Plans on track for Sheda Property Expo in Sept
The expo is a proactive approach to stimulate the recovery of the property industry during challenging times, as well as to give astute developers and purchasers alike a chance to gain leverage before the economy rebounds. John Yong, expo organising chairman
KUCHING: Preparation for the Sheda Property Expo is well underway towards September 20 to 22 this year at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching ( BCCK).
At a press conference yesterday, expo organising chairman John Yong shared the media that the 11th edition of the expo which has been running annually since 1998 is expected to draw win a large crowds as previous editions of the traditional three- day event have managed to pull in crowds of over 10,000 visitors.
“Theexpo is aproactiveapproach to stimulate the recovery of the property industry during challenging times, as well as to give astute developers and purchasers alike a chance to gain leverage before the economy rebounds.
“The expo is a great platform for developers to get their brand into the public domain and boost their market presence for both current and future projects.
“Members of the public often priorities location, type of property and reputation of developers when making a decision. Cultivating strong public perceptions of a developer’s brand will definitely help in securing sales,” he said.
For Sheda Property Expo 2019, the Sarawak Real Estate and Developers Association (Sheda) will be offering an additional five per cent early-bird discount for those who register before April 30, while Sheda members will enjoy an unprecedented 15 per cent discount.
Take-up rates are currently at around 30 per cent for the booths, guided Yong.
While our property market has seemed rather sluggish of late, Yong commented that reports have shown that launches of landed housing have been continuing to drop as opposed to the number of strata titled apartment units launched.
“Nevertheless, demand for landed housing remains evident. Launches for high-rise residential units are reduced by almost half for 2018 in view of the current large incoming supply and signs of slower sales and lower rentals,” he said.
“And this Expo will be held in September, by that time majority of the PR1MA units will have been sold off so there will no longer be an overhang in the market by then. It will definitely be a great opportunity for local developers to come and showcase their units to the market then,” added Sim Kiang Chiok,
On the topic of oversupply in our property market, Sim guided that the current overhang is around half condo and half landed units.
“The overhang is not necessarily due to jus the affordability of the unit but also potential mismatch is supply and demand. For example, condo units in less populated areas are not going to do well and lowcost housing in densely populated areas will also not do very well.
“Developers are now adjusting their prices to suit the spending capacity of local buyers, so it is an opportune time to look into purchasing property. It’s a buyer’s market out there right now, so best to take advantage of that.”
In Sarawak, af fordable properties are generally under RM300,000 while higher end property is priced in above RM450,000, said Sim.
The Sheda Property Expo 2019 will feature prominent and recognised developers from all over Malaysia and their projects.
“The expo will give potential buyers broader real estate development options from all major developers as well as exclusive projects throughout Sarawak, Sabah, West Malaysia and even Australia. This is also an opportunity for buyers to have a face-to- face interaction with various developers,” said Yong.
Additionally, Yong strongly urged the public to join in on the expo as the event will feature education sessions on popular topics within the property industry.
“We are in the midst of organising some sessions to help educate prospective home owners out there. Hot topics like: ‘What to look for in a property’, ‘How to apply for loans’, ‘What is strata management’ and feng shui will be featured in these sessions.
“We believe these sessions will help spread more knowledge and awareness out to the public so they can make better and more informed decisions when purchasing a home.”