NON-PERFORMING PROPERTY LOANS AND ITS ORIGINATION IN THE REAL ESTATE FINANCE SYSTEM: CASE STUDY OF MALAYSIA

A healthy real estate finance system is crucial for any economy to grow and thrive. However, in recent years, the sustainability and soundness of the Malaysian Real Estate Finance System had been in question as the number of non-performing property loans had been on the rise. This paper looks into how property NPLs originate within the real estate finance system in Malaysia and its current performance in Malaysia. A descriptive research design was conducted utilizing in-depth case studies of Malaysia to examine Malaysia’s real estate finance system consisting of loan originators in the primary market and the special purpose vehicle involved at the secondary mortgage market where it was found that the Malaysian Real Estate Finance System is efficiently developed and on par with other developed countries with a robust primary mortgage market, effective secondary mortgage market and a vibrant capital market. Further analysis found that there are a total of 57 financial institutions that are property loan originators in Malaysia that consists of 26 Commercial Banks, 16 Islamic Banks, 2 International Islamic Banks, 11 Investment Banks, and 2 Special Financial Institutions. In terms of NPLs in Malaysia, property loans are the largest component of total NPLs in the country, and subsequent analysis found that the number of property NPLs in the country had been rising since 2015, after a long decade decline. This study warrants further research into the causes of property NPLs in the country so that the causes of property NPLs can be monitored as part of the country's strategic monetary policy to control and reduce the number of property NPLs in the country. Ultimately, this also helps to contribute towards a sound and robust real estate finance system in Malaysia.

A REVIEW ON SMART CAMPUS CONCEPT AND APPLICATION TOWARDS ENHANCING CAMPUS USERS’ LEARNING EXPERIENCES

The smart campus is an emerging trend that allows universities to improved services, decision making and campus sustainability. The recent pandemic has directed and amplified the need for a paradigm shift, with predominant virtual teaching, and remote working bursting onto the scene. As an educational institution, understanding campus user’s learning experience is vital in the process of assessing and ensuring quality university studies. Therefore, this study provides a review of smart campus concept, application and potential opportunities that emerge in the smart campus towards enhancing campus users’ learning experiences. To achieve the purpose of the study, a systematic literature review has been conducted extracted from the Scopus database. Initially, 19 articles were gathered. After the screening process using the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 16 articles were screened and finally, 11 articles were included in the review. This study found that smart campus is an integral concept that needs to be developed and applied in universities. Besides that, several potential opportunities emerging from the smart campus application such as the application of augmented reality and virtual reality in facilitating the learning process, the exploration of daily internet traffic that enables traffic forecasting to improve network service and personalised services. Thus, this study helps to explore the potential fields of employing smart campus especially in the learning process among community campus.

ASSESSMENT OF ICT USAGE IN ESTATE SURVEYING AND VALUATION PRACTICE IN NIGERIA

To operate in a dynamic environment, the success of real estate companies’ hinges, to a large extent, on their ability to deliver innovative, user-accepted products and services in a timely, seamless manner. The need for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for secure, safe, and adequately serviced estate surveying and valuation practice is very pertinent to the profession. Therefore, this study assessed the level of usage of ICT in estate surveying and valuation practice in the study area with the view of improving real estate service delivery in Lagos Island, Nigeria. Data were gathered through a survey conducted with registered estate firms in Lagos Island, Nigeria. The data from the responses that were gathered were analysed using descriptive statistics and Relative Importance Index (RII) ranking. Findings revealed that the majority of the respondents are adopting ICT in carrying out their estate surveying and valuation practice. In addition, the results of the study established a positive correlation between improving estate surveying practice and the adoption of ICT. Furthermore, the findings also revealed the level of conversant with the use of real estate software has the highest RII while Artificial Intelligence software has the lowest RII. The study concluded that it is without a doubt that the degree of application of ICT in real estate has been very significant, but there are still barriers that limit its application within the sector. The study recommends that the estate surveyors & valuers in academia who are responsible for coaching core departmental courses include ICT into several aspects of the curriculum.

A DYNAMIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CONSUMER CONFIDENCE AND RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY PRICE: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FOR MALAYSIA

In recent years, the real estate market has become a major interest for economists and researchers. In general, property prices are influenced by the supply and demand of the real estate market. In addition to the individual's positive expectation of the real estate market would raise the demand for housing and hence, house price indexes would increase. This study provides new knowledge on how consumer confidence in the housing industry affects residential property prices in Malaysia. Previous studies on the effect of consumer perception towards residential property in Malaysia are scarce. Therefore, the objective of this study is to determine how consumer confidence affect residential property price in Malaysia. Our study differs by focusing on the effect of consumer confidence on the housing industry and macroeconomic drivers toward residential property prices in Malaysia over the period 2004:Q1 to 2018:Q4. By using the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) test, the empirical results have shown the presence of long-run adjustment and indicate that consumer confidence towards the housing industry and many macroeconomic variables significantly affect residential property prices. From this finding, we have suggested that government and policymakers should be able to understand consumer confidence in the housing industry to increase consumer satisfaction and to improve consumer sentiment towards the residential property market in Malaysia.

A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF LAND COST ELEMENTS ON PRIVATE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT IN AWORI LAND, OGUN STATE, NIGERIA. A CASE OF ADO/ODO-OTA LGA.

This study examines the cost elements associated with land acquisition and development and the effect it has on public housing development using Awori land in Ado/Odo-Ota LGA in Ogun state, Nigeria, as a case study. To achieve this, a survey was administered to estate surveyors & valuers and officers of the Bureau of Lands and Survey who are involved in property developments. The findings revealed that land registration cost, lease cost, deeds of assignment were ranked as important. It is also found that there is also a significant relationship between land cost elements and rate of housing development. The study further revealed that there is a positive relationship between the land cost elements and the rate of housing development. In conclusion, this implies that an increase in one of the land cost elements will affect housing development.

BUILDING INFORMATION MODELING (BIM) CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY: AWARENESS OF MALAYSIAN CONTRACTORS

Building Information Modelling (BIM) has become an attention-grabbing topic among researchers and industry players around the world including Malaysia. As the construction industry always plaguing with issues related to massive waste generated from construction and demolition process, encouraging BIM implementation is considered as one of the available technology-based alternatives to encounter these issues. BIM is a type of technology that offers the development of construction project before the real construction process, which allows the identification of any issues earlier, throughout the design and planning phases. Currently, numerous researches have been focusing on the benefits offered by BIM to the construction industry. However, there are still several construction players who lack awareness of BIM's contribution, especially towards sustainability. The purpose of this paper is to explore the awareness of contractors in Malaysia on the contribution of BIM towards sustainability, namely economic, environmental and social. A total of 133 contractors from grade G1 to G7 were involved in a survey. The results revealed that majority of the respondents were aware on BIM contributions towards environmental sustainability, besides other two sustainability pillars, economic and social. Thereby, there is a need to educate and provide realistic information to the construction industry stakeholders, as a process to create a better understanding and wider exposure, and to convince them to implement BIM technology.

ASSESSMENT OF HOUSING ATTRIBUTES TOWARDS NEIGHBOURHOOD SATISFACTION IN THE KLANG VALLEY

Housing has always been one of the major issues that affect peoples’ quality of life, especially in the urban area. The increased number of population in urban area led to an increase in housing demand in the market. Neighbourhood satisfaction is an important factor of housing demand in urban areas. The objective of this study is to assess the relationship between housing attributes and neighbourhood satisfaction in the Klang Valley, Malaysia. Primary data collection through survey on 500 respondents was undertaken and analysed using SPSS and Structural Equation Modelling. The findings revealed that there is positive and significant relationship between housing attributes and neighbourhood satisfaction. The implication of this study found that housing attributes are noteworthy determinants in assessing the significance of neighbourhood satisfaction. The result of this study would assist policy making in proposing actual improvement in sustainable development in neighbourhood area and enhance on the improvement on the housing attributes that focus on providing more affordable housing and housing choice in the Klang Valley.

EXAMINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FOREIGN PURCHASE LIBERALISATION AND HOUSING AFFORDABILITY

This study attempts to examine the relationship between liberalisation of foreign purchase of properties and housing affordability in the presence of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows. The negative relationship between liberalisation and affordability has caused dissatisfaction among Malaysians as house price has increased drastically since the government liberalise the foreign purchase of property. While Malaysia continues to receive FDI inflows which have been the engine for the country’s economic growth, it would be appropriate to examine the relationships between the liberalisation of purchase for properties by foreigners and the housing affordability within this context. Utilising the Johansen Cointegration method, this research analysed the long-term relationship of liberalisation of foreign purchase within the property sector and affordability of terrace houses. Through the use of the Channel method, this research also examines the role of FDI in the relationship.

OCCUPANTS’ SATISFACTION OF SERVICED APARTMENTS DESIGN : CASE STUDIES IN KUALA LUMPUR

This paper aims to identify the factors that affect a good serviced apartment design by looking at three (3) parameters which are physical attributes, social needs, and facilities and services through the occupants’ satisfaction levels. Despite the increasing number of serviced apartment developments in Malaysia, there has been limited research to analyse occupants’ wellness and satisfaction in a serviced apartment to generate a model to guide the service apartments’ design and development. The research is conducted using multiple case studies methods through physical observation and questionnaire surveys based on the three (3) parameters mentioned above at the golden triangle area of Kuala Lumpur among three case studies that have been identified. The findings reveal that occupants are generally satisfied with serviced apartments in Malaysia; however, various key components need to be reassessed and improved for future developments in order to serve as a reference for local authorities, developers, and designers to design serviced apartments in the local context from occupant’s perspective.