News by Natalie Khoo

IJM Land Bhd will be launching Block A, the final block of Kalista 2 @ Seremban 2 executive apartments, and 183 units of 2-storey linked houses called Rimbun Irama in 2Q2016, said IJM Land’s central region senior manager for property development Hoo Kim See.

The 2016 Sony World Photography Awards has shortlisted the submissions for its competition, which include some stunning architectural photography..

Despite developers scaling back on new property launches, the number of new bungalows and garden villa units launched in 2H2015 have jumped to 312 from 24 units in 1H2015, according to the Real Estate Housing Developers Association of Malaysia (Rehda) Property Industry Survey 2H2015.

Close to a third of 159 respondents to the Real Estate Housing Developers Association (Rehda) Property Industry Survey 2H2015 agree that the main issue with affordable housing is the increased overall cost of doing business.

Real estate negotiators must be prepared to tell their clients to buy properties further away from the city centre, said Axis REIT Managers Bhd head of investments Siva Shanker.

“Currently, we have about 18,500 registered RENs with the board, and we observe about 350 new members registering on a monthly basis,” MIEA deputy president Eric Lim said at a press conference in conjunction with the Malaysian Annual Real Estate Conference (Marec’16) event today.

Sunway Property is currently drawing up plans for its first high-rise residential development at its mixed-use development, Sunway Wellesley in Bukit Mertajam in Seberang Perai on the Penang mainland.

Sold for: RM3,800,000 (RM633.33 psf); Concluded by: Matt Tian of Reapfield Properties (016-2085108); When: December 2015

The Goods and Services tax (GST) which was introduced in April last year has reduced demand for commercial properties in the market due to the additional 6% cost that buyers have to pay, said Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia (Rehda) deputy president Datuk Soam Heng Choon.

Rehda president Datuk Seri Fateh Iskandar Mohamed Mansor: High loan rejection rate will really impact aspiring homebuyers, especially those who are buying for the first time.