Penang affordable homes. Latest Update.
Affordable homes is an issue which is important to every Malaysian who does not have a roof over their head and the rental they pay takes up a huge portion of their salary every month. Do note that poverty is also caused by property; lacking of one to call our own. Just imagine paying rental for the whole 40 years when one is working… The amount paid on the day one retires may be something like below.
Rental (RM600) x 12 months x 40 years = RM288,000
By the way, after retirement, the rental continues yeah. So, if we retire at 60 and pay rental for the next 20 years, then it will be another huge amount. This is why even if the monthly mortgage payment is higher than rental, it makes financial sense to buy versus rent. At least at the end of the tenure, payment stops. Rent out one or two rooms and the rental is now a ‘profit’ versus a loss… Now, let’s look at positive news for Penang property market in terms of unsold units. Too many unsold units is not good yeah.
Positive news for Penang property market
Positive news for Penang property market. There are less than 1% of Penang’s affordable homes priced below RM300,000 which is unsold. Article in nst.com.my State Housing, Local Government and Town and Country Planning Committee chairman, Jagdeep Singh Deo said, “In Penang, we have almost 3,000 unsold houses worth RM 2.9 billion but out of this number, only 0.8 per cent of affordable homes priced under RM300,000 are still unsold. We will try to assist this sector as it is important in ensuring cash flow in the market.”
He also shared that the Penang government plans to extend the Home Ownership Campaign (HOC) to 31st December 2021 because of the current Movement Control Order 2.0 (MCO) and imposition of Emergency which is expected to continue until August 2021. He says that this measure is aimed at helping new home buyers during this difficult time and it will also help economic generation in real estate sector. Please do refer to the full article here: Article in nst.com.my
Conclusion
If the HOC is extended, I do think it will help first time home buyers since they could save a lot of money just from the stamp duty alone. Perhaps the only critical issue is whether there are the right properties for all these first-time home buyers. Many times, their expectation of a home sweet home versus what is being provided at the price they could afford may not be the same. This is one of the major reason why these first-time home buyer may still be waiting.
My personal advice? Be open. Penang is not just the island or just those few popular areas. Penang has mainland Penang and Penang has less popular areas too. By the way, with improving amenities, these not so popular areas may still have everything one needs within minutes too.
When I was based in Penang for the first 15 years of my working life, I have stayed in these areas: Greenlane then moved into the city centre (nearby Prangin Mall), moved again to a landed home on the same road as the Penang Prison, then all the way up in Batu Ferringhi, moved down to Tanjung Bungah, moved to Relau to be near my office and lastly to Sungai Ara before moving to Kelana Jaya. So, yes, I am definitely qualified to talk about where to stay in Penang versus anyone who’s stayed in Ayer Itam his whole life… Happy deciding yeah.
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