WITH the abundance of land in Perak, wouldn’t it be mind-boggling for property developers to build high-rise residential dwellings in the form of apartments or condominium in the ‘silver state’?
Such is the question posed by digital creator Roman Akramovich (@SyedAkramin) who cited findings by the Perak National Property Information Centre (NAPIC) that “condominiums dominate unsold residential properties with 1,022 units” in the state.
District-wise, Manjung stood out as having recorded the highest number of unsold properties in Perak at 1,194 units last year, followed by Kinta (899 units) and Kampar (251 units).
Macam mana lah pemaju boleh dapat idea bina kondo di Perak? pic.twitter.com/HzlwwyIPuC
— Roman Akramovich (@SyedAkramin) May 16, 2025
This sparked an interesting debare among so-called Perakians with one commenter having no qualms to make a sweeping statement that “Perak is only suitable for landed houses for it has vast land”.
Others found it difficult to imagine that there were developers who set their sights on Manjung “when there’s no guarantee that Ipoh properties can sell” or even to the extent of wanting to target Klang Valley buyers.
Another commenter reckoned that the original intention was to target investor who would later “rent out their units to UTAR and TAR college students” but unfortunately, such expectation did not materialise – a somehow similar situation with Cyberjaya.
That Manjung is located “at one corner of the road” makes it not a transit town where people would regularly pass by, according to a resident there, as he drew comparison with Lumut which “is congested only during weekends but otherwise a gloomy town during weekdays”.
One cracked a joke that “the developers could have mistaken Manjung for Manchester” as both boast “Man” as their first syllable while another reminded that the current Housing and Local Government Minister “hails from Perak” (Teluk Intan MP Nga Kor Ming).
On a more serious note, one commenter harped on the demand and supply side by pointing to the fact that population growth in Perak has stagnated, rising a mere 200k in a decade” compared to Selangor which has risen by over 1 million each decade”.
He therefore postulated that landed properties make better option in Perak given its land size.
At the end of the day, developers who are unfamiliar with the Perak landscape better wise up by using “state capital Ipoh as a benchmark if it’s viable to embark on an apartment/condo project”.
“There is no need for other districts to think that they can outsmart Ipoh … As it is, there’re still many landed properties available, hence just follow the flow,” advised one commenter. – May 20, 2025
Image credit: DKLS Property (Manjung Residence)
