PropEX 2017 kicked off today at Sabah Trade Centre, with the keynote address delivered by Minister of Local Government and Housing, YB Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Hajiji Haji Noor on behalf of Chief Minister of Sabah, Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Haji Aman.

The theme for PropEX 2017, Towards Liveable Sabah resonates one of the 3'S vision - Sustainability. A livable city would definitely encourage sustainability in the real estate and development industry. The word "livability" speaks on various definitions from the provisions of amenities and infrastructure to economic dynamism, affordability and purchasing power and career opportunities.

SHAREDA has made several courtesy visits to many government agencies and had fruitful dialogues, followed by the inception of a task force that would be established to enhance the present delivery system. SHAREDA President, Mr Chew Sang Hai, in his opening speech, took the opportunity to announce that a task force has been formed recently, seeing SHAREDA working with ACEM/IEM to study on the CCC of Jabatan Air.

Boosting Demand for Affordable Housing "I believe that the property market will improve soon. Ladies and gentleman, we are are experiencing a 5.8% of GDP growth in Malaysia in the Q2 of 2017. Together with the public infrastructure developments that are in motion and other public allocations, I am very confident that the volume of transaction in affordable property sector would be recovered by the end of 2017 or Q1 of 2018", said Chew.

"Budget 2018 is something to look out for as there will be a number of sweeteners coming to the property market".

SHAREDA has decided to approach the State Government Agency, Sabah Credit Bhd, to provide a short-term loan to overcome the challenges faced by homebuyers.

"One of the challenges of the ownership for affordable housing is that buyers could not afford to pay for the downpayment or not qualify for a high margin of loan approval due to prior loan commitments", said Chew.

Chew also commented on the Malaysian household debt, stating that the debt is about 89.2% of GDP in 2016 and the ratio for the mortgage loan is 50%. Today, through the stringent BNM's lending policy, the debt is reduced to 85.6% and the ratio for the mortgage loan is 64%.

"I urge BNM to continue the policy to raise the ratio of the mortgage loan to 75% by giving top priority to the mortgage loan. I believe that we will be seeing more mortgages approved soon", said Chew.

Buy Now for Good Pension Life Unlike countries such as the US, UK and Australia, Malaysia is not a welfare subsidised country, therefore Malaysians are encouraged to purchase more appreciative assets for future pension savings purposes.

Chew urged the government to set up a Golden Key Foundation as practised in Singapore and Taiwan, to buy and lease back houses from pensioners. This would mean that pensioners will be able to safely receive the monthly allowance and also free accommodation.

"I am proud that SHAREDA has made lots of impacts in Sabah and we will continue to make SHAREDA matters," closed Chew, before adding that the success of PropEX over the years are contributed by the support of the community and the dedication poured in by the leaders of SHAREDA.

PropEX 2017 will run from 28th September - 1st October at Sabah Trade Centre. This four-day free event will be open to the public from 10 am - 8 pm.