GEORGE TOWN: Penang is setting up its own Penang Housing Board (PHB), modelled after the successful Singapore Housing Development Board (HDB) and Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA) in a long term bid to streamline the development of housing and plan more affordable housing in the state.While the housing boards in ... Read More

KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Negara is expected to announce next week measures to curb property speculation and a programme to create financial awareness for the youth, said sources.The introduction of a loan to value requirement for people buying their third house or more has been talked about, but central bank governor ... Read More

PLENITUDE Bhd (5075) plans to launch several small-scale property projects worth as much as RM400 million over the next eight months. The builder is taking advantage of a run-up in property prices to launch the seven residential projects that will cover areas in Klang Valley, Johor and Penang. "These properties ... Read More

Executive chairman Hamidon Abdullah said he was bullish on next year's outlook, describing the market as buoyant. Mutiara's new projects in Bandar Sunway, Kajang and Cyberjaya in Selangor and in Butterworth, Penang, are gated communities targeting the middle-to upper-income groups. They are expected to appeal to buyers looking for a ... Read More

Bank Negara Malaysia is likely to pause rates again at its next meeting on Nov 12, says Senior Economist at AmResearch, Manokaran Mottain."With Bank Negara having frontloaded rate hikes in the earlier part of the year, we see greater flexibility in keeping to a neutral stance. In our opinion, there ... Read More

GEORGE TOWN: SP Setia Bhd plans to launch four new residential projects with an estimated gross sales value RM546mil on the island beginning this December and next year. SP Setia property (North) general manager S. Rajoo told StarBiz that the projects comprised the RM175mil Setia Greens, RM60.5mil Brook Residences, RM170mil ... Read More

KUALA LUMPUR: The Housing and Local Government Ministry will propose that the ceiling price of homes that do not require a down-payment for purchase be raised to RM350,000.Minister Datuk Chor Chee Heung is expected to table the proposal at next week’s Cabinet meeting.Chor said that raising the ceiling price would ... Read More

GEORGE TOWN: The state government is reviewing the various charges imposed on residential projects priced between RM300,000 and RM350,000 per unit on the island, and RM200,000 and RM250,000 on the mainland.Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said that the move would encourage developers to build more affordable housing.“Developers should look at ... Read More

SHAH ALAM: The Housing and Local Government Ministry does not foresee a property “bubble” in the country, where a rise in prices will be followed by a rapid reduction.Minister Datuk Chor Chee Heung said that so far this year, property prices had increased by 37%, unlike Singapore and Hong Kong ... Read More

LEADING think-tank Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (Mier) is disappointed that the 2011 Budget did not provide measures to address high household leverage. Executive director Dr Zakaria Abdul Rashid described it as a key disappointment in the Budget, besides the lack of measures such as those to address property speculation ... Read More