Property Fair Offers Choice Pickings
PENANG: The Star Property & Home Fair 2006 got off to a rousing start with visitors flocking to the Penang International Sports Arena (Pisa) here to scout for the best bargains.
Visitors started coming as early as 9am to check out properties offered by developers at the three-day fair, which was opened by Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon.
THREE-DIMENSIONAL IMPRESSION: Dr Koh (centre) and Star Publications (M) Bhd regional director (North) Datuk Seri Kamal Hashim (right) taking a closer look at the Queensbay layout model during the Star Property Fair 2006 at Pisa yesterday. With them were Tony Lim (third from left) project manager of CP Land Sdn Bhd and The Star’sgroup editorial/education adviser Datuk Ng Poh Tip (second from right).They made enquiries in the hope of finding their dream homes, attended talks and even got to outbid rivals at an auction that offered properties for as low as RM9,000.
At the main arena, developers had gone to great lengths to put up creative exhibits to attract potential buyers to their booths.
The visitors also crowded the home fair booths on the concourse area, which featured home appliances, interior designing, home furnishings and security systems.
A total of 98 exhibitors took up more than 220 booths at the fair, organised by The Star with Henry Butcher Malaysia (Penang) Sdn Bhd as the technical adviser for the auction and property talks.
Among the first-day visitors was engineer Y.S. Soon, 25, who was looking for a landed property.
“This fair is like a one-stop centre which allows house buyers to scout for great bargains and quality housing under one roof,” he said.
Medical officer N. Kumar, 31, said he was keen on a condominium project in Bayan Baru and would be bringing his wife to the fair to view the display. “It’s my first time to the fair. I was hoping to look for a landed property but the prices are not within my range,” he said.
MTT Properties & Development Sdn Bhd group executive director Dr Angela Teoh said the fair had attracted a surprisingly large crowd in the earlier part of the day.
Meanwhile, Ivory Properties Sdn Bhd marketing executive Anne Lee said the company received encouraging response from visitors.
Visitors also made a beeline to The Star booth at the concourse level with coupons published in StarMetro to redeem RM30,000 worth of household goods sponsored by IJM Properties Sdn Bhd.
Retiree Tan Chin Kooi, 64, won a Gintell G-nie massage chair worth RM5,988.
Gintell is giving away a chair on each day of the fair to lucky visitors. The three chairs are worth a total of RM22,000.
The fair is open from 11am to 9pm up to tomorrow. An auction will be held at 11am today while talks will begin at noon. Admission is free.