The Waterside Residence condo at The Light, Penang set for October launch

PETALING JAYA: IJM Land Bhd, the property development arm of IJM Corp Bhd, will be launching the Waterside Residence condominium project in Penang, with an estimated gross development value (GDV) of RM240 million, this October.

“The Waterside Residence is part of The Light Waterfront phase 2 which has a GDV of RM6.5 billion,” IJM Land managing director Edward Chong told TheEdgeProperty.com.

The 4.27-acre freehold condominium comprises 256 units of 2- and 3-bedroom units with built-up sizes of between 1,055 sq ft and 1,270 sq ft. The estimated selling price averages RM700 psf.

“Waterside Residence is situated next to a planned shopping mall and convention centre. We are targeting buyers who are looking for modern lifestyle homes,” Chong said.

Phase 2 of The Light Waterfront includes a proposed mall with a gross retail space of 1.5 million sq ft, thematic shops, a convention centre, two hotels offering a total of 750 rooms and an office tower.

“Registration of interest for the Waterside Residence is open currently. We are confident that it will be taken up quickly as it is very affordable.

“In Penang, properties that are priced below RM1 million will be snapped up in no time. Not only that, many people are upgrading their homes from inland to the seaside, thus the Waterside Residence will be very attractive to them,” he said.

On the current economic slowdown, Chong argued that there is still room for property developers to thrive. However, he noted that the property segment is “definitely off its peak”.

“The fundamental of economics is that there will be ups and downs. And the property sector is a consumer sentiment-driven business, meaning it’s not so much about the demand.

“People will always buy property. The property segment has had a good run since 2009 up to about a year ago when we started to see the sector slow down a little but like I said, what goes up must come down,” he said.

“Yes, the current market is more challenging but the market is not dead. Because if you say it’s dead, you won’t see people at property fairs. To capture the market, a developer has to take in these three factors: pricing, product and location,” he added.

Chong believes that developers can thrive even in a slowdown. “It’s just that during downtime, you have to manoeuvre around the storm, after that you’ll be alright. There will always be another upcycle and you’ll have to be there when it arrives,” said Chong.

This story first appeared in TheEdgeProperty.com pullout on Aug 5, 2016, which comes with The Edge Financial Daily every Friday. Download TheEdgeProperty.com pullout here for free.