Johor developers face future challenges

JOHOR BARU: Demand for residential properties is still good in Johor but developers will face challenges in the coming years due to labour shortage and a hike in building material prices.


Simon Heng .... ‘The take-up rate for new houses in Johor is still good despite the increase in prices.’

Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda) Johor branch chairman Simon Heng said developers did not have much choice but to pass the additional cost to house buyers.

He said building materials costs had increased by 10% to 15% in the past two months, translating into higher selling prices for new houses, especially in Johor Baru.

The take-up rate for new houses in Johor is still good despite the increase in prices and hopefully the trend continues next year,'' Heng told StarBiz on Wednesday.

He said banks were still offering attractive home loans, including full-loan facility for first-time buyers with a monthly household income of less than RM3,000 as announced recently in Budget 2011.

He said developers should look at coming out with innovative packages, including gated-and-guarded precincts and high-speed broadband facilities, to attract buyers.

Heng said the construction industry was also facing labour shortage and had to depend on foreigners as locals were not interested to take up the job.

He said many Indonesians that had been working in the construction sector in Malaysia for more than five years had left home as the construction sector in the republic was booming.

He said despite having workers from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Vietnam, contractors still preferred Indonesians as they were more hardworking and easy to communicate with.

By The Star

Rising building material, labour and hidden costs main concern for Johor developers

JOHOR BARU: Escalating prices of building materials, higher manpower costs due to shortage of labour as well as hidden costs are among the main concerns of property developers in Johor.

KSL Holdings Bhd executive director Ku Hwa Seng said these problems did not just apply to Johor. He believes that developers nationwide also faced similar predicament.

He said the infrastructure projects outlined in the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP) and Budget 2011 would further push up prices of building materials and labour costs in the next five years.

“The demand for residential properties in Johor, especially in the Johor Baru district, has improved as the economy gets better but developers might have problems kicking off new launches,’’ Ku told StarBiz.


Ku Hwa Seng says infrastructure projects outlined in 10MP and Budget 2011 would further push up prices of building materials and labour costs in the next five years.

He said building materials prices had increased between 10% and 15% in the last 12 months while labour costs had risen by 50%, compared with two or three years ago.

Ku said that shortage of labour was still the main problem for construction companies.

Mahabuilders Bhd group chairman Mustapha Hassan said while the increase in the prices of building materials was relatively stabilised, the same could not be said for the labour costs.

“Like it or not, we still need foreigners to work at project our sites, locals are not interested or else many projects will be delayed not only the ones by the private sector but also by the public sector,’’ he said.

Mahabuilders is among the few in Malaysia specialising in acquiring and reviving abandoned property projects and labeled as a white knight the construction industry.

Among the company’s revived projects to date include Taman Baiduri Johor Baru, Skudai Villa, Indera Wangsa Larkin, Senai industrial park and Pandan City Johor Baru.

By The Star