Friday, December 6, 2019

Property sector’s upside is capped by affordability issues

CGS-CIMB Equities Research believes the property sector’s upside is capped by affordability issues, slower gross domestic product (GDP) growth and weaker new property sales.

CGS-CIMB Research said as of 3Q19, total residential property transactions by value rose 2.1% yoy, according to National Property Information Centre (NAPIC) data.

Transaction value for residential units priced between RM150,000 and RM200,000 increased the most by c.13% yoy, followed by residential units priced between RM250,000 and RM300,000, while residential properties priced above RM1mil recorded a 16% yoy decline in transaction value.

“This proves that the demand for the more affordable properties is greater at the moment. Nonetheless, 3Q19 residential transaction value growth was slower vs. 2Q19’s 9.5% yoy,” it said.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Can you find a landed home below RM500k in the Klang Valley?



Auction market sees more land and commercial properties

The oversupply situation in the property market in Malaysia is reflected in the foreclosure market. There has been a significant increase in the number of properties being put up for auction in the first three quarters of the year — a sign that the property owners are losing their holding power.

According to AuctionGuru.com.my’s 9M2019 Auction Report, a total of 26,563 properties worth RM14.3 billion went under the hammer within Jan-Sept 2019, an increase of 12% from 23,658 properties valued at RM10.9 billion (32% rise in terms of value) in 9M2018.

Notably, in the third quarter of this year alone, there were a total of 9,294 foreclosure properties, compared with 8,760 cases in 3Q2018.

The online auction listing platform’s executive director Gary Chia has observed that the number of auction properties has been increasing since 2016 with more high-value properties and land put up for auction.

“We are seeing a rising number of agricultural land and commercial properties in the auction market. This could be due to the current economic slowdown which has impacted business owners,” he tells EdgeProp.my.

He anticipates more properties coming onto the auction market in the foreseeable future amidst the near term headwinds expected in the domestic and external macro economy coupled with the overhang in the primary market.

Nevertheless, the proactive measure taken by the government — of reducing the floor price for foreign property purchase to RM600,000 — may potentially reduce the excess stock in the primary market.

This could, to a certain extent, limit the cascading effect onto the secondary market.

“We shall continue to monitor the foreclosure market closely as it serves as a crucial bellwether of the overall property market trend and well-being,” adds Chia.

Holding power being challenged

In 9M2019, there were 3,316 commercial properties (12% of 26,563 auction properties in 9M2019) and 1,051 land plots (4%) on auction.

The 3,316 foreclosure commercial properties has a total reserve value of RM4.26 billion, an increase of 27% in volume and 62% in value compared with 9M2018.

“This aggravated hike can be associated to the supply overhang situation which is engulfing the commercial sector, particularly the office space segment,” he notes.

In terms of value, office buildings registered the highest foreclosure value among the commercial properties totalling RM1.375 billion (34 cases), followed by shopoffices with a total estimated value of RM945 million (1,030 cases).

Although residential property takes the major share in terms of volume with 22,196 foreclosure cases, foreclosed commercial property contributed a significant amount in terms of value at RM4.3 billion, making up 30% of total reserve value.

Auction residential property in 9M2019 was valued at RM8.5 billion or 59%, while auction land assets value totalled RM1.6 billion or 11% of the total reserve value.

Chia says the auction market has also been slow as people are waiting for the reserve prices to come down.

A property that is not sold on first auction will see its reserve price drop by around 30% at the next auction.

Chia is concerned over the rise in land and commercial properties on auction as these are the least popular properties on the auction market especially in current market conditions where people prefer to keep cash for making big-ticket purchases.

“Land and commercial properties are refinance-able assets for business owners, to solve short-term cash flow problems. As the business environment gets tougher, business owners who refinanced their assets might have problems servicing their monthly loan repayments,” he says.

In the current anaemic economic environment, Chia expects more foreclosure commercial properties coming on stream in the remaining months of 2019.

Short-stay as a solution for owners

In the high-rise residential segment, the strong demand for short-stay accommodation has helped property owners generate extra income to cover their monthly loan instalments.

“It’s worth noting that the number of auctioned serviced apartments were the lowest among high-rise residential properties. This could be attributed to the proliferation of short-term rentals as owners turn their vacant properties into short-term rental accommodations,” Chia offers.

11,814 landed homes worth RM5.363 billion and 10,382 non-landed homes went under hammer in 9M2019. Under the non-landed segment, close to 50% of the total foreclosure cases were apartments (5,166 units) while there were 1,872 condominium and 1,629 serviced apartment units.

9,235 terraced houses came up for auction in 9M2019, followed by semi-D with 1,435 cases, bungalows with 752 units and 392 townhouses.

The high number of terraced houses could be a sign that middle-income earners are struggling to make ends meet as a majority of terraced house owners are from this group.

The depressed rental market is also affecting owners who purchased the units for rental investment, he adds. 

Sunday, November 17, 2019

次季滞销房产5万2666栋



我国次季推介后9个月未出售的住宅房产共高达5万2666栋!

大马房产服务顾问Nawawi Tie Leung第3季房产报告显示,次季我国滞销的住宅房产数量按季增长10.9%至5万2666栋。

报告显示今年次季滞销的房产中,住宅房产共有3万2810栋、服务式公寓有1万8186栋,而小型办公家居单位(Soho)则有1670栋。滞销的房产主要为价格平均介于20万令吉至30万令吉的房产单位,占比高达22.3%。

Nawawi Tie Leung预计,今年底将会有更多公寓单位推出市场。但高端公寓价格目前已有下滑的趋势。

“这主要因为房产的平均入住率也已从去年次季的79.7%,下滑至今年第3季度的 77.6%。”

展望未来,Nawawi Tie Leung认为会有越来越多办公室出租和入住率承下滑压力。房东也会继续面临找不到房客的困境。

Friday, November 15, 2019

Residential property overhang in KL hit 52,666 units in 2Q2019

Residential property overhang — completed units that remain unsold nine months after launch — in Kuala Lumpur stood at 52,666 units in 2Q19.

This is a 10.9% increase from the overhang stock of 1Q19, says Nawawi Tie Leung Property Consultants in its 3Q19 report on the Malaysian capital’s real estate market.

The total overhang in 2Q19 is 32,810 residential units, 18,186 units of serviced apartments and 1,670 Soho units. The majority of the overhang units are priced between RM200,001 and RM300,000 and makes up 22.3% of the total overhang units.

For the remainder of the year, more condominium units are expected to be released into the market. In 3Q19, 2,514 units were added to the current stock after the completion of three high-rise projects. The bulk of the new supply came from 1,516 units of serviced apartments at EkoCheras, located outside the city centre at Jalan Cheras’ Mile 5. The other two completed projects are from Stonor 3 with 400 units and Aria KLCC with 598 units.

Meanwhile, prices and rents for high-end condos eased marginally by 0.8% and 2% q-o-q at RM1,028 and RM3.78 psf per month respectively.

In the office market, the total stock in Kuala Lumpur increased to 84.8 million sq ft in 3Q19, following the completion of The Exchange 106.

Average occupancy rate dropped to 77.6% in 3Q19 from 79.7% in 2Q19. Nawawi Tie attributes this to the “slower-than-expected take-up” at The Exchange 106.

The first batch of tenants are expected to move into The Exchange 106 by next month while the bulk of other tenants are expected to follow suit by March and April 2020.

In 3Q19, Kuala Lumpur’s office market was mainly driven by the expansion of serviced office/co-working space operators and tech firms such as Klook, Agoda and Fave. Expansion in the office market is expected to gather momentum as other major tech companies contemplate expanding their presence in Malaysia.

Currently, the serviced office and co-working space in KL is split between 51% and 49% in the Golden Triangle and KL Fringe respectively.

Serviced office provider IWG will be opening its first Spaces co-working branch at Platinum Sentral, its largest office space in Malaysia at 59,000 sq ft.

IWG is also rebranding its Regus Centre in Menara Prestige to come under its Spaces co-working brand.

After WeWork opened its first location at Equatorial Plaza, it will set up its second location in Kuala Lumpur’s fringe area at Mercu 2, KL Eco City. Standard Chartered Bank and Mcdermott have leased 100,000 sq ft and 60,000 sq ft respectively at WeWork Equatorial Plaza.

Co-working operator Found8 from Singapore also opened its first location at KL Sentral Station in 3Q19.

In 3Q19, rents in the Golden Triangle and KL Sentral remained flat at RM7.23 psf per month and RM7.10 psf per month respectively. New supply from The Exchange 106 is expected to further contribute to the supply glut.

Menara MIDF, located along Jalan Raja Chulan, was also put up for sale at a guide price between RM140 million and RM150 million.

Looking ahead, Nawawi Tie expects office rents and occupancy to remain under downward pressure while landlords could face the continuing challenge of securing new occupiers.

In the retail sector, the overall occupancy for shopping malls in Klang Valley for 3Q19 is estimated at 85.3%. Prime malls have continued to maintain occupancy rates of above 90%. However, the projected growth of retail sales for the year has been revised downwards to 4.4% from 4.9%.

After 18 months, Parkson Puchong at M Square Mall ceased operations when the department store failed to meet its sales targets. Prior to this, Parkson had operated at Suria KLCC mall for 20 years. The group currently operates 43 stores across Malaysia.

Fitness gym Babel took up 15,000 sq ft at Suria KLCC, leasing the rooftop space at Menara Ken TTDI.

Co-working space operators have also taken up retail spaces in malls. MyTown shopping centre welcomed co-working space operator Common Ground as its tenant in September, which is taking up 18,000 sq ft of retail space across two levels. Common Ground also operates its co-working spaces in other malls such as Citta Mall and Jaya One.

In July, Malaysian co-working space operator Worq launched its third branch at KL Gateway Mall. Since opening its first branch at shopping mall Glo Damansara in 2017, Worq has rapidly expanded to provide some 18,000 sq ft of work spaces.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

2019住宅房产交易额



大马房产市场今年杪总成交额预计将达到710亿3000万令吉,写下4年来最高水平,全年销量为20万4840单位。上述成交总额将比去年的687亿5000万令吉,增加22亿8000万令吉或3.32%。成交量比去年的19万7385个单位,增加7455单位或3.78%。

和2016年的20万3064单位相比,则是增加1776单位或0.87%。在今年预计710亿令吉3000万令吉的总成交额当中,二手房屋高占567亿6000万令吉或79.9%,其余21.1%来自新房屋(142亿7000万令吉)。

Saturday, November 9, 2019

West Coast Expressway

West Coast Expressway (WCE), a 233km highway connecting Banting in Selangor to Taiping, Perak.




Saturday, November 2, 2019

Rise in Foreclosure Cases in 3Q 2019

As at 3Q19 the overall foreclosure cases have expanded further to 9,294 cases versus 8,760 a year ago, representing a 6% rise. This includes commercial, residential properties and land parcels.

In ringgit value, it is an increase of 31.6%, RM5.19bil (3Q19) versus RM3.9bil (3Q18).

On a nine-month basis to Sep 2019, the total number of foreclosure cases rose to 26,563 versus 23,658 a year ago, a 12% increase.

In value terms, the total aggregate foreclosure reserved value stood at RM14.38bil, a rise of 32% compared to a year ago. This supports Bank Negara’s findings that the central bank is seeing an uptick in foreclosure cases involving properties priced RM500,000 and above since last year.

Residential comprises the largest volume of foreclosure cases, at 22,196 out of the total 26,563 cases, or 83.56%, for the period ended Sept 30,2019.

Monday, September 23, 2019

Overhang continued in 1H 2019

According to the National Property Information Centre (NAPIC), there were 32,810 residential overhang units worth RM19.76bil, an increase in volume of 1.5% whilst the value decreased by 0.5%.

43% overhang units were condominium and apartment,  bulk of the units priced between RM200,000 to RM300,000, mainly contributed by Perak.

In the 1H of 2019, the sector recorded 160,172 transactions worth RM68.3bil, representing a 6.9% increase in volume and 0.8% in value as compared to the 1H of 2018, which recorded 149,862 transactions worth RM67.74bil.

Residential property is 62.4% market share, followed by agriculture property with 21.6% share.

There were 99,922 transactions worth RM34.65bil recorded in H1’19, an increase of 6.1% in volume and 9.5% in value.

In the primary market, the number of new launches in H1’19 were far behind those recorded in the same period last year.

There were 23,591 units launched, contracted by 49.4% as compared to 46,617 units in H1’18.

For commercial property, there were 12,960 transactions worth RM12.53bil recorded in the 1H of the year, up 20.4% in volume but value declined by 20.8%.

The shop sub-sector dominated 53.4% of commercial property transactions and 46.3% of total value, recording 6,923 transactions worth RM5.8bil.

The shop sub-sector overhang continued to increase as well, recording a total of 5,760 units with a value of RM4.98bil, up 13.9% in volume and 22% in value against the preceding half.

The unsold under construction and not constructed scenario improved with volume decline by 11.9% to 6,370 units and 3.6% to 371 units respectively.

The Unsold Property Enquiry System Malaysia (UPESM 2.0) Malaysia was also launched in conjunction with the briefing.

Saturday, May 11, 2019

Redevelopment must have consent of all owners

The National House Buyers Association (HBA) read with consternation recent articles in which the Federal Territories Minister said that the government is looking at an urban redevelopment/renewal law, while seeming to ignore the unconstitutional impact such a law will have on homeowners in Malaysia.
Little does he seem to realise the far reaching implications such a law will have on Article 13 of the Federal Constitution, and the principles of indefeasibility of title as enshrined in the National Land Code which the Federal Territories are bound by. We hope the FT Minister is not swayed by the whisperings of commercial-minded developers, hence this ‘mulling of a proposed law to govern redevelopment or renewal’.
En bloc strata sale
This ‘redevelopment or renewal’ law is likely another name for the impugned ‘En Bloc Strata (forced) sale’ proposal, first put forth by developers 10 years ago.
En bloc strata sale is where a certain piece of land with buildings erected on it is identified for acquisition by commercial developers. A developer will approach owners and persuade them to part with their property in consideration for, perhaps, the market rate of said property. Upon obtaining the land, the original buildings are demolished to make way for a new development, likely a mixed development with residential and commercial buildings priced high above the original rate of the demolished buildings.
Sans authoritative findings and conclusions, the original buildings are termed dilapidated or unsafe. The issue of certification by the Local Council as ‘condemned building’ thus arise and precede.
The aim as perceived by HBA is the forceful acquisition of certain commercially situated land area. Forceful, because an en bloc sale/redevelopment/renewal law only upholds the might of the majority. What about the constitutional rights of those who do not wish to dispose of their property even with considerable compensation because they have lived there their entire lives?
Less ‘pros’ and more ‘cons’
The FT Minister identified Singapore as an example where this law was enacted. Minority owners there were given replacement units on the renewed and redeveloped land itself and not in some far-off tertiary location. However, the success stories do not highlight the plight of the minority owners (who are often the old and infirm, who have stayed in the same area for decades) in coping with the forced hardship of adapting to new surroundings. Does the FT Minister actually care?
Singapore and Hong Kong are ranked as the world’s 3rd and 4th most densely populated countries respectively. Malaysia is ranked 112th, based on the projections of the United Nations in 2015. While en bloc sale is arguably a necessary evil in land-scarce Singapore and Hong Kong due to the pressing need for urban redevelopment, this argument is not relevant for Malaysia.
Land Acquisition Act
The Land Acquisition Act, which we now have, has prescribed reasons and procedures in place to ensure any forceful acquisition is undertaken with consideration of the interests and opinions of all the owners and not a mere majority. Reasons prescribed are confined to those for the ‘benefit of the public’ and not for commercial interests.
We also have the Strata Management Act 2013 (SMA) that provides for contributions by the owners to the Maintenance Account and the Sinking Fund Account in strata schemes so that strata buildings can be properly maintained, refurbished and upgraded without falling into dilapidation.
It is justified to redevelop strata developments for urban renewal using either the current Land Acquisition Act or the SMA which is in line with Article 13 of the Federal Constitution and section 340 of the National Land Code to protect the rights of homeowners rather than apply law more suited to countries that are land-scarce.
Being old is not a crime
Homeowners should have the freedom to decide how to redevelop their housing schemes without a law that allows the majority and third parties (commercial developers, government or political entities) to override the constitutional right of minority homeowners who may be old, infirm, have no living relatives or a voice. Older people often have difficulty adapting to living in a new place.
Does this proposed law envision the rights of the minority should the minority want to be compensated with a replacement home on the same site after redevelopment without having to pay for said unit, and that all expenses for temporary accommodation be borne by the developers?
There is no valid justification to support this proposal. HBA’s stand is that any redevelopment/rejuvenation/renewal must have the consent of all owners. Current laws are sufficient for renewing dilapidated buildings without sacrificing the interests of owners.
Datuk Chang Kim Loong is the Hon. Secretary-General of the National House Buyers Association (HBA). 
HBA can be contacted at: Email: info@hba.org.my
Website: www.hba.org.my 
Tel: +6012 334 5676

Saturday, May 4, 2019

JMB and MC


The Strata Management Act 2013 has a built-in protection mechanism for strata unit owners – the key is to ensure that owners make it a point to participate in the decision-making with regards to any service charges or maintenance fees of the development as soon as possible.

Under normal circumstances, the developer has 1 year from the delivery of the first strata unit to purchaser to set up a JMB. The JMB consists of both strata unit owners and the developer (no strata title yet). Once strata titles have been issued, and 25% share units have been transferred to the owners, an MC (owners only) can then be formed. Once the MC is formed, the owners can then decide on the level of property maintenance and management they want and the fee they are willing to pay for them.

A book of strata register would have been opened during the JMB period. The only thing preventing the formation of an MC is the requirement that at least 25% of the aggregate share units be transferred to the owners. The problem is that there could be many owners who are unwilling to pay the stamp duty in the Memorandum of Transfer in order to obtain their strata title and hence the requirement to have a minimum of 25% of the aggregate share units transferred may not be achieved.

- EdgeProp.my