Bad news travels in pairs.
Last week, Reuters reported
Amid growing anxiety over a glut of high-rise residences in Malaysia’s Iskandar, a mega waterfront township project there appears to have hit a snag.
The Business Times understands that CapitaLand, South-east Asia’s largest real estate developer, recently sought a six-month extension on the launch of its 900-unit high rise condominium, which is the first phase of a S$3.2 billion ($2.52 billion) Danga Bay project, which spans some 28 hectares on a man-made island.
It seems that it had some problems with Johor state authorities. If TLC can have such problems, what about yr ordinary, not connected S’porean property buyer?
Then BT on 30 September carried a story reported that thanks to PRC developers and buyers, S’poreans buying to rent in Iskandar are screwed.
A looming housing glut in Iskandar Malaysia may weigh down rental yields in the economic zone, with homes being left empty.
The warning this time came from Malaysia’s national organisation of developers, the Real Estate & Housing Developers Association (Rehda).
FD Iskandar, president of Rehda, noted that some 30,000 homes could be completed by 2016 or early 2017 in Iskandar.
If these are mainly sold to buyers outside Malaysia and Singapore, “then you will see that these units will be empty and once they are put up for rent and there are so many units available, that will put pressures on rental yields”, he said.
Malaysia’s federal government is “actually looking seriously” at this issue … But land administration in Malaysia lies within the authority of the state government.
In the past 12 to 18 months, the deluge of homes launched or in the pipeline by China developers, including Country Gardens and Guangzhou R&F Properties, has stoked concerns over a looming housing glut in the Iskandar region, which encompasses an area of more than 2,000 square kilometres in Johor.
“… developers from China launching a few thousand units at one go,” Mr Iskandar said, adding that Malaysian or Singaporean developers would typically have 400-600 units in one project.
Most of the buyers of these Chinese projects come from mainland China, he observed. “…concerns about these residential units being empty.”
Cynical Investor
*The writer blogs at http://atans1.wordpress.com/