KUCHING: After spending almost a week in Perth, Western Australia on a study trip, it was discovered that there are many potential property investment opportunities there. This was revealed by Chairman of Sarawak Housing And Real Estate Developer Association (SHEDA) Kuching Branch, Dr Christopher Ngui during a press conference here, yesterday.
Among some of the plans made during their trip was a courtesy call on the Western Australian Chinese Chamber of Commerce (WACCC) to understand the adaptation and networking of the Chinese business community when doing business in Western Australia. A courtesy call was also paid to the Consul-General of Malaysia, Nazarudin Jaafar, who was briefed about the delegates’ programme and discussion on general issues of Malaysians in Perth. Nazarudin also expressed his support towards SHEDA members for promoting ‘Malaysia My Second Home’ (MM2H) at Sarawak in Perth and noted that the programme would be complemented with the availability of direct flights between Kuching and Perth.
In response to that, Nazarudin suggested that SHEDA Kuching Branch should engage with the tourism sector in Sarawak for assistance on the proposal to boost the property market in Sarawak and that he will also bring the subject up to the Tourism Board at the federal level. The delegation also included a visit to the Mayor of the City of Canning, Paul Ng who is also a fellow Malaysian to learn from Canning’s Planning Department, the city planning procedures as well as building and infrastructure application process.
The delegates also learned from the CEO of the City of Canning, Arthur Kyron, that all planning processes were streamlined through an integrated planning unit and adopting a master plan. The City of Canning also created a ‘Strategic Community Plan 2017 – 2027’ to capture the community’s aspirations for the region and the practical outcomes of the ‘Strategic Community Plan’ was a result from the collaboration between the local government, community, and other key stakeholders. The progress of the ‘Strategic Community Plan’ is measured by maintaining a ‘2017 MARKYT Commu n i t y a n d We l l b e i n g Scorecard’, which is a community survey of a random and representative selection of Canning residents conducted every two years by independent consultants.
The survey examines the community satisfaction across a wide range of indicators on how people feel about living in Canning and on the city’s performance. The survey then helps the city track progress towards meeting the community’s needs and wants, providing a reliable and consistent point of comparison against previous years and other local government authorities. Due to this, the City of Canning is known for involving its community in its planning which contributed to its success in creating a well-planned living environment for its residents.
Besides learning about regeneration projects in the City of Canning and Bentley, the delegates also visited Elizabeth Quay, a regeneration project by the Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority in the Perth Central Business District which includes construction of an artificial inlet and modifications to the surrounding environments. The project plan showed nine building sites and completed facilities were to include 1,700 residential apartments, 150,000 square metres of office space, and 39,000 square metres of retail space. The delegation also visited a local property developer, Handle Property Group (HPG) which specialises in affordable quality housing in Western Australia.
The S a l e s and Ma r k e t ing Director, Kevin Higgins, who is also the Chief Operating Officer, personally brought the delegation to visit some of their award winning project sites including energy designed apartments and a visit to their headquarters. Higgins also informed the delegates that HPG would be able to assist in arranging for loan facilities with selected financial institutions for customers who are interested in purchasing an investment property in Australia.
Besides visiting HPG in Perth, the delegation also stopped over at Mandurah to learn that this city has established itself with an array of property developments that include everything from family homes, to modern apartments in new estates and luxurious mansions with canal views.
The median sales price for houses in that area in the last year was around AUD$285K based on 119 home sales and house prices had decreased by 2.6% over a period of 5 years which equates to a compound annual growth rate of -0.5%.
The delegation also explored other suburbs such as Busselton, Margaret River, and Midland for investment opportunities. Midland experienced the same trend as in Mandurah, where its median sales price is AUD$295K based on 65 units sales in October 2017 and is reckoned to be at its ‘rock bottom’ price. Properties in Margaret River however, were noted to experience a 19.6% increase in median sales price for houses compared to the same period five years ago, equating to a compound annual growth rate of 3.6%. “Based on the current market sentiments, it may be worth to explore and consider investing in Western Australia now as it is noted to be at the ‘bottom’ of its property cycle. It is now the buyers’ market,” said Ngui. Generate and convert HTML tables for websites with DivTable.com! Try this free online tool!
