Chua (centre) with other members of the association at the Shareda Propex19 press conference yesterday.
PENAMPANG: Some 19.22% or 741 of 3,855 launched property units valued at RM467.57 million in Sabah this year has remained unsold up to the second quarter of 2019.
Out of the amount, based on the National Property Information Centre figures, the largest overhang for residential property type is the condominium or apartment with 395 units worth RM221.19 million.
The second highest is two to three storey semi detached residential type units worth RM127 million, and third ranked is two to three storey terraced type with 135 units amounting RM61.24 million.
However, according to Sabah Housing and Real Estate Developers Association (Shareda) deputy president Datuk Sr Chua Soon Ping, the overhang property scenario in Sabah isn’t as major compared to places in Peninsular Malaysia.
He said this is because there are too many oversupply of property in places like Klang Valley and Johor there.
“We are fortunate that our developers here are actually very alert and a lot of projects take time to materialize so we did not oversupply the market,” he said.
“But, of course there is project overhang. One of the things causing it is because of the financing,” he told reporters after the Shareda Propex19 (Property Exhibition 2019) press conference at the organization’s headquarters in Bundusan here yesterday.
He said the exhibition, held from October 26 to 28 and involving 29 developers, would be an ideal avenue to showcase the property that have yet to be sold with good packages and deals.
Chua reiterated the national average of rejected bank loan for property is around the average of 40% to 50%, which contributed to the challenges faced by the people when it comes to home ownership as one of the causes of property overhang.
He explained the banks today are actually pro-cooling of nett income, which means decreasing the loan payments like cars and other expenses.
“Now they are actually cooling on the nett income,” he said, adding the people must diligently manage expenses to secure the hard to acquire housing loans.
NAPIC recorded a total of 32,810 unsold residential units out of 124,124 units, 26.43%, in Malaysia valued RM19,760.38 billion with the most being in Johor, 6,175 out of 25,743 or 24.06% units valued at RM4,647.04 billion, followed by Perak with 5,796 out of 12,197 or 47.51% valued at 1,686.92 billion, and Selangor with 4,243 out of 23,185 or 18.30% valued at RM3,627.57 billion.
The condominium and apartment type is the highest ranked nationwide, contributing to overhang by 43.32% (14,021 units) with value of RM8,43280.21 billion units of the national overhang.
The second highest is followed by two to three storey terraced type with 30.60% (10,028 units) amounting RM5,083.09 billion.
The third ranked is two to three storey semi detached type by 2,516 units worth RM2,995.35 billion.
However, Chua predicted Sabah as a tourist destination has the potential of turning its foreign visitors into property investors especially with the emergence in Hong Kong.
He said investors from places like Hong Kong might look elsewhere to invest like Singapore or Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu, Sabah would attract the same crowd.
“Sabah is a destination place for people like from China and Korea to come in. Of course, this trend will continue for other countries like Europe, America and what not. They would come into Sabah,” he said.
Chua said Shareda is also looking forward to the Chief Minister’s State Budget 2020 announcement, especially regarding Shareda’s application of changing the value of property that can be bought by foreigners from RM1million for one unit to RM1 million for two units, minimum of RM500,000 per house, through the Sabah My Second Home Scheme in the state.
Shareda vice president Chai Meng Kong treasurer general Kah Gen Fon, council members, Benny Ng Su Pei and Seth Quek Teck, were amongst those at the press conference.