RM16 million (USD4.57 mil). Undeveloped land (Country Lease) in the heart of Lahad Datu Town (the Palm Oil Capital of Malaysia). Land area is 8.27 Acres (about 3.35 Hectares) and lease period is 99 years.

For info please read the earlier post here ~ Lahad Datu CL Land for Sale

Interested ? Call 

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The Sabah State Government's Lands and Surveys Department has tightened the registration process of private sale and purchase transfers of lands held under Native Titles to avoid abuse by the Malaysian citizens of Sabahan and non-Sabahan descent with 'Sijil Anak Negeri' or native status certification obtained by dubious means that was started during the mid 1970s to the early 1980s pending the definition of 'native' under the law to be finalized soon. The issuance of the Native Certificate was stopped in 1982 but thereafter some cases were found to have been processed to backdate their issuance to prior dates before 1982.

In Sabah, any dealings on Native Title lands, like Malays Reserve lands being restricted to Malays in (Malaya) Peninsular Malaysia, may only be permitted among natives of Sabah under the Land Ordinance 1930. By this definition, even Malay Bumiputeras of West Malaysia and Sarawak including native Sarawakians are not eligible to buy NT lands. They and other citizens and non-citizens in Malaysia can only buy and own Provisional Lease (PL), Town Lease (TL) and Country Lease (CL) lands ranging from tenures of 60 years, 99 years and those registered from the colonial period - 999 years.

The naturalisation of thousands of Muslim migrants from the Philipines, Indonesia and South Asia has complicated the issue of who are to be recognised as natives of Sabah besides those defined by earlier colonial and administrative legislation. Many are active in the procurement of NT lands. In Sabah, it shall be lawful for the native land owner to grant a sublease to a non-native for a term not exceeding 30 years (from the previous 99 years to boost the value of NT lands to commensurate with Country Lease lands but amended to 30 years after much criticism by the opposing native politicans) by virtue of the amendment to Section 17(5) of the Land Ordinance, Cap. 68 and passed by the State Legislative Assembly on November 2, 2000. (Refer to Government Gazette No. 5 of 2000).

Many non-natives deem such short tenure economically unviable for any production purposes for meaningful returns of investment and for the purpose of securing bank loan facilities. After the said amendment, there is no significant registration of such 30 years subleases transactions for commercial and industrial purposes.

Now holders of Native Certificate may need to furnish other documentary proofs such as birth certificates, verification letters by the Native Court office (MAN) or an officially appointed Native Chief (KAN) to process their purchase and registration of ownership with the Lands and Surveys Department after buying Native Title or NT lands. Their Application also be referred to the Sabah Native Affairs Office (PHEANS). The Sabah Native Affairs Office serves as the current final authority for the State Government in resolving native-related issues.

The renewal of Provisional Lease, Town Lease and Country Lease lands ranging from tenures of 45 years, 60 years, 99 years will come under the purview and valuation of the Lands and Surveys Department and the Nature Resources Office subject to advance payment of land premium. The lands will also be subjected to new quit rent based on the current market value of the land.

Source : REALTY ~ Daily Express, 13 July 2009

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The property prices in Sabah, particularly in Kota Kinabalu area have increased so much in the past 3 or 4 years. Take for example, the price of a standard Double Storey intermediate house with a land area of 1,500 SF and a built up area of 1,200 SF. 4 years ago the price was below RM200K, but now most property owners are asking almost 50% more, i.e. RM300K.

Other examples, an apartment unit with a built up area of 900SF in Kepayan Ridge area that originally cost below RM140K, now priced at about RM200K. A condominium unit with the same built up area in Luyang area is now priced well above RM300K. Original price was about RM230K. Wow, this is crazy. With this kind of price I better get a condominium unit at 1Sulaman :)

There are cases that are even worst, an owner of a double storey intermediate house that is located near to Kepayan Ridge was trying to sell his lot for RM600K. Wow, this is far too much because the original price was about RM350K. Maybe, the owner thought that underneath the property was a gold mine. Another case in the same housing area; a buyer initially tried to sell his lot for RM550K but maybe due to lack of interest he reduced his asking price to RM490k. I wonder if he managed to get a buyer for his lot. With this kind of asking price I for one will rather buy a Semi-detached house. However, property owners are not solely to be blamed as they are merely taking advantage of the current supplies of new properties that are priced so expensive.

I wonder if an average salaried person can afford to own a house if property prices keep on increasing not in line with income. This is where the Government should step in and do something to control the property prices in Sabah. Housing developers also should do their part in ensuring more affordable homes are being built and not just concentrating to more profit. If there are more houses being built and priced affordably I believe we will not see property prices increase so much.

With the current global economic crisis and unemployment rising, I personally hope that property prices will fall down as there will be less demand. When that time comes I hope to grab one or two for investment purposes ;) What about you?

Photo source : Sabah Museum

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Well, that is the normal tagline used by Developers in their marketing materials and advertising.

If you are a Bumiputera aka Bumi who plans to buy a Bumi Lot property (5% discounted), with the intention to sell it back for a quick gain, do consider the following.

1. You can only sell your Bumi Lot to another Bumi Buyer during the first 5 years of holding period. Note that the holding period has a different interpretation for a property that is
(i) under construction, (ii) completed but the whole project is not fully sold, and (iii) completed and the whole project is 100% sold. I.e. if you bought the lot in scenario (i) and (ii), the holding period is from the date the developer submit its application to Land Office for sub-division of the Master Title to the disposal date, and NOT from the Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) date. For scenario (iii), the holding period is from the SPA date to the disposal date.

2. Make sure the Lot is located in a strategic location with good feng shui. What I meant is, some irresponsible developers tend to allocate Bumi Lots in the not so good location with bad feng shui. For instance, the Lot is near to the sewerage plant, high tension cable, grouped together with other Bumi Lots, etc. Most of the time, the Lot will not fetch a good price in the secondary market.

3. Is the 5% discount worth the risk! Say, you plan to buy a property priced at RM340,000.00. With a 5% discount, you get RM17,000.00 savings compared to your Non Bumi friends. Right after the Occupation Certificate (OC) is issued out, people start to sell their units, your Non Bumi friend sells his Lot for RM450,000.00 and makes a quick gain of RM110,000.00 (gross). You then decide to do the same, hoping to make quick gain yourself. Do you think you can get instant buyer for your lot? Remember that you need to get a Bumi buyer to buy your Lot. You may need to wait longer than your Non Bumi friend…incurring more loan interest.

(This article applies to Bumi property investors, who use bank to finance their property and want to make a quick gain only!)

Please share your views on this article if any.

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Are you looking for an Apartment to stay in Sabah? Well, before you decide to buy / rent the place, ask yourself the following question.

Are you in need of a Fixed Telephone Line; for Streamyx, or your business / work requires you to use fax machine ?

If your answer is YES. Please be aware that the following Apartments / places, do not support fixed telephone line service at their premises.

* Country Heights Apartments, Jalan Minintod, Penampang
* Melingsung Summer Bay Resort Apartments, Papar
* University Apartments, Jalan Sulaman
* Cyber City Apartments, Jalan Lintas


Why I know? I used to stay in one of the places. I have checked with Telekom office at Sadong Jaya.


If your answer is NO. Good, because these places have a lot of things to offer.

* Country Heights Apartments ~ the perfect home for city dwellers who long for country lifestyle living. The rental here is cheaper!

* Melinsung Summer Bay Resort Apartments ~ it is the only housing development in the state that equipped with resort-style swimming pools. This includes the first ever outdoor pool that is sheltered by elegant canopy to protect you from the sun and rain, and the other one that is completed with slide and waterfall for children and young-at-heart.
The property value is very affordable. If you are interested to buy one, try Property Auction House. If you are lucky, you can own a Studio Unit at a price of RM30K. Good Luck!

* University Apartments ~ An inspirational Investment Opportunity due mainly to its location.

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Are you looking for a house or an apartment of your own? If you have a very tight budget and you do not mind the locations, Syarikat Perumahan Negara Berhad (SPNB) is the right place for you to be.

You can do a search of your dream home here

The price for an apartment ranges from RM66,120.00 to RM137,880.00. For a Single Storey Terrace House it is from RM50,000.00 to RM139,961.00. Downpayment is as low as RM100 with a 5% discount for Bumiputera. Land Ownership is 99 Years.

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What is a Flat? an Apartment? or a Condominium?

My personal view is that

• a Flat is a housing block of lesser quality meant for lower-income groups. And it is the cheapest of the three.
• an Apartment is a high rise or low rise building with basic facilities. Like, security guards and playground. Some with facilities like swimming pool (smaller in size as compared to the number of residents), basketball court, gym, etc. Whereas
• a Condominium is more exclusive in terms of building outlook and structure, with more facilities than apartment.

But what about prices?

Of late, I noticed that an apartment / condo apartment (apartment with condo facilities) in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, can cost about the same or even more than a condominium. So, better buy a condominium than :)

Look at the definitions of the three from these websites

Asian Luxury Property / Real Estate Asia

Apartments and Condominiums

An apartment is a high-rise or low-rise building with basic facilities while a condominium consists of more facilities such as swimming pool, convenience store, tennis courts, gym, and other amenities. Apartments are relatively self-contained housing unit in a building which is often rented out to a family or one or more people for their exclusive use. It is sometimes called a flat. Some locales have legal definitions of what constitutes an apartment. In some places 'apartment' denotes a building that was built of such units, while 'flat' denotes a unit in a building built originally as a single-family house and later subdivided. One of the types of apartments available is studio apartment. These kinds of apartment usually consist mainly of a large room which is the living, dining, and bedroom combined. There are usually kitchen facilities as part of this central room, but the bathroom is its own smaller separate room. Condominiums fetch higher prices and rentals usually due to the fact that they are of better quality and come with a full range of facilities.

Penang Properties

What is the difference between an apartment, a condo or a flat ?

In Malaysia, apartment and condo are the same meaning. Most condo or apartment will have condominium facilities and security services. Flats generally means medium or low cost flat and in most cases would not have the facilities unlike condominium.

Also, please go here for other definitions.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condominium
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apartment

Note that different countries has different definitions. Condominiums are more commonly known as "flats" in India. This type of housing is very common in larger cities like Delhi, Mumbai (Bombay), Bangalore,Hyderabad and Chennai (Madras) but are not commonly found in rural areas.

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