/// West Malaysia Property News
Penang’s Second Bridge Boosts Land Prices
which could be considered
hotspots due to their
proximity to the first and
second bridges were Bukit
Tambun, Juru, and Simpang
Ampat.
Stop Pre-Launch Sales
to Curb Excessive
Speculation, Property
Developers Urged
“Cheaper land cost and
property prices will spur
the pace of development in
Seberang Prai.
“Gated landed projects with
lifestyle facilities will be the
trend in Seberang Prai.
The second Penang bridge will be open to traffic next month
Penang’s property prices
have risen by quite a bit since
the mid-2000s although
the appreciation in prices
has been limited to several
popular locations on Penang
island, particularly George
Town.
However, since the second
bridge project was announced
in 2007, vacant land prices on
both ends of the bridge, which
connects Batu Maung on the
island and Batu Kawan in
southern Seberang Prai, have
jumped.
Raine & Horne Malaysia
director Michael Geh told
StarBiz the price of vacant
land in Batu Maung on the
island which had increased to
RM250-RM300 per sq ft from
RM50-RM60 per sq ft. The
24km-long bridge, which is the
longest in South-East Asia, has
been scheduled for opening
next month. Geh pointed out
that the pricing depended
on whether the land had
been zoned for agriculture,
commercial or residential
usage.
“In Seberang Prai, prices of
vacant land hover at RM50RM60 per sq ft, compared
to RM8-RM9 per sq ft prior
to the announcement of the
second link project.
“The price of vacant land has
appreciated 500% on the
island and about 700% in
Seberang Prai,” he said.
For landed properties, new
80
two- to three-storey terrace
houses now cost from
RM1.2 million south of the
island, compared with about
RM450,000 prior to the
announcement.
“The new condominiums
in similar locations are
now priced at RM700,000RM800,000, compared to
RM250,000-RM300,000 prior
to the announcement,” Geh
said.
Geh said there would be more
housing projects planned for
Seberang Prai in view of the
Ikea project to be developed
in Batu Kawan and a mixture
of commercial and residential
properties.
He noted that with the island
getting saturated, developers
and investors would take
more interest in building
or acquiring properties in
Seberang Prai especially since
new housing regulations for
the island to take effect on
Feb 1 would restrict the sales
of properties priced below
RM400,000 for a period of five
years and if disposed within
the period, can only be sold to
a state government approved
list of first-time buyers.
In Seberang Prai, the
same restriction applies to
residential properties priced
at RM250,000 and below.
According to Malaysia Institute
of Estate Agents (Penang)
chairman Mark Saw, the
locations in Seberang Prai
www.PropertyHunter.com.my
“On the island, we have
already seen the full impact of
the second bridge on property
prices, as Penang and Kuala
Lumpur-based developers
and property buyers have
already invested substantially
near the second link,” he said.
Saw said that in the first half
of the year, Penang’s property
market would cool off before
picking up again in the second
half.
Meanwhile, Real Estate
and Housing Developers’
Association (Penang) chairman
Datuk Jerry Chan said should
land prices in Seberang Prai
grow at the current pace,
developers may be pressured
to build more high-rise
properties.
Overwhelming crowd at a developer preview
Property developers
should eliminate
pre-launch sales
to curb excessive
speculation, said
Minister in the Prime
Minister’s Department
Datuk Seri Abdul
Wahid Omar. He said
there were cases
of property buyers
purchasing multiple
homes without the
intention of staying
in any one of them
and some of these
transactions were
done prior to the
official launch of the
property.
“While we appreciate
that developers want
to sell their products
and that is part of
the risk mitigation, I
don’t think we should
continue to allow
this as it will lead to
property speculation,”
he told reporters on
the sidelines of the
launch of Cagamas’
25th anniversary
publication, “Housing
the Nation: Policies,
Issues, Prospects”.
Also present at the
launch was Bank
Negara Malaysia
Governor Tan Sri Dr
Zeti Akhtar Aziz.
Abdul Wahid said the
government estimates
that 1.7 million
households (20% of
the total) have yet to
own their own houses,
primarily due to price
hikes.
“On the supply side,
the government
therefore plans to
build one million
houses for the
lower- and middleincome categories
over the next five
years, undertaken by
Syarikat Perumahan
Negara Bhd (SPNB),
PR1MA Corporation
Malaysia and private
housing developers,”
he said.
Meanwhile, Real
Estate and Housing
Developers’
Association Malaysia
President, Datuk Seri
Michael Yam, said
developers ‘test the
market’ through prelaunch sale s to gauge
public response for
the project.
“Maybe we can
come up with some
specification on
‘test-marketing’ by
developers,” he said,
responding to the
minister’s suggestion.