered “what” and “where” in this article, I will leave
it to the readers to decide the product concept and which developer
to buy from. Happy Investing in the year of the Horse! After all, Horse
is only one letter away from House.
www.PropertyHunter.com.my
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