Penang property prices soar

Formal council official said that, increase of surcharges imposed by the Pakatan Rakyat-led government will caused the property prices to shoot up by three fold in Penang. Followed by former Penang Municipal Council’s Town Planning Depart­ment acting director Khoo Boo Soon claimed that the additional cost imposed by directors will passed it on to buyer. And this is where property prices went upwards.  Following are the surcharges were implemented.

They include the increases in infrastructure contribution and re-zoning fees, and contribution of RM120,000 per unit in lieu of building low-cost homes.

The infrastructure contribution charge has been increased from RM5 per sq ft to RM15 each for housing projects exceeding 15 units per acre.

For commercial projects, the infrastructure contribution is increased from RM7 to RM21 per sq ft for every unit.

The re-zoning fee had been increased from 25% to 50% on the difference based on the current value, he said.

“The fee is imposed by the council. But the state government also charges the developer 50% on conversion of state-owned land.

Khoo state that lacking of affordable homes had adversely affected the low and middle-income groups which made up more than 80% of the population. He further highlighted that, “It is also difficult for the younger generation to own homes as the price range in Penang is beyond their means.

“What is the point of building more high-end homes when the majority of Penangites could not afford them?”

Developers were compelled by the government to build low and medium-cost homes for the past era when the government under (former chief minister) Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon. But it seems current government under (DAP’s) Lim Guan Eng seems to be more interested in filling up the state coffers rather than meeting the needs of the people.

The Property Stock Report for the first quarter of this year showed that the house prices in Penang had far exceeded the 2014 price projected by Penang Institute’s City, Urbanisation and Environment head Stuart MacDonald.

In an immediate response, Penang Housing Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow claim that he had forwarded the queries on surcharges to the Penang Municipal Council.

“The State Planning Committee can make such decisions, but ultimately it is the council that implements them,” he said.