For condo / would be owners -
By NELSON BENJAMIN | May 5, 2011
Demand up for high-rise homes
Heng is confident that Johor’s property market would continue to do.
Attractive pricing is drawing more buyers to condominium units.
Property demand in Johor, especially for apartment and condominium units, is expected to pick up due to competitive pricing policy and also because of government initiatives.
Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda) Johor branch chairman Simon Heng said that demand for such homes is now on the rise as they are cheaper than landed property.
“The cost of land in Johor is increasing, thus, condominium units and apartments are cheaper than a double-storey landed property,” he said.
He added that an average 1,100sq ft (102sq m) condominium unit in the state could fetch between RM200,000 and RM350,000. As for a double-storey unit, it would cost between RM350,000 and RM400,000.
Facilities and security
Heng added that the mindset of house buyers in the state was also changing as people are now looking for properties which not only provide security but also facilities such as swimming pool and other amenities.
“Besides that, condominium units and apartments will also be sought-after following the government’s new initiative for first-time house buyers to purchase homes with 100% loans for properties below RM220,000,” he said, adding that the Malaysian Property Expo (Mapex) would be a good way to gauge the effectiveness of the initiative.
Heng added that because of the increased demand in such properties, more developers have started or would be launching more of such projects in the state.
He was upbeat about the state’s overall property market and said it would continue to boom especially with many infrastructure projects due for completion next year.
“Improved connectivity such as the New Coastal Highway, Eastern Dispersal Link Expressway and Senai- Pasir Gudang-Desaru Expressway will certainly help boost property sales in the state,” he said.
On the upcoming Mapex in City Square, Johor Baru, from today until Sunday, Heng said this time there would be more booths and more houses available.
More properties for sale
“This year, there are 82 participating booths offering 7,000 properties worth RM4.1bil,” Heng said, adding that last November’s Mapex had 76 booths.
He said that the property overhang in the state had also been reduced to a figure of 7,800 units.
“Many properties for sale during Mapex will be new projects,” Heng said, adding that they were expecting good sales because of the improved economy, increased number of first-time buyers and also because of more people looking for property upgrade.
He pointed out that security was a concern among buyers and people still preferred gated communities.
Rehda Johor activities and education sub-committee chairman Wong Kuen Kong added that so far, apart from 35 developers, at least three banks would also be participating in Mapex.
“During last November’s Mapex, we had good response, especially for the sale of single- and double-storey homes,” he said, adding that higher-end semi-detached units and bungalows were also popular.
“For this Mapex, there will be talks on Feng Shui and home decoration,” Wong said.
He added that Feng Shui tips were not just popular among the Chinese but other races as well. Such tips were especially popular with owners of high-end homes such as semi-detached units and bungalows.
“People hope to apply Feng Shui tips in their homes to increase their wealth as well as improve their health and business.”
Wong encouraged purchasers, especially first-time buyers, to use Mapex as a platform to get the best deals as it is a good time to snap up properties thanks to the competitive interest rate.
“We foresee the prices of houses escalating due to the rise in cost of construction material. This is partly due to the price hike in construction materials and also due to labour shortage,” he said.
