Another example is the Tree House (pic above), where architects from Design Network Architects Sdn Bhd undertook Wong Chung Chek’s brief for a tree house for a city dweller (and no tree required). It was so good that the client’s friends asked to purchase the “kit” as it has a self-assembled functional, yet sleek look about it.

The Star – 12th October 2009

Earthquake damage in Indonesia.
We are also not near the Pacific Rim of Fire that is notorious for huge earthquakes and tsunamis although we could still feel tremors during Wednesday’s earthquakes in Samoa and Indonesia.

Earthquakes measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale in Sumatra and 8.3 in Samao resulted in many fatalities and extensive damage to buildings.

With the increasing frequency of such natural disasters, it is important for local property industry players to look for ways to reinforce their projects and incorporate more safety measures to ensure the property they design and build, especially high-rise buildings, are able to withstand tremors and earthquakes.

Facilities to accommodate mass evacuation of occupants of high-rise buildings should also be a top priority of building designers.

As big earthquakes are usually followed by tsunamis and high waves, property should not be built too near the shorelines and there should be high reinforced walls as a first line of defence to shelter these property should another tsunami like the one in 2004 strike.

Otherwise, generally the country has quite a conducive environment for the people to enjoy a good standard of living, at a relatively affordable cost.

Although there is still room for improvement in the country’s infrastructure system, we should be thankful for the clean water, regular electricity supply, and good roads and highways, among other things. We will appreciate what we have better by visiting other “less privileged” countries.

As far as housing is concerned, the people have a wide choice of residential property to choose from. They can either opt for high-rise living or stay in landed residences in the many housing schemes.

Hopefully, prices of goods and services will not skyrocket once the economic downturn caused by the global financial crisis is reigned in and the economy returns to growth.

We should learn from the experiences of other countries whose economies have suffered badly due to excesses which included over-priced and over-speculative property markets.

The massive loans taken out for property purchases and the resulting sub-prime loans would not have happened in the US if the banks there had been more vigilant in ensuring only those who have stable income streams and ability to repay their loans are approved for loans.

So, our well regulated banking system that required a lender to be employed or has a business with a minimum level of monthly income, has at least one guarantor and collateral to support their loan application, could have saved our financial system from a systemic failure this time around.

Prudence is the key word and should not be compromised for high business turnover.

As far as property prices are concerned, the global crisis would not have resulted in such major losses in the property value like those seen in some major European cities had real estate prices remained anchored to fundamentals.

Property prices are a function of demand and supply and a host of other factors including the people’s purchasing power and their affordability, prospects for growth of an area and standard of infrastructure facilities.

So far, property prices in the country have been reflective of actual market situations and have not hit the roof like those in some countries.

Both buyers and developers have important roles to play to ensure the market stays balanced and does not move into either extremes of a spiralling downward or upward trend.

Whether the global economy manages to pull off a V-shaped recovery or has to contend with a double V (double dip or W) will only be known in the coming months or possibly years.

With such uncertainties, there will still be caution in the market and the people will continue to watch their expenditure.

Developers should always strive to raise the standards and quality of their property products to ensure they are saleable as buyers today have many choices to choose from.

Needless to say, industry players that continue to innovate and are trendsetters in the various market sectors – from the lower priced to medium and higher-priced projects – will stand out from the rest to attract buyers.

Deputy news editor Angie Ng is appreciative of her landed residence and will not be moving to a high-rise dwelling any time soon.

The Star – 3rd October 2009

The RM13.6mil project started last month and will be completed by October next year, said Malaysian Highway Authority director-general Datuk Ismail Mohd Salleh.

Ismail, who visited the site with former Puchong MP Datuk Lau Yeng Peng on Thursday, said

the 500m link would connect Sri Manja with the Kesas Highway’s Kinrara exit.

He said the project was delayed due to several factors.

“It was supposed to be completed by the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) but they were unable to do so due to lack of funds.

“The local authority has appealed to the Federal Government for funds and that is why the project is being undertaken by the Federal Government now,’’ he told the media.

Ismail said the construction of the link would also involve the eviction of a squatter and a cattle farm in the area.

He said the pylons located over the construction site would be raised so that it would not cause any hazard to motorists.

“We will build a 300m sound barrier along the stretch .

“Our survey also revealed that some 20,000 motorists will benefit from the project.

“It will enable them to by-pass Jalan Kelang Lama in order to travel to Petaling Jaya from Puchong and vice versa,’’ he said.

Lau said he was glad that the work on the link had started after so much of struggle by him and the Barisan Nasional leaders in the past.

He said he and the other Barisan politicians had fought hard for the construction of the link and hoped that people would not be mistaken that this project was being carried due to the contribution of the opposition party.

“The project was approved by the Works Ministry in 2007 and others cannot claim credit for our efforts,’’ he said.

The Star – 31st August 2009

Named after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, the mosque is expected to be officially opened in September.

In a symbolic but low-key ceremony on Thursday, the mosque was handed over by Perbadanan Putrajaya (PPj), represented by its president, Tan Sri Samsudin Osman, to Islamic Religious Development Department of Malaysia (Jakim) director-general Datuk Wan Mohamad Sheikh Abd Aziz.

The ceremony was held at the mosque’s multi-purpose hall.

Samsudin said the RM208mil mosque catered to 20,000 worshippers and was completed on time.

“We were often asked why build another mosque when the Putra Mosque in Precinct 1 is deemed big enough. We estimate the future working population on the Core Island to number 28,000 so the Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin Mosque will cater for this,” he said at a press conference.

According to Wan Mohamad, 565,408 tourists visited the Putra Mosque last year.

“Besides catering to worshippers, the Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin Mosque will also draw tourists. Therefore, I urge the mosque management not to run things military-style by restricting access to Muslims alone.

“This amazing mosque has many features. Yes, there are places where non-Muslims are not allowed but at the same time, we can be more welcoming so as to tell others about the religion and answer any queries they may have,” he added.

The entire structure built on 4.04ha comprises the mosque (3.32ha) and the soon-to-be opened Kiblat Walk (0.72ha). Funds from the Eighth Malaysia Plan (RM8) were used for the overall construction, undertaken by KLCC Projeks Bhd.

The main prayer hall houses the Mihrab Wall that directs worshippers towards the “kiblat” (the direction of Mecca). The Mihrab Wall is inscribed with Quranic verses in the Nasakh calligraphic-style.

The khat is inscribed onto the back of the anti-reflective glass, giving a sense of verses floating down from the sky. The Sahn is the overflow prayer area outside the main prayer hall and the entrance to this is via a gateway called the Internal Iwan. It features stainless steel grilles, based on Islamic motifs and mirrors traditional Islamic architecture in a contemporary manner.

Pedestrian access to the mosque from the Palace of Justice and PPj is provided through the Kiblat Walk. Once opened, it will be dotted with landscaping and stalls selling religious paraphernalia.

The Star – 22nd August 2009

However, the impending removal of most of the housing packages offered by developers to attract buyers will mean that any sales realised will be dependent on the intrinsic values of these property products and how attractive they are.

Buyers have to accept the fact that developers are not about to continue with their housing packages indefinitely as these facilities incur higher cost.

As buyers only need to fork out 5% or 10% of the purchase price depending on the facilities signed for, developers have to service the interest charges to the financiers for between two to three years during the project construction period.

They are also bearing all the legal fees and stamp duty on the sale and purchase agreement, loan agreement and memorandum of transfer.

The consolation is that these facilities have translated into low entry cost for buyers and have contributed to the higher sales of the past few quarters.

Post-housing packages, whether the sales numbers will continue to flow in will largely depend on whether there is a major turnaround in the people’s sentiment.

Generally the prevailing sentiment is still one of caution. This has resulted in more developers resorting to redesigning and repositioning their projects into more affordable range which have lower profit margins.

A number of projects that have been launched lately have smaller built up space to ensure they are priced lower.

It is a fact that competition will continue to heat up and developers will be faced with more challenges on the horizon.

How well they hold up to the competition and overcome these challenges will have a great impact on their performance and market’s sustainability going forward.

The lull in the market of the past few quarters should have given industry players sufficient time to undertake some serious business restrategising plans and product research and development initiatives.

It looks like industry players still have some way to go before regaining their previous confidence (before the global financial crisis sets in last September) where they have no qualms about having multiple project launches.

These days, developers have to really tune in to buyers’ needs and the realities of the current times when planning their projects.

They have to conduct their business differently and come out with more “out of the box” project designs and plans.

The projects are likely to be of smaller scale and with less units.

One of the projects that should be able to hold out quite well will be well designed and moderately sized apartments and small office home office units in Kuala Lumpur’s inner city or the peripherals areas just outside the city’s central business district.

There are many young executives and professionals who are looking to move into these residences to enjoy the conveniences of city life, yet cannot afford or are not ready to commit to buy one of the high-end KLCC residences.

To ensure a more “smooth landing” for industry players, it will certainly help if the Government adopts more market liberalisation measures to create a level playing field for property players.

Industry players, through Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda), want the Government to urgently look into the bumiputra quota release mechanism to ensure a standardised, structured and transparent system is in place so that developers will not be unneccesarily burdened by the high holding cost of these unsold bumiputra units.

There is a need for an automatic release of the quota units after six months of a project’s launch or when a project has reached 50% in its construction, whichever is earlier.

Meanwhile, to help the lower income group, it will be fair to cap discounts for bumiputra buyers at 5% of a property price and such discounts should only be applicable for houses priced at RM250,000 and below.

Purchasers for a higher priced property are better off financially and will not need a discount. Currently, the different states impose different discounts ranging from 5% to 15% for bumiputra buyers.

Deputy news editor Angie Ng believes it is timely for more proactive collaboration between developers, the Government and common folks to promote strong bonding, good neighbourliness and mutual respect.

Since the global financial crisis hit the country’s shores around last September, developers have resorted to clearing their unsold stocks and held back new project launches for fear of poor take-up for the projects.

Although the market outlook is still uncertain, developers are already making plans for more project launches in the coming months after seeing a pick up in the take-up for property products in the past few months.

Residential loan approvals have turned positive since March also point to stronger take up among buyers, although some of the loans could be due for refinancing activities.

Most developers are taking the initiatives to test the market’s response by getting their show units ready and opening up their projects for registration from interested buyers to gauge the market’s response.

If a project receives a “critical milestone” with enough registrations in place, they will be open up for sales and launch.

The coast in the global economic front is still not clear as a potential recovery is stunted by dampened purchasing power in the advanced economies. If anything, it will be a long and slow process towards recovery.

Most economists are not convinced that the economy will be bottoming out any time soon and are more confident of a pick up around the second quarter of 2010 where more “sustainable green shoots” will emerge.

Asia has been lucky this time around and has been spared more severe backlashes experienced by their Western counterparts. This is underscored by China’s 7.9% GDP growth expected for this year and India’s more than 6% growth in 2009.

If the Government’s market liberalisation measures and the two economic stimulus packages are implemented efficiently and expeditiously, they will be able to give rise to very positive results for the economy in the coming months.

The most important factor will be a return of the people’s confidence and purchasing power to ensure a more sustainable economic recovery.

As for the property market, developers have to be prepared with the right product offerings to attract buying interest.

Mass housing products including terrace houses and semi-detached houses priced below RM1mil will continue to be in great demand.

As the Klang Valley has many of such projects, it is already in the frontline to recover faster than other parts of the country.

At this point, most of the new launches comprise mainly high-rise condominiums around the city centre vicinity.

But even these residences have been redesigned with smaller and more affordable units.

Buyers can look forward to more of such projects in the coming months.

Developers with the right products, right location and pricing are already experiencing better take-up for their property products and sales increase.

High-rise residential living, which is becoming very much a part of Malaysian lifestyle, will increasingly grow in popularity with the rapid urbanisation in the country.

With the scarcity of land becoming more acute, especially in the cities, more developers will be opting to build high-rise residences than landed units in the coming years.

It is more sensible to build high-rise buildings with an average density of 50 units per acre, which will reduce the land requirement to a fourth of landed properties.

High-rise condominium living is also gaining popularity among city folks.

The people’s changing lifestyle and the need for easier accessibility and convenience of city life are some of the major contributors for opting for high-rise living among city folks.

Other reasons that are often cited are the security, peace of mind, and convenience of the services provided by the gated and guarded concept of high-rise living.

With the growing popularity of high-rise living, it is important that high-rise dwellers should be educated on their personal safety measures in the event of emergencies such as fire or tremors.

Concerted efforts and close cooperation for fire and evacuation drills between the developers, property managers, residents and the rescue authorities need to be conducted regularly to come out with the best evacuation and rescue plans to ensure residents will feel safe and secure in their high-rise abodes.

·Deputy news editor Angie Ng hopes all Malaysians will be able to forge ahead and contribute towards a more sustainable recovery and growth path for the country.

The Star Newspaper – 18th July 2009