The current slowdown in the property market doesn’t look like it will pick up anytime soon. In fact, the outlook seems rather uncertain for the Malaysian property industry.

The group currently has two ongoing developments with the Singaporean developer, namely Sophia Hills on Mount Sophia, District 9, and Royal Square at Novena.

"We are working towards signing the MoU on July 19, 2016. We are still in the process of confirming the details," a spokesperson from Singapore's Ministry of Transport was quoted as saying.

The new mortgage facilities are expected to be used to fully repay the REIT’s current bridge loan facilities from John Hancock Life Insurance Company (USA) of US$296 million, and for partially financing the acquisition of the IPO Portfolio.

It will be located on Beach Road (bordering the Central Business District) and close to the Marina Bay entertainment and business districts.   

So while the central bank’s move is in line with the easing policies globally, it is not substantial enough to revive the local property market, which has been tied down not only by tighter lending policies, but also the abolition of the developer interest bearing scheme (DIBS) and the hike in real property gains tax (RPGT).

Real estate investment trust (REIT) prices rose in early trades on Bursa Malaysia yesterday following Bank Negara Malaysia’s move to cut the overnight policy rate (OPR), but pared gains in the afternoon.

This confirmed a report by The Edge weekly on July 11, which pointed to one of the anticipated proposals, that is, allowing REITs to acquire vacant land and undertake property development subject to a cap of 15% of their total asset value. In comparison, the cap for property developments by Singapore REITs in the republic currently stands at 25% of total assets.

Judges for the S P Setia Bhd and TheEdgeProperty.com World Environment Day photo competition (Photocomp) had a tough time choosing the top five photos at a judging session yesterday.

Sold for: RM1.1 million (RM498 psf); Concluded by: Freeman Woo Chee Meng (REN 05026) (012-656 7617) and Fairuz Azhan (REN 16658) (016-222 2533) of MIP Properties; When: April 2016