Are you waiting to buy a property? Me too.

Do you like property as an investment? I do. Do you believe over time, property prices are going up? I believe so. Are you waiting to buy your first property or the next property? Me too! Many times, property investment surveys start this way. Respondents also answer accordingly and thus the survey results would usually show that many people are looking to buy a property. Yet, transactions are slow and sentiment is negative while developers are all pushing more affordable properties today. Perhaps we go back to the survey and we adjust the question a bit. Perhaps we ask, “Are we ready to buy?” instead. The next couple of questions may be like the following and I think we would now understand if the potential buyer is really waiting to buy when the opportunity comes or the potential buyer is just waiting for the sake of waiting or waiting forever?

Target your buy area.

Do we already have a target or targets of areas that we have interest in? Greater Kuala Lumpur is super huge. Penang has island and mainland. Within the island or the mainland, there are already certain hotter spots and cooler spots. Whether it’s Iskandar or Kota Kinabalu or even Melaka and Ipoh, know where we intend to buy first so that we can start looking for more information about the certain area. When we start searching and there are not much information about that particular area, perhaps we need to step back and think again…

Show me the money.

Many believe this is the first step instead of choosing where to buy. Actually, it’s like a chicken and egg question. Anyway, if we do not know the area to buy, how would we know how much to save? We can always choose the 2nd or the 3rd area choice if we realise the prices are too high. If possible, have 15 percent downpayment ready even for first time buyers.
Feel free to view without downpayment ready
 but it should be on its way yeah. Money is also needed for renovations too yeah. That’s why savings is the key to owning a property and property is the key to build our wealth steadily.

Show me the unit.
if you hate the area, then don’t view the unit. It’s a waste of time. Start viewing potential units soonest because we should not rush into buying a unit and also because we want to start understanding more about all the choices we have based on our viewings. A higher priced unit does not mean we get a more preferred unit.  Perhaps from the first viewing to the day we buy, it’s 3 months later. Bring your partner or your family to view together. They should also like it too.

When we do all these first three steps, then we are really waiting to buy a property. Else, that waiting is just an answer without any meaning. Yeah, there’s also the loan application step once we found the unit but the interest rate differences between banks should not be the reason for us not to buy. If we abandon our decision to buy an unit meeting all our requirements because of a 0.5 percent difference in interest rate, we can stop looking for properties to buy lah.
Keep renting because many people say renting is just fine.
Beyond these few steps, keep going for free talks in property fairs. I will be speaking for iProperty.com on 15th April 2018. More details in the near future. So, are you waiting (and doing lots of homework, save money and use our time productively)  for the right property to buy? Me too! Happy waiting.

Please LIKE
kopiandproperty.com FB page
 or
Sign Up for free
 to get daily updates about the property market.

written on 16 March 2018

Next suggested article:
Women are better investors!

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Waiting for cheaper properties? March 2019…

How often have we heard people telling us that property prices are on the way down? I have been hearing that for a very long time. Well, maybe this upcoming forecast will come true; for new and completed properties. Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT) said that the National Homeownership Campaign, which was revived in Budget 2019 to tackle the high number of unsold homes in the country, will begin March 1 and feature some 30,115 completed homes. It will be unveiled in a three-day launch event in Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

KPKT Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin said the campaign will involve 180 developers and banks that will assist buyers with their loan applications. She said, “We are bringing back the homeownership campaign that was held in 1998. It is good to take all the overhang units to be exhibited [at the campaign] and offer them to buyers at a discount.” As for the discount, she said that it will be AT LEAST 10 percent. Among the 30,115 homes that will be showcased will include 1/3 which will be 10,410 units priced below RM300,000, 7,561 units between RM300,000 and RM500,000 while the remaining 12,144 units are priced at RM501,000 and above.  If the buyers were to somehow missed the three days, this discount will continue to be made available to buyers for a tentative period of one year after it.
Article in EdgeProp.my here.

Okay, everyone who’s waiting for new properties could now really save as much as they could for the next 12-15 months. As for those who already have sufficient downpayment, then the choices continue to include not just the new properties but also the secondary market.
Here are reasons for buying new units.
 I have no favouritism,
so here are reasons for secondary properties too. Article here.
 May even be better if all these properties could be listed somewhere for everyone to browse well in advance too. Happy waiting and buying everyone.
Without property, it may well be poverty.

written on 10 Jan 2019

Next suggested article:
Making sure maintenance is good for future use.

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


The waiting game is best played after we own something

This article first appeared in Property Insight magazine July 2016 issue. Yes, this magazine contains lots of other great articles too. Buy to learn. Or read a few here:
www.propertyinsight.com.my

In 2002, I bought my first property, a 700 sf apartment in Relau, Penang. In 2005, I bought a 1,258 sf condominium. When my friend who is a senior manager in a US multi-national heard about it, he told me that I should be careful. The next crisis is around the corner. This was because a financial crisis is predicted every 10 – 12 years. The last one was in 1997 and he read many predictions that it would happen in 2008. He was right, it did happen and for a while everything seemed negative. However, both my properties did well even during the crisis. I think the reason was because I bought it at a very low price per sf, in comparison to many other more popular projects or areas. In brief, buying
OBJECTIVELY saved my investment, not the timing.

Anyway, the crisis did not last long and the world started growing again. Malaysia’s property boom for both transactions and prices started rising and it was too fast for comfort.
Cooling measures were implemented.
 One day when we met over a dinner in 2010, he told me about his prediction again. He said Penang’s property market is getting way too hot. People were queuing to buy properties like buying fish. He said he has decided to only enter the market when the market drops a lot. In 2010, the typical prices for my 1,258 sf condo was around RM500,000. In other words, it was less than RM400 psf. I told him that I believe RM400 psf is a safe level and he should just buy one unit and wait. Anyway, I sold my condo two years ago at RM645,000. Today, my 1,258 sf condo would fetch between RM600,000 – RM630,000. Oh yeah, even at RM645,000 it was only at RM512 psf, a level I considered normal. Not cheap but definitely not as expensive as some of the more popular areas in Penang.

My friend earns much more than me but he has been staying in the same 700 sf apartment because he was waiting for the best time to enter and buy. In total, he has waited for over 10 years. I am very sure he has been saving his money and investing is elsewhere where it’s safer. Seriously, have we ever wondered when is really the best time to buy? Personally, I believe the
best time to buy is when we are financially ready
 and has viewed enough units to be objective. What about the second property? Sorry to disappoint but the answer is exactly the same. It’s when we have enough down-payment for the second unit and we have viewed enough units to be objective. The first property could be rented out fully furnished because by then, the rental could be enough to cover your mortgage which would have remained almost the same every month. Second property would be the start of our real journey into property investment.

After speaking to many fellow property investors, I think the general conclusion I have are just 4, for those who intend to invest instead of speculate.

The best time to buy depends on us. (When we are ready financially)

The second best time to buy was 20 years ago. The second best time is now. (When we are ready financially, haha)

If there were people who are able to predict when the crisis would come, they would already be so rich that they have no time to predict. I have not known of any economist who has been right in every prediction. If you know of any, please tell me. I will follow him closely.

BUY (right property) and WAIT is better than to WAIT and BUY (when the price drops a lot)

Oh yeah, assuming we really would want to buy when the
price dropped a lot,

do we already have a target price? If the answer is, ‘It depends,’ then I wish you all the best. Fellow investors who are still reading this, I think it’s time we start viewing more units in different areas. It’s time to start reading more property news. We can always say we intend to buy in the next two years but it would be foolish to only start reading about property investment news a few days before we buy. By the way, if we bought the wrong property, it does not matter when we bought it. It is still a wrong buy and that would set us back many years. Happy investing.

written for Property Insight in June 2016.

Next suggested article:
Yes, it’s definitely safe for a long time yet; property investment

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Waiting for lowest price before buying the perfect property.

This article was first published in Ivory Living magazine July 2015 Edition.

Recently, I followed my brother and his wife for a property viewing. It was a semi-detached unit which was just a few units away from our parent’s home in Ipoh. The owner was only willing to sell at RM560,000. It was a fully renovated unit and my brother may need to just buy some new furniture and electrical goods. My mother told us that the price she paid for her current unit was RM85,000 while our neighbor who moved in a few years after us bought her unit for RM111,000. My parents bought their unit 25 years ago. My brother and I discussed and agreed that
RM560,000 is considered a low enough price.
 Not the lowest maybe but both of us were willing to accept it and buy. Is it a perfect property? Almost, since it’s so near to my parent’s place. Thus, my brother may have found a close to perfect property at a low enough price for him to afford. This is despite the fact that long time ago, the price was many times lower.

Do you own a property today? Have you started to pay for one so that you and your loved ones have a roof over your head? Are you still waiting for the lowest price before buying your perfect property? After all, with the
current negative sentiment,
 surely the property market should crash soon? Many of your friends who have not yet bought one have also shared many tips on when is the best time to buy. You think they share the same opinion as you and thus you feel confident not to buy for now.

Do not worry, I have no issues with anyone who would like to wait before buying a good property. Honestly, someone who chose not to buy would not fare the worst. The worst case is always someone who
bought the wrong property
 and thus got stuck with the bad deal for a very long time or even lost a fortune for the wrong buy. Yes, this is true because majority of the time, only those who earned a lot from their property investment would tell you while those who lost money simply blame their bad luck.

However, let us discuss the ‘waiting’ period. How long should we wait? To me, we should wait until we are ready with enough to buy an affordable property. Ready with
sufficient downpayment
 as well as some renovation and furnishing costs. Affordable in this sense means the mortgage instalment should be at most 40 percent of your income every month. Thus, the waiting period is based on our personal circumstances and not when our friends tell us to buy. Always remember that once you started to pay for that property, your investment towards your retirement has started. The earlier, the better.

Waiting for the lowest price. Let me be very honest and real. The lowest price would normally be the price that one bought from the developer. Thus far, unless the project is really in the middle of nowhere or the developer ran away, the price would never stay the same after completion. It would just go up, even if based on just the usual inflation percentage. We should however know about the area that we are buying and the price for the type of property that we are buying. From this information, we would be able to ascertain what’s a very good price level. Lowest price may also happen during a
financial crisis
 but if you were skeptical to buy during good times, would you dare to you during bad times?

The perfect property. When we were still a single and have just a few years of working experience, the perfect property might be just a small 700sf clean and cosy apartment in a secondary area for lower than RM250,000. Saving just RM5,000 per year for 5 years would enable you to have enough downpayment for this ‘perfect’ property. When we got married, with a combined income, the ‘perfect’ property might now be a condo in a secondary area of minimum 1,000sf or higher. This is to also include the potential for 1 or 2 babies in the near future. The price can now be increased to below RM600,000. With this, choices are aplenty. Just search in the online property portals. If we are somehow ahead of everyone else, then, we should be able to afford a much higher priced ‘perfect’ property. The question that we should ask is thus, ‘what is the perfect property for me, now.’ Once we objectively answer this question, the ‘perfect’ property appears.

In conclusion, all the waiting for the perfect property at the lowest price may not work according to what we have in mind. This is especially if what we have in mind is just not what we can affordably buy. The property market is always moving and in fact when we look at some of the hotspots today, they were just the secondary areas of the earlier days.
Urbanization continues to happen

and the migration of people from smaller towns to bigger cities is happening all over the world. Just look at the number of Malaysian fresh graduates descending to Singapore and you would understand why the property prices in Singapore rose so much that it is already one of the highest priced in the world today.

Last but not least, if you are a guy, your future father-in-law may like you more if you already have a property even if small versus someone who told his future father-in-law that he is waiting for the perfect property at the lowest price before buying. Thus, after marriage, the couple would stay in a rented room first? Yes, my first property was just a 700sf apartment and yes, my father-in-law really did ask me that question when I asked for her daughter’s hand! Today, I am staying in a 1,743sf full facility condo and my father-in-law looks up to me a lot more than the young man he met over 15 years ago. The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now, let us take the right action today. Happy investing or waiting if your decision remains; waiting for the perfect property at the lowest price.

Next suggested article:
You need TIME for property investment (Updated)

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Waiting for property bubble to burst?

Property bubble is always an interesting topic. Since the market is already so bad where transactions are concerned, why not wait for the property bubble to burst before entering? Once it bursts, surely prices would come ‘jumping’ down. I have a friend who sold his very expensive condo in Bangsar South 2 years ago because he was very confident he could scoop up many properties when Malaysia’s property bubble bursts. It was so negative he said, referring to all the Facebook comments. Well, in 2014 and 2015, Malaysia’s GDP grew by 6 percent and 5 percent respectively. Just 2 months ago, he used a huge chunk of the saved money to buy a landed home in Sungai Besi instead. I personally do not believe in waiting for the property bubble burst before buying. Let me share why.

No one knows exactly, when. Have you tried asking your friends, perhaps friends who are bankers or economists? Here were three earlier predictions.
Next crisis is looming – PM of 6th largest economy in the world
  OR
9 months, financial crisis may happen – Arturo Bris of IMD

OR

65% probability – recession by end 2015

Alternatively try reading all the continuous and ever changing predictions. Is there really a date that we are so certain it would happen? Latest prediction here:
Getting ready for the next global recession?

Who should you believe? Have you decided who should you believe? An economist who managed to predict the previous recession / crisis? The CEO of one of the largest hedge fund in the world? The President of America? Your friend who’s extremely good in persuasion? Perhaps charles, the editor of kopiandproperty.com? Haha. To be direct, I have yet to know of anyone in the world whom I can trust totally.

Are we brave enough to take necessary actions? Assuming we believe the crisis should be unfolding soon, say within the next 12 months. Should we not be selling every property we have today, while the price is high? Once we have sold them, keep the money in the bank and wait. Once everything drops, we can then buy them back happily and laughing all the way to the bank. Unfortunately, things do not really work this way because the market is weak and prices are softening and selling now may meant you lost some ‘profits’ should you have sold it last year.

My belief is that in every market, there are opportunities. Today, home owners are more willing to consider some price reductions. There are secondary areas which many chose to ignore, despite MRT stations coming up near them. There are also secondary properties which price per sf is still below RM400 and yet everyone only wants to buy new ones for RM550 per sq ft or higher. Of course, the same applies for waiting for the highest price to sell. Truth is, we should sell if it has met what we set out earlier or if we could use the proceeds to buy another targeted property. I heard some famous property guru once said, ‘don’t wait to buy but buy to wait.’ I think it’s going to be true for a very long time, unless we bought a totally useless property. Happy wishing, waiting, buying and selling.

written on 8 Mar 2016

Next suggested article:
Saving, budgeting and investing by a 10-year old

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Waiting for that property everybody likes may take a LONG time

Two friends who are real estate negotiators were chit-chatting a few days ago. I happened to be their team-mate. Mr. C said that he has a customer who likes a certain project within a certain area and has been enquiring for the past few months but even after viewing a few units, the customer did not want to buy because he felt that the price would go down. His reasoning was that the whole market is ‘slow’ and thus he could wait until the owners become desperate and sell cheap. Ms. K replied that she too had those customers. She would try to propose to them other cheaper units or areas but those customers would say that they only prefer a certain area or a certain development. I told them this simple story which will always be true

regardless of the market condition.

Good area does not grow in size, anymore. When an area is very new, when there were just a few rows of houses or even just a condo development in the middle of nowhere, it cannot be an attractive area. However, over the years, when the population grows, the number of commercial units would increase and as long as there is a masterplan for the area, it would soon be loved by many. Usually, this is when the area is also pretty mature and the land available to build new developments within the same areas becomes scarce. This is also when the area is now attractive and prices start going up. Now imagine what would happen if we want to buy into this area? We have to wait for any desperate owner who wants to sell their unit fast. When the
desperate owner wants to sell their unit fast
, three situations may happen.

Would we be the first to know? . If I am an owner and I want to sell my home fast, I would tell my real estate friend or my neighbours or the friendly security supervisor. If the area is really attractive, just 10 percent below market meant that it is sold within days if not hours. The question here is that are we the ONLY one interested in that attractive area? If not, then are we the neighbour of this owner who wants to sell? If still no, then are very close to all the security supervisors in that attractive area? If the answer is no, then we would never be the first to know…….

Would the price have an opportunity to hit 15 percent? I am very serious about this. Two actual cases. Penang Island, hotspot, nearby bridge and with facing Penang’s first bridge. There was a condo unit which was 10 percent cheaper than other units and it was renovated and partially furnished. My good friend, Mr. V told the agent that he will view the next day. Within the same day, in the evening, the unit was sold and the deposit was even paid. Second case. One high-rise fully renovated and furnished unit. 10 percent below market rate. Owner was going back to Hong Kong. Advertisement was posted and my good friend who stays in the same development saw it within 10 minutes of the advertisement posted, called and immediately went to view it right after work. Deposit paid within the same day. By the way, the stamp duty was adjusted higher by close to 15 percent. Even the tax department does not agree with the price she paid….

Would the number of units grow? Scarcity pushes prices up. That’s always true for all goods and even services. Assuming in that attractive area, there are 3,000 units in total.  If there are 5 units up for grab every month, it would be easily absorbed by the residents there FIRST. Unfortunately, unless something crazy happens, there would never be 100 units up for grab suddenly…  As for those owners who are not desperate and just want to sell based on market price, the prices they want would definitely not be anywhere near 10 percent below the market price. This is the reason why for attractive areas, the prices would not drop. A famous property guru said in his Facebook message that buying in hotspots would always pay off handsomely in the future. I agree. Just to add, that’s why for those who just could not afford these areas, think of cheaper areas nearby.

The reason is because hotspots would always be hotspots.

I told my two real estate negotiator friends to move on. It will take forever to sell to people who loves attractive areas but want super cheap…

Please LIKE
kopiandproperty.com FB page
 or
Sign Up for free
 to get daily updates about the property market.

written on 20 Aug 2017

Next suggested article:

Interest remains high, but buying still doubtful

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Waiting and selling slowly (or hoarding?) will stop with levy, usually.

The number of unsold units in Malaysia is at a historic high actually. An article about this earlier.
Unsold units are u further 16k units. Now at 146k.

From my conversations with many prominent property experts, the conclusion is a brief one. The demand is there but the price is just not right, yet. In fact, even the sentiment factor which was a negative is now a positive one after Malaysia voted in a new government just over a month ago. So, what else can happen? Well, in Hong Kong, the demand is also huge despite prices being extremely high. However, NOT ALL the units were sold and some developers continue to hold their price firm and thus continue to hold the units which were unsold.

The Hong Kong government will soon tax developers with unsold units soon.
Here’s that news in SCMP.com – Hong Kong developers rush to sell empty flats ahead of new vacancy tax.
 Is this a good news for the potential buyers? Perhaps they may be able to buy cheaper units because the developer would have to balance between the amount being taxed versus selling with some discounts instead? The article shared that a few developers were looking to sell their unsold units soon. New World Development will release the last 38 homes in phase one of its Park Villa project in Yuen Long at discounted prices on Saturday. The discounts were said to be 18 percent. The units have been empty for the past 5 years. Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) plans to clear its stock of 350 empty apartments at Grand Yoho phase two. Grand Yoho was completed in mid-2017. Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor made it clear that flats should be occupied for residence, instead of stockpiling. However this tax would only be implemented after a comprehensive public study and public consultations.
Here’s that full article in SCMP for reference.
 (I think she is acting on behalf of many Hong Kongers needing a home but could not afford one yet.)

Nearer to home, Singapore has always been ‘encouraging’ the developers not to hold unsold units through the Qualifying Certificate (QC) extension charges. This can be pretty high yeah. In 2017, the developers in Singapore paid S$50 million for QC extension charges.
Here’s that article in StraitsTimes.
 I think this pro-active measure has ensured that the number of unsold units do not balloon and the developers are much more serious with their development plans. Last but least would be developers pricing their units more closer to what the market could afford instead of the usual sentiment based pricing; good market means higher price and bad market means lots of rebates for example. From these two advanced property markets, what do you think may potentially also happen to Malaysia? Well, we are a follower when it comes to the property market and our unsold units are rising actually. Happy following.

written on 21 June 2018

next suggested article:
Singapore private home prices in 2030, population, prices and size.

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Walk-In for Covid-19 at PPVs? Some details here.

A good friend asked about Walk-In for the Covid-19 shot. Since she does not know, perhaps it’s good to just get some details, put it up and share with everyone.

Dates and Details

First one is the dates and the details. Please do not simply run to any PPV at ANY TIME because it starts from 2pm. Somehow no closing time was mentioned but from the other PPVs, 8pm is the usual time. While there’s no need to go too early because it starts from 2pm but there’s also no need to just go at the last 30 minutes as well please.

Here are all the PPV centres: (if you could not read the image)

Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre or KLCC (HCO F, HCO G and HCO H)
Bangi Avenue Convention Centre in Kajang
Wyndham Hotel in Klang
Dewan Tun Razak in Sabak Bernam
Serendah Community Hall
Mövenpick Hotel & Convention Centre KLIA
Ideal Convention Centre in Shah Alam

Ca
n I know which PPVs still have doses left before I go?

Yes. This is the
Facebook page (click to go and image below)
where they will list down which are the PPVs where there are still remaining doses. It’s really possible to walk-in when they publish this because the PPVs only closes at 8pm.

There is also no need to go early, clogged up everything and then ask why the wait was so long. Then again, as usual, all these will fall on deaf ears. Just do what you think is right then.

For example, I only arrived at WTC KL at 8:50am for my 9am appointment. Hope everyone is vaccinated soonest possible. Cheers.

Love news like this and more?
Sign up for daily investment news updates.
 Alternatively, Follow me on
 Telegram here
.

Please LIKE
kopiandproperty.com FB page
 to get daily updates about the property market beyond kopiandproperty.com articles. Else,
follow me on Twitter here.

Sign up for KopiWeekly. (only once per week of property, finance, investment news and more)

Next suggested article:

We really do need to live with Covid-19

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Wanda City vs Disney, choosing one or going both

I have been to Disneyland France a 4,800 acres theme park in France a long, long time ago. I have passed by the one in Tokyo twice and I also chose not to enter the Disneyland in Hong Kong a few years ago because I read of the need to queue under the sun for an hour just for rides. Hopefully it’s better nowadays. Well, Disneyland is going to open in Shanghai in June 2016 and it will have competition from Wanda, a conglomerate which intends to ensure Disney does not earn profits for the next 10 to 20 years. This is according to its founder, Wang Jianlin. He despised this ‘invasion’ of foreign cultures and wanted instead to be a model to highlight Chinese influence in the cultural domain.

We know a lot about Disneyland. Well according to some media reports, a giant Chinese conglomerate, Wanda has ‘Wanda City’ in the southeastern Nanchang.This is a 80ha theme park with the highest and longest roller coaster and the highest tower dropping China. (According to the company). Within this entertainment city, there’s also a giant mall set over 2 sq km. This project required an investment of 22 billion yuan (RM13.7bil). Its founder is China’s richest man (as per Forbes) said that beyond the nanchang site, Wanda will be opening six more theme parks in China within three years and by 2020 would have around 15!

With growing middle class, Wanda may be looking at a huge potential market of US$610 billion currently and a double of this number by 2020. According to the report, it is also planning three theme parks overseas. One of these would be in France to challenge the Disneyland I once visited. One advantage it has over Disneyland in Shanghai is ticket prices. It’s priced at 198 yuan on most days and 248 yuan on holidays and weekends. This is favourable when compared to Disneyland’s 370 yuan each for regular tickets and 499 yuan during peak days.

To be honest, I can see many cynical faces. Well, that includes me too until the day I really visited the park in order to have an idea how awesome is the theme park when compared to a Disneyland. My wife and I are planning another visit to a branded theme park. Most probably
Legoland in Iskandar
. As for dropping by Nanchang just to visit the theme park, it’s near to impossible. I would prefer to visit Shanghai for the first time instead. Image of its roller coaster in the image. Image source:
http://www.wanda-group.com/2016/latest_0528/1198.html
 Happy reading and visiting.

written on 31 May 2016

Next suggested article:
Dubai: 8 million sq ft mall to proceed

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Overspending to ‘enhance’ image is very Sxxxxd.

Do you believe someone would be crazy enough to spend all his money on a BMW and then eat bread and instant noodle because he does not have enough money left? I happened to know one many years ago and I read about the second one today. First of all, I have no idea if the character in the news article I read is real or not. I read this article from a friend’s Facebook sharing. It goes like this. A Singaporean guy bought a BMW and did his very best to maintain this car,to the extent that he was eating bread and instant noodle everyday. Wow, must be pretty exciting because it’s not an easy thing to do! Read full article here:
BMW guy eating bread and instant noodle

Familiar story to many of us? There’s little need to look too far. Perhaps we are also guilty of doing the same thing. That pair of jeans costing RM400? That new long sleeve shirt from a certain exclusive brand worth RM400? Actually, just these two would be enough for a family of four to survive for one month. I repeat, survive. I did not say enjoy. What were we thinking when we swiped the credit card for a brand new smartphone costing over RM4,000 when we could have bought one for RM699? Yes, the brand is not as well known, camera is not as good, speed is slower etc etc etc BUT RM699 vs RM4,000? Before anyone starts to debate about how he needs his phone very badly and that was why he bought the phone, let me say this, don’t bxxxxxxt.

If we earn
RM16,000
 per month today and wishes to get a RM4,000 phone which would last us at least the next 12 months, I think it’s fine. In fact, why should someone earning RM16,000 be using any inferior phone, right? Haha. However, from official statistics, these people are very rare in Malaysia. Yet, the sales of iPhone hit the roof last year. Before everyone starts debating, I understand, consumerism is strong in Malaysia. We want to be ahead of everyone else. At least, be seen to be. Just understand however that when we overspend to ‘enhance’ our image among our friends, it’s a foolish action. Save that money even if you have no intention to buy a property. Some day, you will need it. Happy spending, wisely.

written on 9 Jan 2016

Next suggested article:
Negative thoughts but contrary actions?

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


The war between interest rate and inflation.

Why inflation must not rise without a ceiling

If inflation is too high, central banks will prefer to subdue it. The reason is simple. High inflation continuously meant that the purchasing power of the people will reduce and subsequently, the quality of life of the people will deteriorate. For example, when food prices rise, some poor people may go hungry. This is a reality and must be handled well. Thus, the war between the inflation and interest rate is currently raging all over the world.

When inflation is under control, central banks prefer pro-growth interest rates

Higher growth means businesses will need to expand their business. More expansion equals to more jobs. More jobs meanwhile means a higher demand for goods and services. This meant that businesses must expand more and the cycle of economic expansion, job and demand will continue to happen. This is encouraged as long as demand does not turn into inflation due to too many demand chasing too few goods; inflation as per economics 101. I think it’s starting to show that inflation is a worry all around the world today.

European Central Bank’s war against inflation

News in cnbc.com:
European Central Bank member says to expect first rate hikes this summer
  European Central Bank may increase rates for the very first time after more than a decade. Joachim Nagel gave comments to CNBC which indicated that the first interest rate rise could come in July. This is not just Europe.

Fed will ‘fight’ against inflation until it wins

News in cnbc.com.
Powell says the Fed will not hesitate to keep raising rates until inflation comes down.
 Meanwhile the US Federal Reserve says that it willcontinue to raise rates untilinflation comes down. A war against inflation which Fed wants to win.

Even 6th largest economy is thinking of rates increase

Plus all these countries which had increased its rates. Earlier article for reading here:
India, the world’s top 10 largest economy is seriously considering a major rate hike as well. (6th largest to be exact)

Prices, once risen will find it hard to come down

I just realised that my favourite dry curry noodle which used to be RM6 has just become RM7 yesterday evening. Reason? Cost of materials went up. Sometimes it’s tough to argue when the food is just too delicious, right? Hopefully, there are more choices so that I do not have to be stuck with just one choice and having to continue paying ever higher for the same bowl of noodle.

More interest rate stories

Here are all the other countries which had increased their interest rates. In fact, Malaysia is included too which was a surprise because many analysts expected Bank Negara to wait a little more before increasing the rates. I think the pressure from all the countries are just too high. Article here:
Starting to worry with a higher interest rate?

Happy understanding and getting to know what’s happening

Property News Malaysia?
Sign up for daily investment news updates (FREE since Nov 2013 and FOREVER).
 Alternatively, Follow me on
 Telegram here
.

Please LIKE
kopiandproperty.com FB page
 to get daily updates about the property market beyond kopiandproperty.com articles. Else,
follow me on Twitter here.

Next suggested article:
True cost of a property is not when we are young

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


118 is higher than 88 definitely, BUT….

I think it’s very clear that I like the upcoming start of “Merdeka PNB118” I think this would be a catalyst to the areas surrounding it. If only I own a piece of land somewhere nearby but I don’t. Yeah, I did write about it earlier. Read here:
KL118? Make it happen please
  Widely reported in many local medias today and most of them talking about this being the country’s tallest building. That 118-storey tower will overtake the 88-floor Petronas Twin Towers and more. Seriously, is there such a need to have such comparisons in the first place? Both to me are iconic buildings. It’s true 118 storey would mean that it should become the world’s 5th tallest building. Top 5 is indeed awesome.

However, has everyone also forgotten that Petronas Twin Towers remain the world’s tallest TWIN TOWERS? Read here:
Petronas Twin Towers still tallest in the world
 Yes, thus far all my foreign friends would never fail to take a photo of my Petronas Twin Tower before leaving Malaysia. There are lots of people still eyeing anything that has a view of the Twin Towers. I am not joking. Latest one here:
Majority of 8KiaPeng@KLCC will be foreign buyers

With the current slowdown, it’s true also that there are some slightly older developments nearby or around KLCC is facing pressure. However, the price per sf or even the total price remains unaffordable to the majority. Read here:

Ready, steady, grab the opportunity (KLCC area)

Perhaps more details about the project. It’s designed by an extremely famous architect firm from Australia, Fender Katsalidis Architects. The awards that this firm has won is well, too many to mention. Read it
here.
 It will be standing at 630 metres and it will also gain the MSC Malaysia Cyber Centre status together with three
green building certification standards. The joint development cost for the tower and a seven-storey shopping mall is RM5 billion. It’s expected to be completed by 2020. 82 out of 118 floors would be rented out as offices and this is 1.7 million sq ft. There would also be a 6-star luxury hotel occupying 18 floors or 435,000 sq ft. No mention of the hotel name yet. Let’s hope this is one of those really luxurious ones. Don’t mind not staying there, I do mind if it’s not as luxurious as I would expect. At least something like the one announced recently? Read here:
Slowdown? Prices per sq ft increased for strong interest

Oh yeah, the builders of this iconic project was announced earlier. Read here:

KL118 awarded, RM3.4 billon deal to Samsung-UEM

Besides this 2020 date, the remaining mixed development on 19 acres of land will be completed by 2024. To those who would like to say that such a development would bring traffic jams and inconvenience etc, please do understand that as long as the development is within any matured area, it will always cause jams and inconvenience. What’s most important would be the plans and solutions.

I would love to introduce more interesting places toy foreign friends. Oh yeah, oversupply of commercial office? Read here:
Occupancy at 85 percent but 75 % are over 16 years old
  Seriously, if I need a better branding, I would pay more to be at a better branded office. All owners of these office buildings should be as competitive as possible and not keep increasing rates simply because there are no other choices. Same thing for residential too. Keep building please.

written on 17 Mar 2016

Next suggested article:
Luxury condominiums oversupply in Kuala Lumpur

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Warming ties? Economically appropriate lah.

Should the two smaller nations in ASEAN be better friends? I meant my Malaysia and Singapore which are surrounded by Thailand (nearly 70 million population) or Indonesia (over 260 million population) or even the nearby Philippines (103 million population). Of course, we are some distance away from being best friends but I think we are improving. Joint statements help tremendously.
Here’s one latest Leaders Retreat Joint Statement from both prime ministers.

In brief, RTS is one and many more items were sort of agreed too. The reason for a better relationship? One very key component is always economic. Working together meant SMEs in Singapore gets a cheaper manufacturing base which are really just half an hour away and any Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) from overseas can even be jointly attracted. Malaysian side meanwhile gets more job opportunities.

It is quite common for questions such as ‘Do you have enough of the top tier R&D talents? What about a manufacturing base which is low cost enough and yet supported by good logistics and enough land to expand plus having enough good housing for the new population of working professionals?’ By the way, the only reason why it’s expensive to operate in Singapore is the housing part. It’s not the cheap hawker food in their extensive number of food courts. The top foreign talents may be willing to eat in the clean foodcourts but staying in a HDB flat without facilities would be a different thing altogether. If the expats are Japanese, then golf courses are a must during the weekends. This is especially if they came to this part of the world from other advanced countries around the world. The answer is pretty clear. Working together is the better choice instead of becoming a competitor.

Here’s one latest one which should help alleviate some of the jam between JB and SG. As per
reported in the article in the Malay Mail Online
, Malaysian Prime Minister’s Office, in a statement yesterday, said the commercial vehicle levy at Linkedua will be reduced to RM50 for vehicles entering and leaving Malaysia beginning Feb 13, down from the current rate of RM100 to RM200. Immediately, we get a response from Singapore’s Minister for Transport Khaw Boon Wan. He said Singapore will match the reduction. “This will take effect from 1 April 2018. Hopefully, this will encourage some road users to shift out of the peak-hour period.” Khaw said that the initiative to reduce the Causeway congestion was discussed between the prime ministers of Malaysia and Singapore at the Leaders’ Retreat last month.

Good start.Hopefully, this reduction is enough to encourage users to use Linkedua instead. There are also news about a further discussion on the single border checkpoint too. Still alittle premature perhaps.
Here’s that news in StraitsTimes SG.
Happy following.

written on 10 Feb 2018

Next suggested article:
Iskandar property price to surpass Greater KL

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Still warning, none caught yet

In Penang, State Town, Country Planning and Housing Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said that there were thousands of errant property owners in the low cost (LC) and low medium cost (LMC) who have violated the housing ruling and renting their units out. He said he has received complaints about this and views this non-compliance very seriously as there are still so many in the waiting list for LC and LMC units. To be exact, there are 25,065 applicants for LCs and 24,823 applicants for LMCs. He said that the state has consulted the Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA), Penang Chapter for help in tackling this situation. The solution is ‘not to help the LC and LMC unit owners to advertise the units for rent’. In fact, the punishment is pretty heavy. Jagdeep said house owners caught renting out their LC or LMC units are punishable under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating, which shall be punished with up to 10 years of jail and whipping. 10 years of jail and WHIPPING. No mention of how many have been caught and punished thus far though.

He further elaborated that in Penang, the The Selection Process Enhancement Committee (Spec) is the one which goes through the list of all applicants and ensures only those who needs them gets them. He reiterated the number of units in the pipeline including 22,545 units of LC (850 units), LMC (7,874 units) and affordable housing (13,851 units). In other words, more units are coming but these numbers are still way below the total number of applicants in the waiting list. This is the main reason why only those who needs them should be given them. This is not an issue with the state government. It’s an issue with the owners who are trying to cheat and obtain additional benefits. Irregardless of reasons, I think the state government should take action. Only after the first batch of these owners are punished that all others thinking of doing the same would be scared to do it. Whether it’s Penangites in Penang or even Singaporeans in Singapore, the best deterrent is to catch, punish and tell the world.

In fact when we look at the selection criteria, it’s pretty clear that the breaches should be dealt with by taking away the units from these owners because if they can rent it out, it meant that they have a place to stay. Since this is the case, they should be getting the units meant for all those who really needs them. All these properties have a 10-year moratorium whereby during this period, the owner is not allowed to sell the property. Perhaps, it should also be stated clearly that they MUST stay there or NO RENTING out is allowed or even if rented out, the state government should get the money to subsidise for the next purchasers. If however, ‘no renting out’ is not part of the moratorium, then taking actions may be much tougher. Happy catching a few of them for a start.

written on 23 Dec 2014

Next suggested article:
Holding Back, There’s too much negativity in Penang Property Market

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Warning on Iskandar from Monetary Auhority of Singapore

Reported in an online daily. Oh dear, even the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has something to say about Iskandar. It said that it is concerned about the rising oversupply of new properties in Iskandar and it will try its best to raise awareness of the risks involved in buying overseas property. Fortunately, it said, ‘overseas’ property and not just Iskandar. Then again, the major overseas property investments by majority of the middle income Singaporeans are definitely in Iskandar. Not many can afford the AUD650,000 high-rise units in Australia anyway.

It (MAS) also said that there are about 336,000 new units planned in Johor alone and this number is already higher than the total number of private homes in Singapore. Yet, this number has yet to include the 1,400ha of reclaimed land near the Tuas Second link which would be developed from 2020 onwards. Fortunately, 2020 is still 5 years away and please do take note that no timeline was mentioned as to the completion of this 336,000 new units.

The truth is, interest from Singaporean buyers for Iskandar properties has already dropped tremendously in 2014. From a total of 2,609 units in 2013, this has dropped nearly 70 percent, down to just 838 units in 2014. This is based on a survey of real estate agencies. In fact some property guru friends are joking about how hard it is to catch a Singaporean buyer today. Another facebook comment said that some Singaporean buyers are getting jittery because they could not rent out their units even after 6 months of getting the key.

There are way too many uncertainties currently. Of course, the fact that supply are coming in way too fast compared to demand plus the negative sentiment meant that everything suddenly happen all at once and left every potential buyer ‘breathless.’ I think more time is needed and HSR is certainly not going to help today because it will be completed only beyond 2020 even if the Chinese government official said that if they win the tender, they can still build the HSR in time for 2020. It may be better for whatever planned to happen first and perhaps an announcement of a new link may create a tiny bit of positive excitement. We wait.

written on 13 May 2015

Next suggested article:
HSR: KL – Singapore, 7 stops in Malaysia, buy, buy and buy now?

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Warning. You rent it out or We will rent it out.

Barcelona is forcing the landlords to find tenants. Else the property will be redeployed as affordable housing.

Rental versus good rental

If you own a property, would you want to rent it out at a good monthly rental? I am sure you would love to. Then, why are there some people who are not willing to rent out their properties? Actually, it’s not always easy to rent out the property at a good monthly rental yeah. Sometimes, the tenant may not be whom you want to. Here’s an article on how to check out the tenant too.
10 things to think about when choosing the tenant

Owner may be that stumbling block

Sometimes, the owner may also be too wealthy and does not bother to rent out their property too. This meant that there are empty properties and when there are empty properties and the existing demand for rental properties are higher than what’s available, then the rental goes up. It’s just a question of demand and supply.  In Kuala Lumpur, I think the rental is under pressure simply because there’s a lot of new supply but the demand has yet to reach that level. In some places like Barcelona, many need a home. So, what is Barcelona doing to ease the pressure on supply of properties for rental?

Article in thelondoneconomic.com
   Barcelona’s city housing department wrote to 14 companies that collectively own hundreds of empty apartments and warned them that the city would take possession of the property if they haven’t found a tenant within the next month.€90,000 and €900,000. (RM443,000 – RM4.3 million)

Many of these homes were left empty by the companies while waiting for the market to recover. In fact many times, these properties were seen as an asset rather than as an essential public resource. This situation is similar in London and in 2018, it was found that there were 22,000 homes set vacant. Do read the full article here:
Article in thelondoneconomic.com

Lucky, for now

There are no signs that Malaysia will be doing something like Barcelona yet. So, home owners who left their units empty do not need to worry yet. However, if you own a property, do think of renting it out versus leaving it empty yeah. The government may just be introducing the vacancy tax targeted at developers and it is said to be potentially starting in 2021 too. If this happens, the natural progression is of course to move on to home owners too.

How to decide to buy?

Many years ago, someone asked me how should they decide to buy or not to buy an investment property. I told them to look at rental first before deciding whether the price is worth it or not. I wrote an article about it too:
Look at potential rental first, then the price
. Remember yeah, Malaysia is not the first country to take such ‘taxing’ action. Happy understanding before you start buying that investment property.

Love to be updated on all investment news?
Sign up for KopiWeekly. (only once per week of property, finance, investment news and more)

Please LIKE
kopiandproperty.com FB page
 to get daily updates about the property market beyond kopiandproperty.com articles. Else,
follow me on Twitter here.

Next suggested article:
Slow property market has 7 advantages

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Washing cars of potential buyers?

Times are slow for the real estate agents. Viewings have reduced and purchase is even lower. Yet, if they do not work harder, the potential may drop even further. In Singapore, an interesting piece of news appeared in propertyguru.com.sg  One agent, Kenny Neo of ERA Realty Network told PropertyGuru that he began offering free car washing services during open houses after noticing that property viewings dropped significantly, due to haze. Other reasons include a slowing market as well as end-of-year school examinations. The result from this new idea? The viewings have risen threefold, from around five groups to 15 different groups per day on the weekend since they began washing cars.

Of course, he could do this as he was trying to sell a bungalow in the Bedok area worth SGD9 million (RM27.4 Million) and has enough space to park six cars on the porch. I know, I think the question would be what if the viewers are there only for the car wash instead of actually interested? According to Neo, in order to enjoy a free car wash, one does not actually have to make a purchase. However, they do sufficient follow up to ensure these potential buyers do have certain degree of seriousness with the bungalow. However, he said that this idea is not applicable for all landed properties due to space limitations for the smaller ones. He and his team-mates would just have to think of other ideas instead.

Actually, I would like to know if such an idea can work in Malaysia. After all, ERA is also active in Malaysia as well. If anyone knows of these out of the box ideas, please share yeah. I think this is worth sharing as I still believe secondary market is a better market to go if one is serious about buying that first property or even to start using the purchased property for rental income. Buying new properties would not get either of these actually. Either waiting till completion or even suffering negative returns because the prices have gone up far too high compared to the potential rental. Happy sharing!

written on 31 Oct 2015

Next suggested article:
Don’t simply say, be careful in Singapore yeah

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Washing Machine, Oven, Cooker Hood and more for your new home?

Recently, I realised that a lot of people do not actually know the typical prices of electrical goods. Thus, some would spend way too much for something which they may not yet need or may never need. When they need they may no longer be staying at the same place and may be moving to a new place. We look at a few today.

Washing Machine. Please buy fully automatic. Semi-Automatic is not worth your time and money. The cheapest you can buy should be a 6kg top loading washing machine for around RM500. Try opening the top part, does it look flimsy? If yes, don’t buy. Can you see inside? If not, don’t buy. Is the 6kg machine over RM600? If yes, don’t buy. I would recommend that you buy an established brand. By established brand, I do not mean just Panasonic or Sharp but also includes Korean brands like Samsung, LG and even brands which have been around for a very long time like Elba, Morgan etc. If there are 4-5 of you, I think you should look at minimum 8.5kg instead of the minimum 6kg. I have owned Haier (6kg), LG (6.5kg), Samsung (6.5kg) and most recently Sharp (8kg). My next one may be Morgan. We shall see. Oh yeah, if there’s a display unit at 30% sales, buy immediately if everything looks ok. I have never seen display units being used to show washing before……..

TV. I have done an article earlier. Here.
Why Plasma TV instead of Smart LED for my new condo

Cooker Hood. I have personally owned two. One is Elba which I have used for 4 years before renting my apartment out and the tenant continued to use it for 5 years more before I sold off the apartment recently. Price? RM599, bought at a special clearance sale. Then, due to people saying Electrolux is better, I bought one for RM1299 from Harvey Norman. Seriously, I feel in terms of the overall build quality, it is definitely better than my earlier ELBA. However, if I could choose again, I am find with ELBA. After all, whether the food is delicious or not is not due to the cooker but the cook. However, I do not recommend buying any unknown brands. Typical price for cooker hoods are RM700 – RM1200. I will not pay anything higher for this even if I am buying a RM1 million condo.

Oven. I do not like microwave oven. However, for usual oven, you should buy one which is big enough for all your future needs. If can, buy a 40 litre one. This allows you to bake two cheesecakes at the same time, do your roast turkey every year end and any other cookies etc easily. Built in looks great but practicality wise I’d choose one which I can bring anywhere. My current unit was given to me free by my colleagues when I moved in to my new condo many years ago. It works well till today, Jusco Selection is the brand. Most importantly, try out the switches and open the glass door and look at its edges. A better build quality typically gives you more assurance. Again, this should not exceed RM500 unless you just want to feel good.

Aircon. Seriously, if it’s 1 horsepower, don’t talk about inverter technology. However, terms such as Plasmacluster or Ionizer is a must. The air quality is bad. Haze is here. I am currently using a Morgan 1hp aircon. My Sharp Plasmacluster is definitely better than the Morgan one but the Morgan one is only RM599. 🙂   For air-con, typical prices for 1hp should be between RM700 – RM1,000.  Anything higher means the shop is overcharging you or the model you are buying is the latest model. Brands I have used and like include Panasonic, Sharp. My Morgan is still working fine, just that the control is harder to understand and it is not as fast cooling as my Sharp. Then again, RM599?? Haha.

Fridge. Buy one which is big enough to last your family growth for a few years. Try to buy one which is 400 litres or higher. Typically this would be between RM1400 – RM1800. Sometimes, if you are lucky you may just get one even cheaper due to certain promotions etc. I do not find any huge difference between all the different brands I have used, so I think it should be ok for any brand. In fact I feel the Elba Fridge that my aunty is using is better than the Samsung that my mom is having. I am using a Toshiba and a Sharp now. If something goes wrong with your fridge, I am sorry, you are just unlucky.

There are a lot of occasions where you may find a good value which is below the prices mentioned above. If you do, buy it. Do not go to 10 shops to look for one and you found one which is RM100 cheaper than the most expensive one. Your time is definitely worth more than that. For established brands, none of them make their appliances to be faulty within a few years. Thus, I have no qualms about buying any brand, even if it is a local brand as long as the build quality is good and they gave the same number of warranty years as the international ones which may still be produced in China anyway.

written on 15 march 2014

Next suggested article:
Practical money tips, buying furnitures for your new home

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Watch March 2019 for stimulus and incentives

Governments play an important role in any property market because they act as an influencer. When the market gets too hot, cooling measures will be introduced so that the market will not burst. When market is lacklustre, the government needs to introduce stimulus and incentives to make it vibrant again. Malaysia has announced the stamp duty exemption for ALL purchases made during the Home Ownership Campaign (HOC) 2019. Article here:
Stamp duty exemption to all, not just first-timers
 The jury is still out on whether this will be enough for a market with a negative sentiment. Let’s hear what FIABCI Malaysia President Michael Geh’s views about the potential for new stimulus and incentives in March 2019.

Article in AsianCorrespondent.com here.
 Geh said the current property downturn in Malaysia could be reversed once the newly-created National Housing Policy takes effect and when implementors announced their findings and recommendations. He said, “There will be announcements of affordable housing, actions by Bank Negara Malaysia to stimulate the market and other incentives that are still under discussion between the industry and the government.”  He added that the Bank Negara Malaysia (central bank), the Housing and Local Government Ministry and the Finance Ministry were holding regular engagements to come up with “goodies” for the industry and home buyers. He said, “The new government is taking extraordinary steps in a tenacious manner that will help spur both the primary and secondary market of the property industry this year.”
Article in AsianCorrespondent.com here.

There will be an expo for unsold properties in March 2019 where properties will be sold at a discount of 10 percent or more.
Over 20,000 units with attractive discounts in March
 This should help to clear some of the unsold units. This is what
Knight Frank said about the Malaysian property market for 2019.
In the mean time, if we are thinking of buying, it’s best to start evaluating. Comparing and determining what’s needed versus what the majority thinks will become
essential to buy the right property.
I echo what Geh has in mind too; the government will be doing more as and when needed because a subdued and negative market is not what the market needs and what the government wants. Happy following.

LIKE
kopiandproperty.com FB page
 or
Sign Up for free
 to get daily updates about the property market.

written on 4 Feb 2019

Next suggested article:
How soon is soon and how low is low

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Watch the oil price, it definitely concerns us too.

The topic of petrol price is always a popular one. For the past one week, the discussion has been mostly centred on who will get the subsidy and who would not based on Budget 2019 announcement. My personal take is to make things simple.
Here’s that earlier article
 Well, do we know what’s happening in the world of oil price? Well, it has fallen to a multi-month low just last week. The reasons include an increase in the global supply and the impact on fuel demand due to lower economic growth and trade disputes. (Trade disputes here definitely meant the largest and the second largest economies in the world; America and China)  As for the world growth, this was what Tao Zhang, deputy managing director at the International Monetary Fund said, “If global supply chains are forced to adjust as a result of the ongoing trade tensions between the U.S. and China, it could cost the world economy about 1 percent of its GDP by next year.”
Article in CNBC here.

As for the oil price,
Article in NST here.
 The benchmark Brent crude has fallen below U$70 a barrel for the first time since April 2018. This is down by more than 18 percent since reaching four-year highs at the beginning of October. It is now in a “bear market” territory, borrowing a definition used in stock markets. Oil peaked in October on concerns that U.S. sanctions on Iran that came into force this week would deprive the oil market of substantial volumes of crude, draining inventories and bringing shortages in some regions. However, other big producers such as
Saudi Arabia, Russia and shale companies in the United States, have increased output steadily, more than compensating for lost Iranian barrels. Currently, t
he United States, Russia and Saudi Arabia are pumping at or near record highs, producing more than 33 million barrels per day (bpd), a third of the world’s oil.
Article in NST here.

Budget 2019 was based on the assumption of oil price at US$70 a barrel. In effect, if it maintains above US$70 a barrel, we are doing okay. If it’s below, then there are some side effects. Petronas’s profits will be lower when the oil price is low. The budget deficit for 2019 which was expected will also rise. This will affect sentiment in the market even if some companies will profit from a lower oil price scenario,for example airlines. (Hint… Hint… buy some airline stocks?) When sentiment is negative we will see stock market and property market also subdued too. Hopefully, oil price does not fluctuate too much whether too low or too high. By the way, too low is NOT good too as it meant world growth is slowing, thus demand for oil is reducing too. Too high and it may cause inflation and cripple some countries’ economic growth. Happy following.

written on 12 Nov 2018

Next suggested article:
Falling oil prices and the actions fo Warren Buffett

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


5 reasons we are not underpaid (even if we seriously believe we are)

Do we believe we are underpaid or do we believe we are not underpaid? We may certainly be underpaid.

I started working 2 months before my 21st birthday. I am a few months away from my 44th birthday. So, my total professional working years would be 23 years and counting. In terms of pay, I think I am paid just about right. Not overpaid (hopefully I am right) but also not underpaid (I hope so too). However, I understand that these days, more and more people believe that they are underpaid. They believe the world has become a bad place and treated them badly. Today, let’s just look at 7 reasons why we are not underpaid (even if we seriously believe we are.

Reason #1 – Are we able to find another job paying us a higher pay than currently?
Or are there jobs available? A check using ‘manager’ as a keyword in
 jobstreet.com.my
 showed that as at today, there are over 17,000 of such manager jobs being posted. If we assume there are at least 3 times more of similar jobs not posted, then we are talking about over 50,000 manager jobs just within today. Of course, if the job is not posted, finding them does seem harder.

Reason #2 – Are there anyone else, whether younger, peer or older who’s able to do our job for less pay?
Every time we look at the salary range for our position, we may have noticed that our current salary may be in the middle of the salary range. This meant that there are others who are doing the same job but with same pay currently. Thus, if we believe we are underpaid, then there are those who are even more underpaid and if they get our job, they will be very happy.

Reason #3 – Are there many others who could perform even better than us and they only want the same pay?
 Be very honest with ourselves. Do we have junior colleagues who have learnt how to do what we do and it does seem that they could soon do what we do even better than how we do it. When this happens, we either do even better by improving or we start to lose our competitiveness and may be passed over for promotion in favour of the younger colleague.

Reason #4 – Are there people in other countries who could do the same job for very much lower pay?
   In case we did not know, we should know the term called ‘out-source.’ This has happened in our favour thus far. People in many more advanced and usually expensive countries are losing their jobs because their company wanted to cut the operations cost and they have chosen to relocate some of their jobs to cheaper cost countries.

Many Malaysians could do what they could do, so they come here and pay in RM versus their local currency. Just note that while we kept saying that Ringgit is depreciating etc, there are still many countries for which the people start to improve their english, their skills, their expertise and would soon provide a challenge to us here since the cost to hire these talents may be even lower.

#5 – Are we still doing ALMOST the same thing but our pay has been increased every year except 2020 due to COVID-19?
 Many say they are underpaid but when asked to increase their productivity, they will drag their feet and again reiterated that they are already underpaid, why need to work ever harder? By the way, this ‘chicken and egg’ situation will come back to haunt us in the future because as we get older, the cost to employ us kept getting higher and one day, we would be seen as overpaid… (definitely not underpaid)

Need examples? Well, if we used to be transactional sales people (where we kept repeating scripts) and today we are still transactional sales people and could not transform into a solution selling sales people, then we are going to become extinct soon.  If we are a senior manager in a traditional organisation which is transforming itself into an online / internet organisation and we know little to nothing about the new direction, stop blaming anyone but ourselves in the near future.

Conclusion.
There are certainly lots of reasons which people put forth why they are underpaid but seriously, if we feel under-appreciated and underpaid today, why are we still working at the same job and suffering?  Why we dare to complain to all our friends that the company is treating the employees very badly and yet we dare not do anything about it? If I am your friend, I would not laugh at you but deep inside my heart, I would be asking, ‘why are you still there if the company treats you so badly?’

Love news like this and more?
Sign up for daily investment news updates.
 Alternatively, Follow me on
 Telegram here
.

Please LIKE
kopiandproperty.com FB page
 to get daily updates about the property market beyond kopiandproperty.com articles. Else,
follow me on Twitter here.

Sign up for KopiWeekly. (only once per week of property, finance, investment news and more)

Next suggested article:
Stop believing property price predictions. Start researching and understanding

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


5 things to do when we feel we are underpaid

Anyway, I am quite serious when I tell my friends that anytime we feel we are underpaid, we should get a higher paying job. Why must we keep suffering from being underpaid? However, are we ready for a higher paying job? Do we have what it takes? Are we able to get a better paying new career with our current experience? That demand vs supply equation, are there only a few of ‘us’ in the market? Unless the answers to all are a YES, then it’s likely to be hard to change and hope to get much higher pay. Well, here are 5 things to do yeah if indeed we feel we are underpaid.

#1 – Are we sure we are underpaid?

If we do not know for sure, find out. No point in thinking we are underpaid but actually we are already being paid higher than most people in the industry with the same position title.  One place to check:
https://www.jobstreet.com.my/en/career-insights
  Just need to enter the position title and we will get a salary range like the below image. We will then have an idea if we are underpaid, overpaid or well around there in the middle. Else, just type ‘salary range for xxxx in Malaysia” and you will have lot of references too.

Source: Jobstreet.com.my

#2 – Do we know why we are underpaid?

Let’s say after checking, we realised we are underpaid. Do we know why? Is it because we are working in a smaller town where the salary is lower? If so, is the cost of living in this smaller town also lower than the city? Do not just look at the salary alone but salary minus all the expenses…

Is it because the company we work just could not afford to pay any higher? (whether due to business or because the boss is stingy and calculative)  Is it because our current responsibilities are considered easy to do and thus anyone and everyone could do it?  Is it because we are just the only one or few people getting lower pay because we are old-timers and they pay new people higher than us due to market pressure?

Is it because of the industry we are working in? There are industries or businesses which could pay higher because they are in growing industries. There are however industries and businesses which are in a less rosy world. Tourism related for example would have suffered tremendously due to Covid-19.

#3 – Could we do something to improve the situation?

If we really love the company, we should have a conversation with the manager. Ask for more responsibilities (especially the ones which you will soon become a specialist in the company) and start doing it very well. If the company appreciates it, they will show it. If they do not, then only we take the next step which is to look for some other place which would pay us higher.

If we do not like the company, it’s time to start updating our resume. Job choices aplenty! Look at the positions we like to apply with a salary range which is higher than what we are earning today. Refer to the Job Description and the Job Requirements for the job and use those learnings to craft our resume. Just remember that if the resume is not related at all to the job, even if we apply 100 times, we are not going to be interviewed.

Could we switch to another industry? Perhaps it pays to note which are the industries which are growing by leaps and bounds and which are the industries which has slowed down and is now very stable.

#4 – Could we really get a job which pays us more?

Once we start to get job offers from other companies, it will start to tell us if we are truly underpaid or it’s just what we thought. If most of the job offers we could get are for jobs which are similar in nature and salary range, we need to realise that the real issue is not the company, the world or anyone. The problem may be just us. Then, it’s time to look deeper into what’s really happening.

Are we disadvantaged because we do not have a formal education, a degree for example.  If so, it may be time to improve on this situation and just blaming anyone or everyone or kept debating that our experience is more important than a degree will actually not help us in getting a higher pay.

Are we disadvantaged because of a certain skill, certain experience or even due to certain attitudes? Some jobs require project management skill, do we have them? Some jobs may require leadership experience, do we have them?  Some jobs require that person to have the ‘never give up’ attitude. Think about it.

Are we considered as someone hard to work with even in our current organisation? For skills, it can be learnt. Sign up for courses! Spend time on useful youtube videos and not just watch latest series. For experience, it can be gained. Example, join
Toastmasters
 and start getting that leadership opportunity. If it’s attitude, it can be changed if we know about it.

#5 – If all fails, could we stay focused on investing instead?

Let’s say after trying hard, we just could not get higher pay. Well, higher pay is just more money. Could we also think about how to invest our money then? For example, spend lesser than what we earn and use that to invest. If we are well versed with property investment, it’s possible to double our wealth in 10 years with the right investment. Not possible? Here’s a super simple calculation.

RM40,000 (savings) which is invested into property investment may enable us to buy a RM400,000 property.  Double our wealth is NOT when RM400,000 property becomes RM800,000 property. We did NOT invest RM400,000. We invested just RM40,000.  In other words, as long the price of the property increased to RM440,000 it’s already an extra RM40,000 versus the price we paid for and RM40,000 return versus RM40,000 investment is 100% returns.

Now imagine what would have happened if we spent the RM40,000? We lost the chance to double it. What is we put the RM40,000 into the Fixed Deposit? We will get an extra RM800 per year or RM4,000 after 5 years!  If we put the money into a dividend stock? If the stock gives 10% returns per year, then RM40,000 would give RM4,000 dividends per year or RM20,000 after 5 years…

Conclusion

It does not have to be just salary. It also does not need to be just investment. Who knows, we may want to be business owners instead? We just need to know that not everyone will thrive as a business owner. In fact some may struggle to even survive.

Please do not work until we have to retire. Work only until we can choose to retire. Make it a choice instead of a need. Whatever we earn, invest it. Get to know some of our working friends who already own a few properties. Following their examples would mean a safer option. Keep the job and invest at the same time.

There is really no need to choose either one. Of course, continue reading kopiandproperty.com because the editor (that’s me) believe every professional can continue working and investing at the same time, slowly. Happy finding a job that pays us for our worth. Staying underpaid is our fault.

Property News Malaysia?
Sign up for daily investment news updates (FREE since Nov 2013 and FOREVER).
 Alternatively, Follow me on
 Telegram here
.

Please LIKE
kopiandproperty.com FB page
 to get daily updates about the property market beyond kopiandproperty.com articles. Else,
follow me on Twitter here.

Next suggested article:
Bankruptcy in Malaysia during the MCO period. High or low?

Header Image by
mohamed Hassan
 from
Pixabay

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Why are there SO MANY property advertisements in newspaper?

Today (20 June), I bought The Star newspaper and every 2-3 pages, there is ONE property advertisement. Total number of property advertisements? 17. How many did I remember? A few lah. Haha. There were also many from out of Malaysia. Don’t they know Ringgit is down and thus would be tougher for Malaysians to buy overseas properties? Hmm… perhaps it’s also TOUGH to sell in their domestic market today? Yes, the bullish times stopped in 2013 and the bearish times are still here. If you read enough, you would notice that some are saying that the worse may yet to come though there are now some murmurs that perhaps H2 2015 is going to be better.

Remember, your personal estimation and prediction may be as accurate as any of the so called property gurus in the market today. Many of these property gurus may be paid to say certain stuffs too but more often than not, if we read enough, in many circumstances we may be able to detect some ‘irregularities’ in some of the items presented. I personally do not believe that the luxury condo market is still going up and the current secondary properties worth RM500,000 would rise to RM800,000 even when market recovers. Sorry, there are just not that many rich Malaysians to mop up all these RM800,000 units.

I admit when I started looking for a much bigger place to move last year, my budget was RM850,000 or lower but the more I look, the more I believe there’s a mismatch between the prices of today and the salaries of today. In the end, I chose to move next to Sungai Buloh for a bigger and cheaper place instead. My family and I have enjoyed our new place for the past 8 months. Price is definitely not a determinant of happiness in this case. Thus, no matter how awesome or amazing a new project is, if the prices are crazy, I will just skip. Perhaps that’s because I am just a full-time employee. Then again….. MAJORITY of all Malaysians are the same too. Few are super-rich anyway. Enjoy what you can afford. Period.

written on 20 June 2015

Next suggested article:
Weakening demand for luxury condos, increasing prices for cheaper condos

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


We MUST change our usual ways. New Malaysia, right?

It’s always very unfortunate when accidents happen and it could have been prevented. Malaysia has had many of these happening within 2018 and I think the authorities have to serious in enforcing all necessary rules and regulations. Workplace accidents usually happen when proper safety management is not enforced either because the supervisors are not serious or the workers think that since no accidents have happened thus far, everything should be just fine.

The investigation on the actual cause for the recent tragedy at CityOne mall MUST be made public once its completed. The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said that the latest tragedy must be thoroughly investigated by the relevant authorities to determine the actual cause. In a statement, he said, “While we are awaiting the detailed report of this latest incident, I would like to stress that it is the responsibility of employers to provide training and personal protective equipment (PPE), while for employees, it is their responsibility to wear it. Fatal accidents at workplaces and occupational injuries are preventable if all contractors take steps to have a proper safety management plan at all their worksites.”
Refer here for the full article in EdgeProp.my

Lee said employers and contractors who failed to provide a safe and healthy working environment for their employees could be charged under Section 15 of OSHA 1994, which carries a fine of up to RM50,000 or two years’ jail, or both. He added, “Under the Act, it is the responsibility of both employers and their workers to ensure safety and health at the workplace and those who failed to do so could be fined or charged in court.” Besides that Lee said employers who failed to provide PPE to employees could be fined not more than RM50,000 or be jailed for up two years, or both, under OSHA 1994.
Refer here for the full article in EdgeProp.my

Wake up everyone, including the authorities.

written on 6 Dec 2018

Next suggested article:
Secondary property can be a primary choice but money is needed

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


We need FULL connectivity. I wonder who’s responsibility?

My kids were very excited to take the MRT. It was their first time on a ‘train’ here in Malaysia. They have taken the MRT in Singapore before. I parked my car at the Sungai Buloh MRT station (RM4.50 parking fee per day) and took the MRT to the MRT Bandar Utama station with my wife and two kids as well as a stroller and two back packs. Everything was great. Air-condition was cold and the ride was smooth. We took family pictures and the young lady who helped to take the photograph was also taking the MRT for the first time. I got up and let two kids sit on my place. Their mother told me that they were also taking the MRT for the first time. As I look around, I could see many people aiming their handphones outside or at themselves. Ah, first timers are everywhere.

Well, when we arrived at the Bandar Utama MRT station, I expected to just walk into the 1 Utama Mall. I was totally wrong. After following the signage, we walked towards the exit, came down the stairs and then I realised that I would need to push the stroller to 1 Utama which was perhaps 600-800 metres away. It’s true that there’s a transit bus but for a family of 4, with a stroller, it’s a real hassle. There was a family of 6 walking in front of me as well. I think they did not want to pay an extra RM6 for the whole family for a transit bus that will take them just 600-800 metres? I think this will be true for most because the only reason they would take the MRT is to save money and not to spend extra. Thus, walking is just fine. In the end, I arrived at 1 Utama mall with lots of sweat. My kids did not really enjoy it after that because I was pushing the stroller under the hot sun.

Speaking of FULL connectivity,
 I wonder who should build it. I think 1 Utama mall has to build it. It may not have a lot of choice if some other bigger malls have FULL connectivity or even new malls being built today comes with FULL connectivity. We shall see what happens in the near future. Int terms of actually walking 600 -800 metres, I am okay. I have walked for two consecutive days when I took the MRT to work anyway. Both days, total steps I took was over 10,000 and I was happy. However, let’s be rational. FULL connectivity helps sway a lots of decisions of whether or not to take the MRT. Most working Malaysians could afford a car, whether new, second-hand or the brand. This is the reason why a little more push will be necessary. In some countries, owning a car is reserved only for the top 5 percent of the population or owning a car would mean having to
buy a car park for millions.
Well for Malaysia, since we are starting new, push for FULL connectivity. Cheers.

written on 31 Aug 2017

Next suggested article:
Continuous expansions in connectivity and advance tech vital

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


We need to prosecute the first one, or it will continue.

Singapore agents are offering their services here and it is ILLEGAL. According to the Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents Johor branch chairman, S. Vadeveloo. I do not think this is a new news. When I was in my previous company, this was already an issue but alas, no concrete actions were taken. I also think it may be hard to take action. I mean, if they are bringing in their clients from Singapore, driving them in to view properties and once the clients like it, the agents get them to the developers and take an undisclosed commission, nothing would happen. Their customers would naturally trust them more as well as every single agent in Singapore are registered.

Okay, since it’s illegal, what’s the punishment like? Under the Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents Act 1981, unlawful representation by a broker is punishable by a fine of up to RM300,000 or a jail term of up to three years, or both. In Malaysia, local real estate negotiators (RENs) must be registered with the Board of Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents of Malaysia. Besides that, all these registered RENs are now required to wear an identification tag when conducting business. Read about it here:
Property Buyer beware. Easier to identify real from fake now.

Truth is, every party needs to play a part and just mere warnings by MIEA will not work, at all. One of the very first party would be developers. Would there any grounds to ‘warn’ them? If there are none, then this problem will continue to persist. Secondly, would it be possible for the MIEA to talk to Singapore’s REA? After all, if they are serious about it, then it may be possible that some agents who are caught may be slapped with fine or even suspended and suddenly, all the Singapore agents would be working hand in hand with the real estate agencies in Malaysia when they offer their services in Malaysia. That’s what I call win-win. 🙂

I know, it will be tough to force the public but property sellers in Malaysia should also change their attitude too. Without their help, many of these illegal brokers would always be around and the real RENs will never be serious enough because they face so much competition plus pressure. Might as well they just become a broker instead. No rules and easier to get business. To stop these illegal agents both from Malaysia and Singapore, there needs to be prosecution. I think one prosecution to tell them it is a serious offence would stop many of these deals. Question is when?

written on 24 July 2014

Next suggested article:
Good news for real estate agents, one unlicensed one arrested.

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Yes, we should have a NATIONAL database but for now…..

When it comes to the property market, I really dislike the average numbers that is often quoted by all the media. Seriously, we need to be like Australia where the property prices are always in median. In brief, average means the central point. So, if there were 10 transactions, five at RM1 million and another five at RM200,000 the quoted number would be an average of RM600,000 which actually means nothing. Nobody actually bought at RM600,000. Google gave this as an answer to median. “denoting or relating to a value or quantity lying at the midpoint of a frequency distribution of observed values or quantities, such that there is an equal probability of falling above or below it.” Well, in brief, this is the number which occurred the most within the mid point. For example, if there were 10 transactions, 6 of them was RM600k and 2 was RM200,000 and 2 was RM1 million, then the median price would be RM600k. This actually means something as it reflects the actual number for transactions which has happened the most number of times.

I like this statement by Khazanah Research Institute research director Dr. Suraya Ismail, “In a free market, information is power… and an integrated database is about having that information.” She was commenting in an article in The Star:
Property sector needs integrated database
. She said that such a database would provide information to the developers to plan for a steady supply of units at the right location and the right price.  She added, “Currently we don’t have a proper national housing survey that looks into account what is the existing stock, vacancy rate, price range, last transacted price or transportation cost.” She shared that overall house prices in Malaysia are 4.4 times the median income. In terms of Kuala Lumpur, it is 5.4 times, in Penang, it is 5.2 times, Johor 4.2 times and Selangor 4 times. (Generally, this is already considered a unaffordable because the best would be around 3 times.)

Actually, we do have some statistics today but it is usually private-led. For example, even before we buy, we are already able to look at the actual transacted prices in
brickz.my
 Take a look at the image for the typical information which is already available to all of us. From the price per sq ft to the typical price range and even the actual transactions. It is even possible to search by AREA instead of the actual project. We also have information from the
National Property Information Centre (NAPIC)
. Quite comprehensive too but needs a bit more calculations and the numbers are more macro in nature. In terms of reviews for most properties,
propsocial.my
 is one such site which you can obtain a lot of information. They provide even a review of the crime rates in a certain area for example. I guess buyers would have to refer to whatever they have today. Waiting for even more information before buying is not a good idea. Go and search for them. Happy evaluating.

written on 26 Sept 2017

Next suggested article:
4 to a home versus 3 to a home, the significance?

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


We will be old someday….

An article in TheStar reminded me of my age not too long ago. Okay, okay, it was pretty long ago. Haha. The article’s title,
“Young, carefree and broke,”
 tells of the Malaysian youth becoming broke because they spend, spend and spend until they have nothing left. From personal loans and even completely using all their credit card limits, these young Malaysians could not care too much. They want to enjoy their lives. After all, we only live once? Those aged between 26 – 44 constitute 60 percent of all bankrupts from 2013 to August 2017. The total number of people declared bankrupt is 94,408. So, 60 percent of them means 56,645 people! Four reasons made them bankrupt. Car loans took up 26.63%, personal loans (25.48%), housing loans (16.87%), and business loans (10.24%).
(Hey, this meant that at least if you are borrowing to set up a business, the chances of you failing is still lower than getting a car loan or a personal loan!)

The top four states where all these bankrupt came from is not hard to guess. Selangor is top followed by followed by the Federal Territories (46,377), Johor Baru (41,179) and Penang (22,136). Coming back to the time when I was 22. Frankly, there were months where my salary was hardly enough to last till end of the month. It was also because at the time, I had to visit my girlfriend (fortunately that same girl is now my wife) in Sandakan. The ‘damage’ from flight tickets alone? RM1,500 per trip. Okay, okay, I admit it was also because I was adamant in giving my parents monthly allowances even though both of them were earning far higher than me. By 23 though, I realised I had NOTHING MUCH in my bank account and fortunately for me, my wife saved a lot of money which helped us purchase our first apartment and well, life got better after that. NOT because of the property lah. It’s because we worked hard and saved more. My wife changed me lah.

Carefree life?

So, what’s actually worst than Young, Carefree and Broke? Well, it’s OLD, NOT FREE and still BROKE. Seriously, most Malaysians do not have enough to retire.
EPF alone is not enough

Besides, when we are old but we still have to work, then we are not free at all. No time to even watch our favourite show on TV. So, looking to work till 68, or older?
Working until 68, still healthy I guess

Speaking of broke, well, as all your financial consultant friends would tell us, as long as we save 30 percent of what we have today, we would have
about 70% of what we earn by the time we retire.

Well, coupled with EPF plus one or two properties, (properties are a great hedge versus inflation too) I think we will do just okay. Nowhere near rich but enough to retire la. Happy thinking or spending. It will affect how much we have today and future.
Becoming a millionaire by working just 9-5?

Please LIKE
kopiandproperty.com FB page
 or
Sign Up for free
 to get daily updates about the property market.

written on 13 Dec 2017

Next suggested article:
Working hard for money, resting enough to continue on. Nice

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Weakening currency means strengthening demand?

Malaysian developers do not only build in Malaysia. They build everywhere, especially in a country favoured by many Malaysians who wish to find a new home; Australia. Here’s a good news and bad news, depending on ones perspective. The Australian Dollar (AUD) is actually weakening.
It hit a 10-year low just recently even though it’s rebounding currently.
So, when the AUD weakens and the developers are building in Australia, does it mean lower profits?

Article in Edgeprop.my here.
  Briefly, the answer is no. A few developers were mentioned. Mulpha International Bhd has 97.92% of all its revenue coming from Australia. UEM Sunrise Bhd has 33.2% from its Australia’s developments.  There are also S P Setia Bhd, Gamuda Bhd and Sime Darby Property Bhd though the contributions from their Australian developments are minimal. This was what was shared by Kenanga Investment head of equity research Sarah Lim. She saidthat with the weakening Australian dollar, Malaysians could probably also consider buying properties there. This, she said, will boost the sales of Malaysian companies with projects in Australia, enabling them to clear their unsold units faster.

Affin Hwang Capital Research senior associate director Loong Chee Wei said that the weakening Australian dollar will not be a concern to the property developers because they will focus on selling the remaining unsold units. He said, “They will be less aggressive in terms of launching new projects at this stage and will be focusing more on clearing the unsold inventory.” As for earnings, it will be lower when translated into ringgit due to the weaker Australian currency. More importantly would be whether the developers could sell because this is where profits come. Below would be a chart showing the developers’ revenues from Australia.
 Article in Edgeprop.my here.

I enjoyed all my visits to Australian cities thus far. Twice to Perth and then to Sydney and Melbourne. If the exchange rate is favourable to ringgit, then perhaps I could visit Brisbane next. I heard it’s the next property market to watch out for besides the usual favourites; Sydney and Melbourne. Weakening currency is a chance for strengthening of property demand? Well, it depends on what the country has to offer as well because there are many countries where the currency is much weaker and it does not attract much attention where property is concerned. Happy following.

written on 14 Jan 2019

Next suggested article:
China’srichest woman and Australia’s second richest are property related

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...