2018 PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards (Malaysia) to take place on 26 April

Malaysia's top real estate gala ceremony comes early in 2018. 

- Award for the country's best developers, projects and design now accepting nominations

- New Malaysia Real Estate Personality of the Year to be named before the black-tie gala dinner

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - 27 September 2017: The 2018 edition of the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards (Malaysia) is set to arrive early on Thursday, 26 April and is scheduled to be held at the InterContinental Kuala Lumpur. The event will also celebrate the fifth annual gala dinner of the prestigious ceremony in recognition of Malaysia's best developers, projects and design.

Nominations for the awards programme are now open. There are categories for outstanding developers, residential and commercial properties, and architectural and interior design across various segments.

Special awards also await developers that, in the past year, have shown exemplary initiatives in sustainable development, green building, universal design, and corporate social responsibility. 

Terry Blackburn, founder and managing director of the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards, says: "We are pleased to return to Malaysia for our fifth edition to celebrate the best in the local property sector. The fact that we continue to receive top quality entries every year is testament to the underlying strength of the sector. We remain optimistic for Malaysia's real estate industry and the opportunities the Asia Property Awards can bring to deserving developers."

He says that the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards has continued to be the hallmark for excellence in the Malaysian property development industry, with quality entries coming from conglomerates and emerging boutique developers. 

"Over the years the awards scheme has been expanded to reflect Malaysian market conditions and priorities, adding categories for the best mass market, mixed-use and universal design developments, as well as categories for prime investment destinations," he adds. "We are certainly open to giving recognition for different property segments and locations as much possible as the awards evolve."

Eighteen companies made the final shortlist in 2017 with Selangor-based Tropicana Corporation Berhad bagging the most number of wins of eight golden trophies across a range of categories, including Best Developer and Best Condo Development (Malaysia) for Tropicana Residences, in addition to several special awards. 

A total of 26 winners and 11 Highly Commended honourees were named in the last edition, including Property Report's Malaysia Real Estate Personality of the Year Glen Chan of Pacific Star Development Ltd.

The awards are presented annually at a three-hour, black-tie gala dinner, which has over the past two editions become a royal affair with the presence of the Guest of Honour, Yang Amat Mulia Tunku Besar Seri Menanti, Tunku Ali Redhauddin ibni Tuanku Muhriz, chairman of PropertyGuru Malaysia. 

Looking and moving forward

Despite the slowdown in the domestic real estate market that is undergoing consolidation and is currently plagued with concerns of oversupply, returning chairman of the judges Prem Kumar, executive director of Jones Lang Wootton, says the point of recovery is "looming somewhere in the horizon, even if it's not yet in sight." 

Kumar believes that during a period when the property market is not performing at its best, a lot rests on Malaysian developers' shoulders to produce better quality projects.

"These will steer the sector and the country in the right direction. Growth in the real estate industry is extremely important, and as such, maintaining the highest standards, aside from incorporating aspects such as sustainability, lifestyle elements, among others, has become extremely crucial." 

He adds: "This is the true test of perception towards any award. It is indeed enthralling to assess more innovative entries year after year. This is definitely the way forward."

Fair, transparent and credible judging process 

Together with the independent panel of experts, Kumar will deliberate on the 2018 nominations over the next few months, leading up to the local site visits, and the final judging and tabulation. The entire process is once again supervised by BDO, the world's fifth largest accounting and auditing firm, to maintain fairness, transparency and credibility.

PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards (Malaysia) nominees are evaluated based on strict criteria set by the independent judging panel: 

• Developers - reputation, image and corporate social responsibility initiatives; overall track record; displays of innovation; and achievement in the past 12 months.
• Development and Design - location; value for money; unique selling points; state of completion; sales success; design concept, innovation and use of space; quality of amenities; and construction and materials used.

The final shortlist will be revealed at the end of March. A new Malaysia Real Estate Personality of the Year will also be named by the editorial team of Property Report magazine to honour an individual who has left an indelible mark in the Malaysian property sector. 

Representatives from eligible companies and developments can submit their completed entry forms for the 2018 competition until Friday, 23 February. As always, there is no fee to enter in any category.

The terms and conditions for the awards system are available on the website: AsiaPropertyAwards.com/tc/ 

Sponsorship and partnership opportunities are open. For more information about the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards (Malaysia), email info@asiapropertyawards.com or visit the official website: AsiaPropertyAwards.com/malaysia/

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About PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards (Malaysia):

Returning for a fifth successful edition on 26 April 2018 at the InterContinental Kuala Lumpur, the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards (Malaysia) is part of the regional PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards programme established in 2005. With a professionally run awards system supervised by BDO, the world's fifth largest auditing and accountancy firm, the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards (Malaysia) is the most credible industry awards in the country, with the top and emerging names in real estate celebrating the best developers, projects and designs in the country.

About PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards:

The PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards, the region's biggest and most prestigious real estate awards series, is recognised as the ultimate hallmark of industry excellence in the Asian property sector. Boasting an independent panel of industry experts and trusted supervisors, the Awards has an unparalleled reputation for being credible, fair and transparent. 

Established in Thailand in 2005 to ‘recognise the region's finest in real estate', the Awards acknowledge, reward and celebrate the extraordinary achievements of developers and developments at a domestic and regional level. The Awards is a milestone event in the real estate industry calendar and is attended by key decision makers as well as esteemed trade and consumer media. Annually, the Awards covers 17 key markets in the Asian continent via a series of domestic gala ceremonies, hosting up to 600 senior industry figures, to recognise excellence within each Asian market, culminating in a Grand Final at the end of the year.

In 2017, the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards celebrates its 12th anniversary, and features nine domestic gala ceremonies in eight countries: Cambodia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore. The Awards series has also been expanded this year to include categories for Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Mongolia, Laos, India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and South Korea.        

Domestic winners from these 17 markets will then advance to the final round and compete for regional awards. The regional winners will be announced on the night of the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards Grand Final to be held in Singapore on 8 November 2017.

For more information, please visit AsiaPropertyAwards.com 

About PropertyGuru Group:

PropertyGuru Group is Asia's foremost online property company. Voted by consumers in 2016 as ‘Asia's Most Influential Brand for Online Property Search', PropertyGuru helps over 16 million people find their dream home - every month. 

Headquartered in Singapore, PropertyGuru.com.sg was launched in 2007 by two entrepreneurs. They had a vision to simplify the property search process and help renters, buyers, sellers and investors make confident property decisions - faster.

Today, it has grown from being a media company to a high-growth technology company. Beyond operating a suite of No.1 property portals and award-winning mobile apps, the Group also manages a host of industry-leading property offerings such as publications, events, awards and a project marketing technology platform - across eight countries in Asia.