SPI nice place to live right now. Weather is mild and cool and traffic not too bad. I suspect the place might boom once Setia Triangle and the other nearby projects start to complete. Unfortunately it will bring much more traffic. The internet coverage sucks though: SP Setia and Telekom Malaysia are in some kind of wrangle and it's affecting Streamyx/Unifi coverage in the area

In terms of livability, I think Sg Ara is getting too congested already. With Pearl Island, the population density is currently less due to the large number of gated developments and you have easier access to the TLCE Expressway and Sg Nibong expressway (IMHO). However, eventually I think it will catch up...

We need more forward looking town planning for the Bayan Lepas area to avoid the mistakes we have seen in the northern part of the island. Otherwise the pressures of population growth will overwhelm the road network and public transportation system eventually, making the place unlivable. Right now it's still somewhat manageable, but I can feel the pressures already. More and more cars and longer queues. It's good to invest in property in Bayan Lepas and Sungai Ara, but also a double edge sword. Also, this area is highly dependent on the highly globalized manufacturing economy due to the proximity of the factories, If there is a serious downturn in the global economy, especially electronics, it may affect employment which will in turn affect rental and local property values.

There are some nice landed developments in the Batu Ferringhi area. Last I checked around Oct, was around RM490-500psf... nice deal I think, but above my pay grade

Not very likely to have a drop, barring a major disaster or economic downturn in my opinion. Even then prices are more likely to stay stagnant rather than drop

There are affordable property... just maybe not in prime locations. straits quay is prime waterfront property and not targeted at us hoi polloi. That's looking at the price of a land rover evoque and concluding that cars are not affordable....

Any opinions on the recent announcement regarding IKEA setting up shop in Batu Kawan? There's bound to be a great impact down the road.

Are you a native Penangite? Typically Penangites will flock to middle to upper-class areas like Tanjung Bungah / Tanjung Tokong / Gelugor. Penang is about capital appreciation if you are into landed. Forget rental yields. It's a buy and hold mindset here. If you want to think out of the box, Balik Pulau is a good place to retire but it's long term play. If you buy there the typical native Penangite will say you are out of your mind.
After staying 17 years in on the island, based on personal experience, here's what telling a stranger where you stay subtly implies:

1) Pulau Tikus / Tg Tokong / Tg Bungah: middle class/rich people.
2) Western Gardens / Jalan Bell / Solok Bell: old money
3) Air Itam / Jelutong / Jalan Perak: hoi polloi / working class native
4) Gelugor / Greenlane: middle class / civil servant
5) Bayan Lepas / Sg Ara / Bayan Baru / Batu Maung: outsider / Factory worker
6) Balik Pulau: Backwater....

don't stay so near the sea la

Nowhere near I think. At least not Balik Pulau town. No native Penangite would buy there for investment, but for own stay or sentimental reasons maybe.

hoi polloi = rakyat marhaen / working class / blue collar

backwater = ulu / inaka / kampung / underdeveloped

I visited my friend's place there the other day. It had a nice view of the airport. I think it's a misconception that just because a property is near the airport, it would be noisy. Actually, it's only places directly under the path of the planes that would be really noisy. Personally, I stay quite close at Setia Pearl Island by and I can't hear a thing either

Have you considered Meridien or Reflections? Nearby there

Too far in is a bit relative la. Actually that area is only 25 to 30 minutes walking distance from airport. Plus Setia Triangle is up already so there are some shops nearby. That area in general ok to buy for own stay.

It's gonna get even more packed with the new Mpire shopping mall planned up the road. Long term view is that this area is a buy, but it might take a while for the excess capacity to be absorbed. Since I stay in the area, I've not really had any issues with rush hour (maybe because of my lifestyle or commuting pattern). In general, I still find this area better than the Sg Ara side which is way too jammed for my liking. The U-turn in front of Treesparina allows me to bypass Sg Ara and I can take the Sg Nibong expressway to work.

Heard they are still trying to palm off the Mah Sing project to Hongkies and other foreigners.

that doesn't sound right. 20 years ago, rental for an empty / unfurnished apartment around Sg Dua / USM area was probably in the 500-700 range. If renting just a room, probably just around RM150-250. sos: working adult from 20 years ago living in Sg Dua area

so just a different point of reference then. Twenty years ago is circa 2000. Year 2000 - 2010 is about a decade. And that was the decade that property prices started to climb dramatically due to the property boom. Plus fully furnished is a different price point vs unfurnished.

Not so straight forward leh. State government's main leverage is mainly just land and tax breaks. Still has to work with Federal authorities like MIDA etc for the permissions, etc. Then there's supply of talent which needs lead time to build. Qualified talents like Engineers are neither a JIT nor plug-and-play product commodity: the country needs to invest in education to organically grow quantity and quality. It's true we don't have enough talent in the right places. The other alternative is attracting foreign talent via work visas and other such incentives, but our Federal government isn't as aggressive as Singapore in that respect. Bottom line is that there are many factors to consider. Penang property market is not red-hot simply because the other growth factors are not there to drive or support it. And not everything is depending on gomen of the day to magically pull out of the hat in just 1 or 2 election cycles.

This post has been edited by oe_kintaro: Jul 9 2020, 04:46 PM

If everything in this world made sense, there would be no wars and we wouldn't elect corrupt, evil men to office, but I diverge.
YES FDI does need federal approvals.