THE capital value of residential landed properties in Seberang Prai is expected to increase this year for projects in selected locations.

Henry Butcher International Asset Consultants (Seberang Prai) senior manager Khor Boon Soo said projects with attractive designs and in good locations such as Bukit Mertajam town should command a good selling price.

''In Taman Limau Manis in Bukit Mertajam, the terrace houses, bought for RM185,000 two years ago, now sell for RM220,000.

''For those houses in secondary locations, the selling price is expected to remain stable, as there is a fair balance between the supply and demand of residential properties,'' he told StarBiz.

Khor said that last year, the residential sector had been the most active with prices rising broadly by 4% to 8% during the first half of the year, buoyed by a rising stock market, cheap housing loans and the stamp duty waiver.

''Sentiments turned cautious during the second half of the year leading to a slowdown in sales of new project launches. Projects in good locations, with attractive designs and reasonable pricing generally did very well whilst others experienced slow take-up rates,'' he noted.

''Overall, there were more new projects launched than in the previous year. Most of the new projects were located in the central metropolitan area of Butterworth, Prai, Bukit Mertajam and in Juru.''

He added that terraced and semi-detached houses remained the most popular choice in all three districts.

''However, in Butterworth, more high-rise apartments and condominiums – for example, the 28-storey Parkview Tower and Harbour Place – have been launched,'' he said.

Last year, according to Khor, the Desa Palma double-storey terraced houses in Bukit Mertajam were resold at RM215,000 which represented an increase of 15% from their original price.

''The double-storey semi-detached houses have been resold at RM350,000, representing a 20% increase,'' Khor said.

As for commercial properties in Seberang Prai, Khor said there should not be any new launches this year for commercial properties such as shop offices and retail spaces in Seberang Prai, as developers were now more cautious and selective before embarking into this sector.

Khor said there was an overhang of such properties, causing those shop offices in poorer locations to decline substantially last year.

''The mismatched market factors occur both in terms of in quantity and in location, especially in the central and south districts. Most of these were planned either as new growth areas or as suburban centres, but they remained unoccupied due to lack of proper market foresight and planning,'' he said.

''Both prices and rentals of shop offices in good locations are now beginning to stabilise whilst those in secondary and poor locations continue to fall as investors are unable to hold on without tenants.

''When compared with their peak levels, prices of those in poor locations have fallen by about 30% to 35%,'' he added.