Penang named most liveable city for second time

Published: Monday April 23, 2012 MYT 3:09:00 PM
Updated: Monday April 23, 2012 MYT 5:29:33 PM

By ANDREA FILMER

GEORGE TOWN: Penang has been named as the country's most liveable city for two consecutive years, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said.

Quoting the annual ECA Location Ratings research, Lim said Penang had maintained its position as Asia's eighth most liveable city, while Kuala Lumpur had dropped from ninth to 10th.

"If we only beat them once, people may say it's a fluke. But we have repeated the feat this year.

"It's not a fluke, it's a fact," Lim told a press conference in Komtar here Monday.

He said listed criteria for the ranking included quality of living, climate, health service, isolation, social network and leisure facilities, infrastructure and political tensions.

According to the survey, Singapore maintained its grip on the top spot and also retained its global ranking as the number one most liveable city in the world.

Kobe, Japan stayed at the second spot of Asia's most liveable cities, followed by Hong Kong, Tokyo and Yokohama (tied at fourth), Taipei and Macau.

Seoul, that was ranked as Asia's 10th most liveable city in 2011, edged Kuala Lumpur to tie with George Town in this year's ranking.

ECA International, which carries out the location rating annually, is an international consulting firm that specialises in providing and developing solutions for the management and assignment of employees around the world.

Source reference link: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/4/23/nation/20120423152457&sec=nation

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Deal-based websites – a new lease for properties?

Posted on April 20, 2012

Here’s a pop quiz: name the biggest online trend now. Twitter? Facebook? Google+? You may well be wrong, actually.

Check it's out...http://www.groupon.my/deals/national-deal/osk-property-holdings/716030336?nlp=&CID=MY_CRM_1_0_0_119&a=715827970

Deal-based websites like Groupon Malaysia, Dealmates, and Living Social are fast becoming a growing trend, especially catching on with young urban professionals based around the Klang Valley urban strip.

Click open any of the above websites, and there is bound to be a couple of deals which will seem irresistible to you – with up to 95% discounts for food, jewellery, bargain vacations and right up to baby bottles.

The best part about these deals is that what you see is what you get – there are no hidden charges (unless stated, which makes them “unhidden”) and the quality is never compromised.

Here’s the tricky part – can the property market and its developers play a role in this new business model?

Last week, OSK Property Holdings Berhad and Groupon Malaysia collaborated on an exclusive one-of-a-kind discount deal, where buyers pay RM500 for an RM8000 cash voucher, which can be redeemed for the developer’s latest premium property, Paragon @ Pangaea, a SOFO Suites development in Cyberjaya.

The developers have made it even more attractive, by making the cash voucher valid for the property’s downpayment, and providing refunds for buyers who are unable to purchase the unit of their choice or whose bank loans have been rejected.

Now, isn’t this a good way to spend RM500?

As of now, 14 people have bought the deal on Groupon’s website, and it can be considered quite a healthy number, judging from the fact that buying a property is not like buying a t-shirt – it’s a lifetime investment, and requires long-term commitment.

Discounts are always appreciated, and developers can really benefit from marketing their properties on such deal-based websites instead of only relying on mass media, as they tend to reach out to the right crowd and word-of-mouth will definitely spread the word through.

Social media will always remain relevant to today’s youth community and are recommended for every property developer, but deal-based websites provide a direct platform for them to actually see and purchase cash vouchers or coupons to buy their own piece of property – the kind of purchasing power any consumer will feel good about.

We think OSK’s plunge into the discount market will definitely stir some competition and inspire other developers to walk a similar path by making use of the myriad of deal-based websites frequented by Klang Valley’s yuppies.

It would be interesting to see if this latest trend manages to make a lasting mark on the online business-property relationship, like how the Internet became a platform to look for property years ago.

Below picture: Paragon @ Pangaea, OSK's Groupon pioneer

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Factory for sale at FIZ, Penang MALAYSIA.

Status Update: Sold.

This is urgent sale.

Land area: 1 acre (43,560 sq ft) inclusive of 15,500 sq ft empty space that can be developed.
Facility: Office and production area.
Lease: till 2052(still have 40 years)
Asking: RM5,500,000.00

Interested contact Vulcan Lau mobile: +6 016 451 1321 for private viewing.

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Hotel For Sale | For Sale By Tender : Resort Hotel at Batu Ferringhi,Penang MALAYSIA

- Tender document can be obtained at RM200.00 per copy.
- Land status : Freehold
- Location : Miami Beach
- Reserve price : RM88,000,000.00
- Room : 350
- Land Area : 2.7 acres or 10,926.51 square meter or 117,612 square feet
- Gross Area: 54,348.28 square meter 585,000 square feet
- Tender dateline : 18th May 2012 at 5pm.

International chain of hotels that would like to expand their operation in Penang, MALAYSIA are encourage to apply and purchase.

Private viewing of property could be arranged as it is basis.

Interested please call Vulcan Lau, mobile no: +6 016 451 1321.

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Malaysia | Govt may double minimum price of houses foreigners can buy :RM1mil floor price?

Tuesday April 10, 2012

By DANIEL KHOO
danielkhoo@thestar.com.my

RM1mil floor price?

KUALA LUMPUR: The Government is considering raising the minimum floor prices of houses foreigners are allowed to buy to RM1mil from the current RM500,000 in an effort to control the rise in property prices, sources said.

They said such a decision was “in the pipeline” and the implementation would be made by the economic planning unit (EPU) under the Prime Minister's Department currently headed by Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop.

“From what I understand, these revised guidelines have been discussed at the ministerial level and should this be enforced, it will mean that foreigners will only be allowed to buy properties priced above RM1mil. For now, the base price is set at RM500,000 for foreigners. This base price is a bit low looking at present circumstances,” a government source who requested anonymity said.

“The current trend in the property market indicates that prices are still continuing to climb despite measures by Bank Negara to curb property prices from spiralling out of control. We need to act before it goes further out of hand,” the Putrajaya source added.

Another source said the revised guidelines would also consider a slightly lower base price threshold of RM800,000 for residential properties in selected economic corridors such as Johor's Iskandar Malaysia to ensure the development and success of these corridor hotspots.


“This base price will also be subject to reviews by the Government from time to time depending on the inflationary situation of the economy and to keep overall inflation in check,” the source said.

Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Donald Lim had recently told the press that the Government would take “strict measures” to avoid a US subprime mortgage financial crisis after average house prices jumped almost 7% in the fourth quarter of last year despite measures announced by Bank Negara to rein in property prices.

“The Government is worried about property prices causing a bubble and we don't want banks to overlend to the property sector,” Lim said.

Industry sources surveyed by StarBiz said foreigners that tend to buy properties in Malaysia were those from South Korea, Japan, China and Singapore.

“This move will give an advantage to locals, especially those in the middle-income category as locals will not need to compete with foreigners. I am not surprised by this move, but our agency has so far seen mostly people from China and Singapore buying properties above RM1mil anyway,” a KL-based licensed real estate negotiator who did not want to be named said.

“However, we may see fewer transactions from the Koreans and Japanese. Westerners such as those from the United States and Europe won't usually buy. They prefer to rent instead,” the real estate negotiator added.

Meanwhile, the implementation of the higher floor price is expected to have a minimal impact on the property market in Malaysia as official statistics show that only 2.4% (worth RM1.45bil) of transactions conducted in the residential sector last year were worth RM1mil and more.

The Finance Ministry's Valuation and Property Services Department Property Market Report 2011 released last week showed there were 269,789 residential property transactions worth RM61.83bil transacted last year, the highest recorded in the last five years.

“Both volume and value recorded double-digit growth of 18.9% and 22.1% respectively. The All House Price Index surged to 156.9 points in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2011 against 147.2 points registered in Q4 2010,” the report said.

The report said that landed housing was on a “general upward trend” in Malaysia and also attributed the rise in property prices to the Sungai Buloh-Kajang My Rapid Transit project.

“Across the board, terraced houses in KL recorded increases of 8%-13%. Increased prices of landed houses on Penang island were apparent. The highest transacted price of two- and three-storey detached (houses) were at RM2.05mil and RM5.15mil respectively,” the report said.

Source reference link:
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/4/10/business/11075217&sec=business

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