The Malaysian Insight

THE property glut in Penang mostly involves affordable homes, said the Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda) Penang chapter.

Affordable units in Penang are priced at RM150,000, RM200,000, and RM300,000.

The pricing for such units are controlled by the state government, and those interested in buying them must register with the state housing department. The control exercised by the state is to discourage speculation that drives up the prices of homes in the state.

Rehda Penang’s former chairman Jerry Chan said the affordable home sector was seeing a more serious overhang than other types of homes.

He said the “overhang has never been so bad before”, although the problem was worse in Johor and Kuala Lumpur.

“In 1999 (after the Asian financial crisis), we didn’t see so much severe overbuilding as we see today. We have a glut in Penang but not as bad as in Johor and KL.

“There is genuine demand (for these units) here but people find it difficult to buy because it is hard for them to get bank loans.

“In 1999, it was still easier to get housing loans. Now it is easier to get car loans, personals, and credit cards,” he said in a press conference at Rehda Penang’s office in Pulau Tikus today.

Chan said the government has to answer how serious it wanted the people to be able to afford homes and what it could do it make it easier for house buyers to get financing for their home purchases.

Current Rehda Penang chairman Toh Chin Leong said developers could not deny there was a glut in Penang when there was a home ownership campaign going on.

The national campaign, to be held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre in March, sees the federal government working with developers and lenders to market about 30,115 homes nationwide at discounted prices.

Rehda Penang is also holding its Malaysian Property Expo 2019 next week at Udini Square to promote homes, offering discounts of at least 10%.

Toh said the overhung units in Penang involved properties in the lower and higher ranges.

“But the quantity of high-end units affected is small. Meanwhile, units in the mid range, like those priced around RM600,000 and RM750,000, are still sellable if the locations are in the town area.

“The overhang is not so serious here. In KL, you see it everywhere,” he said.

Rehda Penang, however, could not share figures on the property glut in the state, as there was no comprehensive database to collect and keep track of the numbers.

Toh said even the National Property Information Centre’s figures’ for overhang units only show those that were still unsold nine months after the projects had obtained their CCC (completion and compliance certificate).

“So we don’t have figures that are accurate to the dot.”

Toh said Rehda Malaysia was talking to the government to create a comprehensive centralised database on housing, which developers could refer to to understand the market conditions in the areas where they plan to build. – January 29, 2019.