BY DAVID TAN, CHRISTOPHER TAN AND CHONG KAH YUAN
> Photos by WAN MOHIZAN WAN HUSSEIN and ZHAFARAN NASIB > Video by ZAINUDIN AHAD
IMPRESSIVE four-figure square footages of landed properties are the main draw of projects offered by developers at the StarProperty.my Fair 2017 in Queensbay Mall.
The lack of low-priced landed properties in metropolitan areas has made more buyers set their sights on homes in places as far as Sungai Petani, said BDB Land Sdn Bhd sales executive Mohd Zaidi Md Jasmin.
“An affordable housing unit in Penang of RM400,000 leads to only an apartment, maybe with one car park lot.
“But for less than that, buyers will get a double-storey terraced home with two car parks in a Sungai Petani township. We are getting strong interest from people working in the government sector,” he said.
He said Fuchsia, one of BDB Land’s key projects offering such double-storey terraced units, has a starting price of just RM368,326.
More property investors, he said, were considering landed alternatives out of Penang and yet near enough to yield potentially good return on investments.
But new homes for sale in Penang island still score high.
A sales representative from BSG Property answering queries about the Middleton project at the StarProperty.my Fair 2017 in Queensbay Mall, Penang.
The 220 units of BSG Property’s Middleton in Minden Heights is more than 65% sold out said, sales executive Joey Oo Seow Phei.
“The location is in the central area of Penang and is considered as a more affluent neighbourhood.
“Sales have been picking up since late last year and we hope for the trend to continue,” she added.
Location, facilities and good prices still seem to be the main determining factors for buyers.
“If the property comes with modern technology like smart-home systems, that is great. But if it doesn’t, it is still fine.
“For us, location and facilities are two most important factors.
“The property has to accessible. It need not be centred in town, but not too far away,” retired government servant Tian Peak Lim, 63, said when approached.
Her sister Betty Tian, 61, said nearness to public transport would bring positive impact.
Visitors looking at the scale model of the Southbay project by Mah Sing Properties Sdn Bhd at the fair.
Housewife Yeoh Yo Yo, 56, said affordability was an important determining factor for her.
She was looking for good buys in Balik Pulau.
“I feel that Balik Pulau has good future potential. Prices are definitely not as high as in George Town,” she said.
CapitaLand Retail Malaysia mall management (northern region) general manager Selina Ng expects a customer traffic of around 200,000 visitors over the four-day fair.
“Even on regular weekends, we attract around 60,000 people daily.
“The fair is a crowd-puller for locals and Kedahans, and we expect the crowd to pick up on Friday and Saturday,” she said.
Visitors taking a closer look at the Cypress Villa project by IOI Properties.
Meanwhile, fair visitors were cramming around The Star booth for the convenience of renewing their subscriptions and also to sign up for the popular Spin & Win Contest.
Valerie Sin, 60, found it timely to renew her ePaper subscription, which was expiring soon.
“I read the physical paper and my husband likes the ePaper because he travels,” she said.
StarProperty.my Fair 2017 is held at Queensbay Mall in Bayan Lepas, from 10.30am to 10.30pm daily until Sunday.
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