27/12/2011 (Borneo Post) - The property market in Sabah is going strong due to local demand, particularly from oil palm planters who are benefiting from attractive palm oil prices.

Sabah Housing and Real Estate Developers Association (Shareda) president Datuk Susan Wong Siew Guen said: “Oil palm planters are making more than 300 per cent profit, and they are now investing their money in the property sector all over Kota Kinabalu, Peninsular Malaysia, and even overseas in Hong Kong, London and Australia.”

Furthermore, she said oil palm plantations made up 80 per cent of the businesses in Sabah, and the property industry was dependent on oil palm prices.

The strength of the property market in Sabah is best exemplified by the sale of more than 1,500 units of properties worth more than RM 600 million at Shareda ProPEX 2011, an increase from RM550 million in sales registered at Shareda ProPEX 2010, out of the total of RM2.3 billion worth of properties exhibited last year. This year’s Shareda ProPEX featured 108 booths and 7,000 units of properties amounting to RM2.5 billion.

Wong said this while sharing her view on the property industry in Sabah as well as the industry’s trends and challenges.

The managing director of property development company Mega Sunwise Sdn Bhd, said the property market was seeing a shift in mindset whereby young people were now seeking quality lifestyle condominiums .

She said people now would stay in condominiums if it offered quality living, luxury and good management.

“In the past no one built condominiums because no one wanted to stay in a condo.”

While the size of a condominium unit may be smaller than that of landed properties, the former offered more amenities and facilities such as swimming pool and gymnasium, which is rarely found in landed residential areas.

“Units at higher level in a condominium also offer good view, good ventilation. It’s a lifestyle,” Wong said .

Nonetheless, Wong said the type of housing properties built also depended on market force and the location.

“There are also buyers who prefer landed properties,” she added.