Mah Sing Group Bhd has interesting ways to sell properties and their latest initiative with Lazada Group could well be a new trend in the local property market.

The developer has partnered with Lazada to sell selected units in six projects — M Vertica, Cheras; M Centura, Sentul; Sensa Residence@Southville City, KL South; M Aruna, Rawang; M Vista, Penang; and Meridin East, Johor — during the upcoming Lazada 12.12 Grand Year-End Sale.

Each project will offer less than 10 units and the purchase is on first-come first-serve basis, said Mah Sing group managing director Tan Sri Leong Hoy Kum.

Leong told NST Property the combined value of the properties offered on Lazada is about RM30 million.

"RM30 million is a small value for Mah Sing, but this is just the beginning. We want to test the water and see how the sales perform. We are bullish as Lazada is a big e-commerce operator.

"Mah Sing has over 1,000 houses to sell in existing projects and new launches at any one time. Moving forward with Lazada we may increase the numbers featured on their e-commerce platform.

"We are the first to do this with Lazada. We want to change things that are impossible to possible. If you don't try, you will never know. Buying a property is a big-ticket item and we are opening new avenues for the public to purchase. We are targeting first-time home buyers and the millennials who like buying things online," said Leong.

Mah Sing, which has 47 projects with 32 ongoing in property hotspots of greater Kuala Lumpur, Klang Valley, Penang, Johor and Sabah, is the first developer to bring home purchasing online in Southeast Asia.

This is the first time the eCommerce platform is selling houses.

Lazada is a Southeast Asian e-commerce company, majority-owned by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. It currently offers hundreds of different types of products on its platform like electronic devices, TV and home appliances, health and beauty, toys, home and lifestyle, women's fashion, men's fashion, fashion accessories, sports and travel as well as automotive and motorcycles.

Apart from Malaysia, Lazada has presence in Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore and the Philippines. It has 155,000 sellers and 3,000 brands serving 560 million consumers in the region.

Leong said majority of the houses that will be sold through Lazada between December 10 and 12 are priced from RM380,000 to RM600,000.

The most expensive are the apartments in M Vista, which are priced at about RM800,000.

M Vista is a low-density residential development, which is part of Mah Sing's Southbay township development at Batu Maung. It is located just a stone's throw away from the free trade zone, less than five minutes' drive to Penang Second Bridge. This development features a 23-storey serviced residence, offering 237 units of residential suites with unit size ranging from 534sq ft to 1,201sq ft.

Leong said the six projects — M Vertica, M Centura, Sensa Residence@Southville City, M Aruna, M Vista and Meridin East — are among the hottest selling projects under the Mah Sing umbrella.

"These projects are already being offered to the public. Through Lazada, it gives people a chance to explore the projects in detail. The sales period on Lazada starts at midnight on December 10 and ends on December 12. The public can start viewing the projects now at our sales gallery. Once they have decided, they can talk to bankers of their eligibility to make the purchase, and on December 10, 11 or 12, they can add the property to the cart with a RM3,000 booking fee," said Leong.

Booking fees are fully refundable if the home buyer decides not to proceed with the purchase. Once the unit selection, documentation and loan application are finalised, buyers can sign their sales and purchase agreement (SPA), and the new home is theirs.

Leong expects all properties to be sold on the first day as buyers who shop for their homes on Lazada will receive an exclusive five per cent Lazada incentive worth between RM20,000 and RM30,000 — the biggest online incentive ever to be offered on Lazada.

Mah Sing chief executive officer Datuk Ho Hon Sang said the developer planned to be as innovative as possible in its business and wanted to reinvent the way consumers shop for homes.

"Over half of the Malaysian population is shopping online, so being the first developer to sell units online on an e-commerce platform such as Lazada gives us a competitive edge against other developers in Malaysia," he said.

Lazada's move to real estate

Lazada Malaysia chief executive officer Christophe Lejeune said the company had been contemplating to sell houses on its e-commerce platform.

"We wanted to explore new frontiers and new things, and follow the needs of the customers. Last year, we moved into the automotive section and the only thing to do next was to sell a big-ticket item, and we found property to be the best.

"We met and had discussions with several developers in Malaysia, but narrowed down to Mah Sing as they understood the concept and agreed to the terms, which we proposed.

"We are excited to be the first eCommerce platform in the region to sell properties. This partnership is a win-win situation for both Lazada and Mah Sing. For Lazada, it is brand-building and we will get more customers to our site," said Lejeune.

He said following the overwhelming response at the 11.11 Lazada Shopping Festival, the e-commerce operator was ramping up its efforts to cater to the changing demands of the evolving and increasingly fearless mobile consumers.

"Malaysian shoppers are looking for more digital solutions for all their lifestyle needs, and we believe this collaboration will make affordable homes more accessible to young home buyers," said Lejeune.