Bargain hunters: Visitors to Berjaya Land’s booth viewing a scale model of The Tropika @ Bukit Jalil project during the StarProperty.my Fair 2019 at Gurney Plaza in Penang.
GEORGE TOWN: The current interest rates for housing loans are attracting potential property hunters.
Zeon Properties chief executive officer Leon Lee said after the overnight policy rate dropped by 25 basis points to 3% in May, the local property market has seen more enquiries from potential house buyers.
“Banks are now offering housing loan interest at 4.3% compared to 4.5% earlier this year.
“At a 4.3% interest rate, the monthly instalment for a RM300,000 loan to be repaid over a 30-year period is RM1,484, which is RM44 less when the interest was 4.5%.
“Property fairs organised in the second half of the year should benefit from Bank Negara’s move,” Lee said.
Zeon Properties is the marketing agent for Ewein Zenith’s City of Dreams in Gurney Drive and Devoteshens’ My Sakura 28 in Permatang Damar Laut.
Lee was commenting on the StarProperty.my Fair 2019, organised by Star Media Group, which is held at Gurney Plaza until tomorrow.
The participating developers are Ideal Property Group, Mah Sing Group Bhd, Ewein Zenith Sdn Bhd and Asia Green Group, Berjaya Land Bhd and Devoteshens Sdn Bhd.
East West One Group, an oil palm plantation investment scheme operator and manager, is also offering its oil palm plantation interest scheme at the fair.
Raine & Horne Malaysia senior partner Michael Geh said the latest National Information Property Centre (Napic) statistics showed that the number of unsold properties in Penang dropped to 3,502 last year from 3,916 in 2017.
According to Napic, Penang ranks fifth in Malaysia with an overhang of 3,716 units worth RM3.39bil, comprising residential, commercial and industrial properties, after Johor (16,031 units), Selangor (7,110 units), Perak (5,793 units) and the Federal Territories (4,876 units).
Geh said property prices in Penang were expected to remain stable because the incoming supply of residential properties had increased.
Napic defines incoming supply as projects currently undergoing construction.
“At the end of last year, the incoming supply of housing rose to 49,543 units versus 44,046 units in 2017, an increase of 12.5%.
“Due to the choice of properties in the market, the pricing of the incoming supply will be very competitive,” Geh said.
Ideal Property sales and marketing general manager Nancy Teo said developers were now building smaller condominiums to appeal to a new generation of house buyers.
“These buyers look for 1,000sq ft units because they don’t plan to have a big family.
“Their preference is to stay near amenities in a location well connected by interchanges and highways,” she said.
Teo added that the South-West district, where the airport and Free Industrial Zone are located, has become a popular location for young people to stay because the Jelutong Expressway allows residents of the area easy access to George Town.
“Now that the Penang South Reclamation project and the LRT transportation system have received approval, we can expect the properties in the South-West district to appreciate in the future,” she said.
Berjaya Land Bhd is showcasing its unique nature-inspired mixed development The Tropika @ Bukit Jalil and the Kensington Gardens development at the fair.
Sitting on 6.5 acres of freehold land in the thriving Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, The Tropika @ Bukit Jalil project consists of 868 serviced residences spread across four blocks of 37 to 42 storeys.
Flanked by the Penang Turf Club and the affluent neighbourhoods of Jesselton Heights, Western Gardens and Pulau Tikus, parcel one of Kensington Gardens spans 26 acres and consists of 69 freehold bungalow lots with sizes ranging from 6,006sq ft to 9,634sq ft.
StarProperty.my Fair 2019 at Gurney Plaza, which is open from 10am to 10pm, ends tomorrow. Entrance is free.
