Property News

Eco World still positive on Iskandar property outlook
Saturday, 16 May 2015
By: ZAZALI MUSA

SINGAPORE: Eco World Development Group Bhd remains upbeat on the property outlook in Iskandar Malaysia despite news reports on the slowdown in the property segment in the economic growth corridor.

Chairman Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin said Iskandar Malaysia would continue to offer good growth prospects for the company in years to come.

This is based on the on-track progress and development taking place in the region.

He said the company would be launching three new projects in Iskandar Malaysia with a combined gross development value (GDV) of RM8.4bil this year.

“The projects reflect our strong commitment in Iskandar Malaysia and they will keep us busy for the next eight years,’’ Liew told a press conference yesterday.

He said this at the opening of EcoWorld Gallery @ Singapore at Orchard Road here by Malaysian High Commissioner to Singapore Datuk Zai Yaacob.

Liew said the gallery would be a one-stop show centre showcasing the company’s projects in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Iskandar Malaysia, London and Sydney.

Also present at the event were EcoWorld president and chief executive officer Datuk Chang Khim Wah, executive director Datuk Voon Tin Yow and chief executive officer (international business) Datuk Teow Leong Seng.

“Iskandar Malaysia contributed RM1.8bil last year out of the RM3.2bil in total sales value for our company and we hope to maintain the figure (RM1.8bil) this year,’’ added Liew.

He said the property segment in Iskandar Malaysia was no different from the sector in London and Sydney where the company had to compete with players from all over the world.

Meanwhile, Chang said Eco Tropics and Eco Business Park III projects were located in the Eastern Development Zone of Iskandar Malaysia in Pasir Gudang on 303.51ha and 101.11ha respectively.

“We are planning to launch Eco Tropics with a GDV of RM3.4bil and Eco Business Park III, which has a GDV of RM2bil within the next two months,’’ he said.

http://www.thestar.com.my/Business/...itive-on-Iskandar-property-outlook/?style=biz

FHBH12 said:

Eco World still positive on Iskandar property outlook
Saturday, 16 May 2015
By: ZAZALI MUSA

SINGAPORE: Eco World Development Group Bhd remains upbeat on the property outlook in Iskandar Malaysia despite news reports on the slowdown in the property segment in the economic growth corridor.

Chairman Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin said Iskandar Malaysia would continue to offer good growth prospects for the company in years to come.

This is based on the on-track progress and development taking place in the region.

He said the company would be launching three new projects in Iskandar Malaysia with a combined gross development value (GDV) of RM8.4bil this year.

“The projects reflect our strong commitment in Iskandar Malaysia and they will keep us busy for the next eight years,’’ Liew told a press conference yesterday.

He said this at the opening of EcoWorld Gallery @ Singapore at Orchard Road here by Malaysian High Commissioner to Singapore Datuk Zai Yaacob.

Liew said the gallery would be a one-stop show centre showcasing the company’s projects in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Iskandar Malaysia, London and Sydney.

Also present at the event were EcoWorld president and chief executive officer Datuk Chang Khim Wah, executive director Datuk Voon Tin Yow and chief executive officer (international business) Datuk Teow Leong Seng.

“Iskandar Malaysia contributed RM1.8bil last year out of the RM3.2bil in total sales value for our company and we hope to maintain the figure (RM1.8bil) this year,’’ added Liew.

He said the property segment in Iskandar Malaysia was no different from the sector in London and Sydney where the company had to compete with players from all over the world.

Meanwhile, Chang said Eco Tropics and Eco Business Park III projects were located in the Eastern Development Zone of Iskandar Malaysia in Pasir Gudang on 303.51ha and 101.11ha respectively.

“We are planning to launch Eco Tropics with a GDV of RM3.4bil and Eco Business Park III, which has a GDV of RM2bil within the next two months,’’ he said.

http://www.thestar.com.my/Business/...itive-on-Iskandar-property-outlook/?style=biz

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Eco World major challenge is to sell Eco Tropics well in the eastern development zone. This area is considered hardest to sell but i respect Tan Sri for his guts and determination.

Hopefully they will smoothen out all these issues over the next few years.

I think all governments in the world have problems. Look at SG. I used to think PAP ministers get paid so much cos they run the country well. Well maybe that's true as far as making money for themselves and the rich is concerned. But look at the human congestion in public places, public transportation. Look at how they caused HDB flat prices to increase to unimaginable amounts. The prices of flats here are no different from condos just some 10-15 years ago. The older generation may love PAP for this but how are the younger generations going to survive?

Maybe when more young people vote the PAP out for the high public housing prices they may consider moving to Iskandar to live after that?

cow138 said:

Malaysia really cannot make it.
On one hand they want foreign investors and then when they come now they are scared of them and want to push them into international zones and to restrict them.
When will we learn.
LKY is right After all.
Very disappointed.
Now I got agents calling me to buy. Last time also don't bother to entertain.
Market must really be bad.

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Johor to create 'international zones' for foreign buyers
May 18, 2015

The government of Johor plans to unveil new laws which will restrict foreign home buyers to new ‘international zones’ to protect locals from being priced out of the market.

According to Datuk Abdul Latif Bandi, Johor’s Minister for Local Government and Housing, details of the plan will be released next month or in August in order to get feedback from the property industry and the public prior to making a final decision.

The move follows complaints that thousands of residential units built by developers are primarily targeted at foreigners. The units, which include three-storey landed homes and luxury condominiums, are often priced way beyond the reach of most Johoreans.

Last year, the Malaysian government set a minimum price of RM1 million for foreign property buyers. Abdul Latif noted that the move only worsened the situation as property developers keen on selling units to foreigners has set RM1 million as the minimum price.

“We do not want foreigners to buy all over (Johor), as prices would then go up and the locals can’t afford them,” he said. “We will decide on these areas after engaging with the public and others.”

Generally, foreigners are allowed to acquire up to 50 percent of the units at a property projects in Iskandar provided its minimum price is RM1 million.

They are prohibited from purchasing units constructed for low-income Malaysians or for the indigenous bumiputera and Malay communities.

Previously, Abdul Latif said the new zones will allow the government to charge a ‘different’ property tax rate for foreigners.

Notably, the Malaysian government effectively created Iskandar’s first ‘international zone’ in 2014 by allowing foreigner to acquire units without any bumiputera quotas within the upcoming Medini township.

The Forest City luxury reclamation project has also shown interest in selling homes to foreign buyers without quota limits.

Meanwhile, Tan Sri Lim Kang Hoo, deputy chairman of developer Iskandar Waterfront Holdings, said that while he supports local housing zones in order to keep home prices affordable for Johoreans, Malaysians should be reminded that Iskandar can only thrive if more foreigners buy property there.

Farah Wahida, Editor of PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact her about this or other stories email [email protected]

malpaso said:

who cares about jb? no, seriously. think about it. it's increasingly looking like a poisoned chalice anyway, especially for singaporeans. as for sps, look at the financials. look at sp setia connection via pnb now. it's no longer a chinese company, yes. but problems? i don't think so. btw, merging with sime darby is good news, but SD & SPS has denied it.
i always wanted a sime darby house.

Click to expand...

There is not much cheap alternative to a weekend getaway for people working in Singapore except for JB. Once oil price returns to the norm next year, flight tickets will also be adjusted upward and regional getaway will become more expensive.

It looks like the new international zone could be along the coastal areas from Danga to Tebrau covering high-rise properties. The higher taxes will be on top of the already higher commercial rates on taxes and utilities that the owners are/will be paying.

From the latest two landed property launches at BDO and Glenmarie, low-mid level landed prices are still going up significantly. So your purchase is quite safe.

FHBH12 said:

Johor to create 'international zones' for foreign buyers
May 18, 2015

The government of Johor plans to unveil new laws which will restrict foreign home buyers to new ‘international zones’ to protect locals from being priced out of the market.

According to Datuk Abdul Latif Bandi, Johor’s Minister for Local Government and Housing, details of the plan will be released next month or in August in order to get feedback from the property industry and the public prior to making a final decision.

The move follows complaints that thousands of residential units built by developers are primarily targeted at foreigners. The units, which include three-storey landed homes and luxury condominiums, are often priced way beyond the reach of most Johoreans.

Last year, the Malaysian government set a minimum price of RM1 million for foreign property buyers. Abdul Latif noted that the move only worsened the situation as property developers keen on selling units to foreigners has set RM1 million as the minimum price.

“We do not want foreigners to buy all over (Johor), as prices would then go up and the locals can’t afford them,” he said. “We will decide on these areas after engaging with the public and others.”

Generally, foreigners are allowed to acquire up to 50 percent of the units at a property projects in Iskandar provided its minimum price is RM1 million.

They are prohibited from purchasing units constructed for low-income Malaysians or for the indigenous bumiputera and Malay communities.

Previously, Abdul Latif said the new zones will allow the government to charge a ‘different’ property tax rate for foreigners.

Notably, the Malaysian government effectively created Iskandar’s first ‘international zone’ in 2014 by allowing foreigner to acquire units without any bumiputera quotas within the upcoming Medini township.

The Forest City luxury reclamation project has also shown interest in selling homes to foreign buyers without quota limits.
Meanwhile, Tan Sri Lim Kang Hoo, deputy chairman of developer Iskandar Waterfront Holdings, said that while he supports local housing zones in order to keep home prices affordable for Johoreans, Malaysians should be reminded that Iskandar can only thrive if more foreigners buy property there.

Farah Wahida, Editor of PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact her about this or other stories email [email protected]

Click to expand...

The new International Zone is being created with the massive Forest City in mind.
Look at the events surrounding last year's new controversial Johor Housing and Development Act, the Federal's intervention, the last minute amendments, The Sultan's reluctance to endorse and the ownership of the said project...............link them all together, you can see the picture.

snowbird said:

The new International Zone is being created with the massive Forest City in mind.
Look at the events surrounding last year's new controversial Johor Housing and Development Act, the Federal's intervention, the last minute amendments, The Sultan's reluctance to endorse and the ownership of the said project...............link them all together, you can see the picture.

Click to expand...

Having forest City and sell it to mainly Singaporeans is a good news to lots of singaporeans. Many in singapore will have their dream come true. No need to be so negative about all the things happening in JB.

We have to be grateful for Johor in partly solving the housing problem in Sg.

enjoylife77 said:

We have to be grateful for Johor in partly solving the housing problem in Sg.

Click to expand...

Or shouldn't it be Johor should be grateful to Singaporeans for buying up their properties?
What if you open shop and on one come?

enjoylife77 said:

We have to be grateful for Johor in partly solving the housing problem in Sg.

Click to expand...

Yes. Especially grateful to the Sultan of Johor. The Msia gov alone won't be so generous. Actually, we can see Johor gov is in dilemma.... but lucky thing is our beloved Sultan is in control.

snowbird said:

Or shouldn't it be Johor should be grateful to Singaporeans for buying up their properties?
What if you open shop and on one come?

Click to expand...

You must differentiate who is buying who's property and for what reason. Affordability?

Those singaporeans who love to have a property like sentosa cove but cannot afford it can always buy at Forest city.....at a very cheap price!

Over the long term ,the many types of property offered in Johor will drag down the Sg market. Sg property peak is behind us.

enjoylife77 said:

Over the long term ,the many types of property offered in Johor will drag down the Sg market. Sg property peak is behind us.

Click to expand...

I don't think so. With a targeted 6.9 million population, the peak has yet to come.

Moreover, Johor properties are untested and not many Singaporeans are confident to that level yet with regards to security, Malaysian competency/policies and the ease of travel into and out of Singapore. We may not even see a convincing take off in the next 15 years.

sgcount said:

I don't think so. With a targeted 6.9 million population, the peak has yet to come.

Moreover, Johor properties are untested and not many Singaporeans are confident to that level yet with regards to security, Malaysian competency/policies and the ease of travel into and out of Singapore. We may not even see a convincing take off in the next 15 years.

Click to expand...

My take is "it depends", entirely on how SG develops. For the majority of SG folks who have or are "attracted" to JB, it was never and probably will never be a pull, but push factor that causes the migration (if you can call it that) to JB. MY used to be a safer place, relatively much lighter traffic on causeway and 2nd link, yet the migration has not happened enmasse. Granted RM has depreciated, it was more gradual until recent times. Yet the mass migrations/purchases began before RM took a dive. It is what SG will do that determines the fate of JB.

AHGS14 said:

My take is "it depends", entirely on how SG develops. For the majority of SG folks who have or are "attracted" to JB, it was never and probably will never be a pull, but push factor that causes the migration (if you can call it that) to JB. MY used to be a safer place, relatively much lighter traffic on causeway and 2nd link, yet the migration has not happened enmasse. Granted RM has depreciated, it was more gradual until recent times. Yet the mass migrations/purchases began before RM took a dive. It is what SG will do that determines the fate of JB.

Click to expand...

good analysis.

enjoylife77 said:

Over the long term ,the many types of property offered in Johor will drag down the Sg market. Sg property peak is behind us.

Click to expand...

Actually, if you were to look at the datas, number of bona fide Singaporeans purchasing properties in JB is relatively small.
Many are retirees while some are buying as a weekend house and some were investing/speculating.
There are also some who bought to stay fulltime and don't mind wasting 3 hrs daily to shuttle to work / school.
Its the SPRs outnumbering the SGs that are buying and they have the advantage of buying as Malaysians without any restrictions.
These SPRs are have the best of both worlds, earning S$ and living and spending as Malaysians.

Yes. And don't forget the language barrier.
Singaporeans only know English at him malaysia you need to be familiar with Malay to get things done.
This I think is one of the issues that Singaporean PRs don't have to deal with

Honestly nowadays u don't really need to know BM to survive in JB. The almighty sultan ringgit is all you need. Plus when u go to govt office, everyone talks in a smatter of manglish. Add in some sign language, you can get by quite ok. Anyway if u got a problem, just hire a lawyer or banker to get everything done for u. All you need is the almighty sultans face.

GST上路‧三大趨勢顯現‧房市或寒冬2年
2015-05-19 16:50

(吉隆坡19日訊）國內產業市場低迷不振，消費者信心日趨審慎，加上融資困難和政策料不會鬆綁等利空環繞，分析員預見產業領域寒冬可能至少持續9至24個月。

馬銀行研究近期出席產業網站iProperty.com舉行的家居與產業投資展，並與產業發展商銷售團隊和潛在投資者進行接觸，希望鑑定消費稅（GST）落實後對購屋者的決策和情緒的影響，結果發現3大趨勢：


1.買家情緒依舊疲弱，融資仍是問題

高達77%受訪者預期產業價格將進一步攀升，而有意在未來12個月入手至少一項產業的人數更從去年6月的80%減少至63%，顯示部份受訪者仍在觀望。

馬銀行研究說，經過兩天的觀察，發現展場人流比往年有所減少，氣氛也相對平靜，與產業公司銷售團隊接觸更發現多數消費者將買房計劃暫時擱置，市場情緒轉向審慎，實際銷售自去年下半年已停滯不前。

當中，導致買氣低迷的關鍵因素包括銀行收緊信貸、低油價和馬幣走貶導致經濟前景更為黯淡，促使消費者情緒轉弱。

去年末季交易量跌7%

全國產業資訊中心（NAPIC）調查顯示，2014年第四季住宅產業交易量按季下跌7%，按年僅微增2%，而房屋價格指數（HPI）也按季萎縮0.2%。

該證券行對大馬產業市場前景仍感到審慎，並預期宏觀逆風（消費稅落實、油價波動）及冗長打房和信貸緊縮政策將繼續抑制買氣，預見需求放緩趨勢可能持續至少9個月至2年。

“市場普遍預期消費稅落實後，產業價格將上漲，但我們卻預見產業價格將企平或微跌，主要是多數產業發展商已重新定價或重計成本、產業價格由市場供需制定及房屋可負擔能力下跌恐對產業價格帶來下行壓力。”

數據顯示，在廉宜融資、流動性充裕和產業發展商誘人促銷拉動下，2009至2014年大馬產業價格複合年均增長率（CAGR）達到11%，遠比收入增長的9.6%為高。

收入不高
低於30歲難貸款

另一方面，高達46%受訪者在買房時面對難貸款窘境，主要多數人士年齡低於30歲，而57%收入並不高。

馬銀行研究與銀行和銷售員接觸發現貸款申請駁回率仍高達40至50%，遠比2012和2013年調查所得的10至20%來得高，因此為拉低預訂單位取消數量，現多數銀行銷售人員都會先對潛在買家信貸背景進行粗略檢查。


2.儘管信貸收緊，產業投資意願仍高，但政策鬆綁可能性不大

馬銀行研究指出，63%受訪者已擁有至少一套房產，但高達57%人士仍有意買房投資。

“我們對此並不意外，因57%受訪者年齡低於30歲，正是開始累積財富的階段，而產業也是受歡迎的投資選擇。”

該證券行說，國家銀行今年料維持隔夜政策利率（OPR）在3.25%不變，但就算潛在降息，也不會對產業需求帶來顯著提振。

“我們相信主導產業需求的因素在於取得貸款，而非利率。同時，減息暗示經濟前景疲弱，也對提振買家情緒起不了太大幫助。”

馬銀行研究補充，雖然產業領域出現疲態，但礙於去年杪家庭債務企於87.9%高位，並不預見國行將為打債和打房政策鬆綁。


3.有地產業仍是王道

100萬以下有地產業
投資者最愛

調查發現，價格少於100萬令吉有地產業仍是投資者最愛。馬銀行研究表示，高樓豪華或普通住宅需求依舊疲弱，因此多數產業發展商持續專注可負擔產業和有地產業。隨著市區產業價格飆升，40%受訪者選擇住在城郊地區，擁有公共交通銜接的城郊地區產業成為搶手貨，其中加影、士毛月、萬宜等因捷運和輕快鐵線成為巴生河流域產業熱點。

產業股缺重估催化因素

整體來看，馬銀行研究認為，雖然需求趨勢和購屋者疑慮依舊不變，但卻發現買家入手的情緒變得更為審慎。

“雖然目前部份產業股估值誘人，但我們建議投資者慎選，專注於擁有健康資產負債表和未顯著曝露依斯干達的產業公司，因領域現缺乏強勁重估催化因素，而未來9至12個月需求恐持續低迷不振。

該證券行說，產業發展商未來下行風險包括，高消費稅撥備恐抑制賺益、銷售弱於預期及不預見短期政策轉向，但基於現有股價已普遍反映利空，因此維持領域“中和”評級，實達集團（SPSETIA，8664，主板產業組）是領域唯一“買進”評級股項。

(星洲日報／財經‧報道：洪建文）

http://biz.sinchew.com.my/node/115631