Property Malaysia

Here at Property Malaysia we’ve always been amused by the strange yet creative building designs especially in Western countries (and also Japan). Sometimes a little out of ordinary makes a pleasant surprise. Popular Mechanics has listed 18 strange buildings from around the world with pics. In their intro,

This July, the American Institute of Architects forecasted steep declines in nonresidential construction spending through 2010. Spending is projected to decrease by 16 percent this year and another 12 percent in 2010. With less money flowing through the industry, high-end design projects are likely to be scaled back; architects, builders and regular folk are opting for retrofits with more practical design. While the demand may be turning to minimal and frugal architecture, unusual design still holds a place for museums and other prominent locations, primarily because it is so effective at turning heads. Here are some of our favorite unusual designs for museums, offices, homes and libraries—and why they are so effective at drawing attention.

Click here to see the full list

Hi folks, property expo is back again. Some of you were at the iProperty Expo that took place over the weekend, that was one we couldn’t make it to.

But fear not, there’s another big one coming this weekend if you are in the hunt of a home. Its the Mapex Klang Valley edition.

Malaysia Property Exposition (MAPEX ) 2009 Klang Valley

Date: 31 July 2009 - 2 August 2009 (Friday to Sunday)
Venue: Halls 2 & 3, Mid Valley Exhibition Centre (MVEC), Mid Valley Megamall.
Opening Hours: 10:00 am - 9:30 pm
Admission: FREE
Organizer: Real Estate & Housing Developer’s Association Malaysia
(REHDA Malaysia)
Telephone: 603-7803 2978
Fax: 603-7803 5285 / 7805 1206
Website: http://www.rehda.com

This is actually the second of the three expos planned this year for Klang Valley, the last one is gonna be held in December. You can check out here for the full schedule of all the exhibitions nationwide for 2009.

See you all there!

Not sure if this is true, but judging from the pics it could serious, and possibly fatal if not addressed properly and in a timely manner. Safety first.

If the bridge is closed for repairs, the peak hour traffic here would cripple. As if it isn’t bad enough.

For those who tried to access Property Malaysia the day before and yesterday, the site was down due to technical reasons and is now up and running.

From what we know it started to become inaccessible some time Wednesday afternoon, and was back up and running some 24 hours later. We apologize to our readers if they had any problems.

Was talking to an old friend who lived in a rather upmarket are in a secluded and low-density part of PJ. He was telling me that there had been a new boomgate and security checkpoint leading into the cluster of about 200 homes where he lived.

While most people are usually happy to pay a nomimal fee for the improved security features and peace of mind, he wasn’t apply with what he called the ‘extortionists’. According to him, in the last 8 years or so that he had been living there, there had not been any break ins. Then in the space of a month, a few houses in his area where robbed, and immediately following that, a company approached all the neighbours offering this security services, pointing out to the recent break-ins. Most of the neighbours agreed since after all the monthly payment is not much (RM80 per home).

But my friend suspects its an inside job, considering the immaculate timing of the events. Plus the fact that the security is lax, the guards are asleep half the time and when they are awake, they practically wave through anyone most of the time. As a result, he doesn’t bother to pay the monthly fees either, and the company isn’t really too fussed to collect it from every house every month.

I recently read in the papers that the Selangor State government in essence does not allow gated and guarded features to existing development, but will allow it on a case to case basis especially if 80% or more of the owners consent to it. But there should be proper regulation and screening to ensure only legitimate and trusted companies are allowed.

A lot of our friends from overseas having noted one thing about us Malaysians - we take our shopping seriously. Just visit one of the major shopping malls during the weekend (or better yet, school holidays or festival time) and you will see what they mean.

There was some concern a year ago about oversupply of shopping retail space, with all the major malls undertaking major expansion works - 1 Utama (the new wing), MidValley (the Gardens) IOI Mall (new wing) and Sunway Pyramid (huge extension). Even the iconic Subang Parade underwent a major refurbishment. Then there are also hypermarkets slowly chipping into the market with their trendy new outlets resembling malls by themselves.

Currently, things have sort of stabilized, the only major mall we can think of opening soon is Giza in Sunway Damansara.

Shopping malls and residential properties form a complicated and symbiotic relationship. To look at it simply, a successful shopping mall will increase the property image and prices of homes in the vicinity. But too close and the neighbourhood suffers from the associated problems - indiscrimate parking, traffic jams, noise and light pollution. A good example is Bandar Utama and 1 Utama. In the early days of the township, there was rampant parking problems all over the surrounding homes because of the insufficient bays in the mall. In addition to that, the long line of cars entering the mall caused unending traffic chaos at peak hours (due to the pay-when-you-enter system). This problem was arrested when the management opened up the open air parking and changed to the autopay system.

But developers looking to build a successful mall have problems of their own. With the rising affluency of Malaysian shoppers and their inevitable increasing expectations, it takes more planning and market study to plan and build a successful mall (not to mention more money). The one thing that draws crowds at the moment is a successful concept. Like a garden theme (Mid-Valley Gardens), or target the various lucrative niche markets (like Sunway Pyramid). Having the right mix of tenants and facilities is important too, that goes without saying.

If you don’t have enough land or money to go toe to toe with the big boys, focus on the niche market and do it well. One good example of this is Great Eastern Mall in Jalan Ampang. Its mostly unspectacular by comparison, but fishing in the lucrative expat market is their key to success.

But having said that, another important element in the long term success (or survival, for that matter) is the keeping up with the changing times and trends, reinventing and rebranding whenever necessary.

Today marks this blog’s 4th birthday and we’re stepping into the 5th year of existence now.

4 years is definitely a long time, especially in Internet years. A lot of things have changed in this period of time - the Malaysian property and construction industry, government regulations (not to mention a few state governments), purchaser awareness, and also our own lives in terms of interest and time commitment.

So we look ahead to our uncertain road for Property Malaysia. But in te meantime, its still business as usual.

It’s been awhile since our last poll, this one will run for a week until next Tuesday 7 July 2009.

There’s been a lot of speculation that the recovery in the construction and property market has started in the last few months, signalling the worst of the economic crunch is over. Then there are those who says its a false dawn, the real recovery can only been seen a few more months at least. I would love to know what you think, please vote and get your friends to vote here too.

Cheers to everyone and thanks in advance for voting.