KL factor in Penang property

By The Star


The sea-fronting Seri Tanjung Pinang project in Tanjung Tokong by E & O Property Development Bhd has sold over 80% of their properties since 2005.

Property prices in the south and southwest district of the Penang island have gone up over 20% compared to about a year ago due to the launching of high quality projects by developers from Kuala Lumpur.

They have between 2004 and now announced projects worth about RM30bil to be developed on the island over the next 10 to 15 years.

These developers included the Jelutong Development Sdn Bhd, E & O Property Development Bhd, Abad Naluri Sdn Bhd, CP Land Sdn Bhd, Mah Sing Bhd, and SP Setia Bhd.

Henry Butcher Malaysia (Penang) chief operating officer Lim Ewe Tatt, said some of these projects that were selling “very well” despite their prices because of their location, concept, design, and quality. Mega infrastructure projects such as the monorail, second bridge, and Penang Outer Ring Road, planned for the state under the Ninth Malaysia Plan had also helped to boost local property prices.

The CP Group’s Queensbay mixed-development scheme in Bayan Baru has sold very well since its launch.

“The sea-fronting Seri Tanjung Pinang project in Tanjung Tokong by E & O Property Development Bhd has sold over 80% of their properties since 2005. The group has launched about 500 units of landed residential properties, priced from about RM800,000 onwards. It is now getting ready to launch new bungalows for the Seri Tanjung Pinang project at the end of the year. These bungalows are expected to be priced from RM2.8mil onwards,” he said.

Lim said another project on the island, which had sold very well, was the CP Group’s Queensbay mixed-development scheme in Bayan Baru, which is in the southern part of the island.

“The CP Group has sold about 80% of the 545 units of high–rise and landed residential and commercial properties. The price for the properties ranged between RM280,000 and RM1.2mil, depending on whether the property is a high-rise or a landed unit,” he said.

Lim said the properties launched by the Kuala Lumpur-based developers were targeted not just at the Penang market.

“These properties are also marketed overseas and have successfully drawn much attention. Henry Butcher Malaysia (Penang), for example, has recently, in collaboration with MAS, brought in foreigners to invest in second homes on the island.”

“These overseas investors are now negotiating to purchase some RM20mil worth of properties, which are priced between RM500,000 and RM1.5mil. A substantial number of these properties that have caught the attention of foreign buyers are developed by Kuala Lumpur-based developers,” he said.

SP Setia’s RM900mil Setia Pearl Island development in Bayan Lepas - located on a 112-acre site - will have homes with green themes.

Raine & Horne (Penang) senior partner Michael Geh said Kuala Lumpur-based developers generally preferred the south and southwest districts of the island to launch their projects.

“CP Landmark, SP Setia, and Mah Sing have all launched projects in the south and southwest district of the island because of the large tracts of land available for their projects.

“They require large land areas so that they can develop innovatively designed development schemes. A good example is SP Setia’s RM900mil Setia Pearl Island in Bayan Lepas located on a 112-acre site.

All the homes are designed in accordance to specific themes. For example, the developer has planned for some of the homes to be surrounded by trees and flowers with an aromatic element,” he said.

“There are also homes in the Setia Pearl Island that are surrounded by shrubs or pines, spruces, and firs, covering the landscape. It is such unique concepts and designs that have boosted the sales of the project,” he added.

Geh said Mah Sing’s RM1.28bil Southbay Penang project in Batu Maung had registered some 1,500 interested buyers for the first phase of the project, scheduled for launching in early 2008.