Why is the property market subdued currently?

The reasons always stated for the current market condition has always been the government’s cooling measures, the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST), the
falling ringgit versus US$
 and SGD, the political situation and even oversupply. When we add up all these, one newspaper article likened it to a ‘perfect storm.’ In other words, whatever bad things that may happen are all happening at once, which is often a rare scenario. Due to all these reasons, it has caused potential buyers to hold back because they are now worried about their purchase especially those buying for the first time and thus usually more fearful than repeat purchasers.

I must add however that all these are also caused by the fact that most decisions are also based on the “herd mentality.” When everyone talks about negative things, of course it is all bad, gloom and doom, right? Have we forgotten however that there are many analysts which are still giving tips on some undervalued stocks to buy? What about the fact that property is always a need and not necessarily a desire? Surely we realise that we continue to pay rental every month as long as we do not own our own roof over our head? Of course, some would now say but rental is lower than the potential mortgage! Yes, but over time, our rental amounts to zero while our home continues to appreciate as long as we are not buying in the middle of the desert or happen to be that few unlucky ones who somehow bought with our eyes closed.

In an article in The Star recently, PPC International CEO (Agency) Siva Shanker, the prices for the high-rises especially the luxury condominium segment are weakening because of oversupply. He said, “The high-end condo segment has lost a lot of value since the 2008 global financial crisis. Many expatriates left the country and rents never quite recovered, with some sectors seeing as much as a 30% drop in rents.” Siva predicted that rents of these high-end condos could drop a further 20 percent to 30 percent within the next 12 months. Indeed a negative assessment for the owners of these luxury units.

I personally think the real reason was because many buyers thought good times would last forever and everyone kept buying at higher prices. Due to this crazy demand, developers kept launching and continued building. In other words, supply was increasing way faster than real demand. Prices move up, rental would come down. When there are less demand, naturally rentals go down because of competition from newer or more attractive units and when it does, some buyers who were holding way too many units would be forced to sell at a lower price. This is the spiral downwards. Remember the Developer Interest Bearing Schemes (DIBS)? It costs nearly nothing to buy.

Finally, we should note that
GST has happened

will not be rolled back. There is no way the market would continue to be affected by this one for a long time. Falling ringgit and buying of first home are two different things because I seriously do not think prices are going to go up currently. It’s best to buy when times are not at its best. The export and import numbers for the past 4 months would have shown the resilience of the manufacturing sector which is continuously adjusting even with Ringgit having fallen so much. I personally do not see political situation in Malaysia to be game changer. I hope I am right. Else, perhaps that’s the end of property market vibrancy for quite some time yet.

For those reading kopiandproperty.com since beginning, do note that I always think that prices have risen way too high for many hotspots. With the new MRT stations, more areas with less demand would see better demand. It does not necessary have to be that same few areas anymore. Always remind ourselves. Just a  few years back, there were just no substitutes for these hotspots. Today, think of
What we want, what we need, be real
 and suddenly many choices would appear. Malls? Schools? MRTs? Expressways? Integrated developments where a big plot of land is slowly transformed into an attractive area for long term stay? There are many upcoming newer ones, really. Look further, decide better and save more. Do not pay premiums on top of premiums again, at least till the next property boom which no one knows when. Happy deciding.

written on 13 Oct 2015

Next suggested article:
Waiting for the lowest price before buying the perfect property

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Property market to collapse when moratorium ends?

Property market to collapse once moratorium is over? These days, everything seems negative. Someone prominent just posted some negative news about COVID-19 and yet refused to also state clearly on recovered cases. Somehow this person also forgotten to mention that vaccines are also on the way. Well… perhaps such a negative news will be a super positive news for the stock market for glove companies then? This is why sometimes I wonder why do people say certain things the way they say it. So, how will this fit into the moratorium and property market scenario? Everything turning bleak?

Photo by Skitterphoto on
Pexels.com

Moratorium ends on 30th September.  ?
Everyone must start to repay their loans, especially the home loan which is a huge financial responsibility. So, do they have the money to start repaying? It depends on whether they have back their job, receive back their usual pay or still without a job.

Unemployment is NO LONGER at 5.5%.
The number is now lower at probably 4.6%. By the end of the year,
a senior economist; Julia Goh UOB Research said that this unemployment may reduce further to 4.5% (click here to view).
 There are still over 700,000 or close to 800,000 Malaysians unemployed (depends on how you want to look at it) as per that latest numbers from
Department of Statistics Malaysia. (click here if you like to know)
Yes, everyone needs to note that our typical unemployment rate usually hovers below 4% all the time.

?Could people pay then when October comes.
 Guys ah, when they got their loans approved, they have the salary to sustain that loan… remember? So, the question is not whether they could pay but whether they have back the salary. Unemployment number is a good start.

?Surely there will be firesale units?
Probably you are right. These units may become slightly elevated than when people had their jobs. Today, some of them do not. However, this is unlikely to be widespread because even their lenders do not want this situation.

Banks’ action for these borrowers?
Most banks have announced that they have already started to communicate to their borrowers especially on possible selective extensions. Many banks are opening their branches even on weekends too. They do NOT wish to have borrowers defaulting and they take back the property and the property had to be auction off in a slow property market too. In other words, they also do not want the property market to collapse too. Does not benefit them yeah…  (As an auctioneer, of course I will be happy if there are more auction cases but this is not good for the banks)

Briefly, if the people who managed to get their loans approved has a job or has gained back a job, they will be able to start repaying in October. The ones who could not, they need to tell their banks and they may get another 3 months’ extension. Hopefully they somehow know that the banks would like to speak to them as well?

The banks are also more than willing to offer this 3 months extension if the borrowers are really in financial difficulties. No banks would want to take back any property and having to auction it at a price which could not even cover the remaining loan amount… Does not benefit the borrower, does not benefit the banks and does not benefit their Non Performing Loan numbers too.

Happy understanding about the potential for the property market to collapse once moratorium is over. Disagreeing with this view is fine too, just get ready with money to buy if you still think property market will collapse after moratorium ends. As for me, I will just earn my auction fee even if I would not want the possibility of the property market to collapse. Cheers.

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:
Possibility of a strong property market recovery?

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Property market update? Just numbers for decisions.

Okay, what’s up and what’s down with the property market?

Many people say the property market is now looking ‘bad.’ I usually asked why they say so. The answer is usually that they heard about people unable to sell their place or that the selling price is down. When asked further if they are buying any property since the price is down, the usual answer is No. Haha.

At the same time, a few of my friends posted in the Facebook about their success as a real estate negotiator; winning awards three years in a row etc. Let me understand this. The only way they can get some award(s) is because they have sold many properties. Does this also tell us that they have sold many properties which is below market price then? I have no answer. 😛   However, we look at some numbers from official stats from National Property Information Centre (NAPIC) which is Ministry of Finance’s valuation and property services department

Article in theedgeprop.my

Increase in overnight policy rate (OPR) has affected the propery market.

Overall property transactions ONLY totalled 89,000. (Yea, something like 89,000 buyers buying a property within 3 months…)

89,000 transactions in 1Q2023 is a fall of 5.7% year-on-year. In other words, it was close to 84,000 transactions previously.  (Yes, 84,000 buyers and sellers exchanging property and money…)

The 1Q 2023 numbers were HIGHER than pre-pandemic years. (Yes, higher than even before Covid arrived…)

Concurrently, total transaction value in the period rose 0.8% y-o-y to RM42.31 billion.

Do read more here:
Article in theedgeprop.my

These are what the numbers tell us

Number of transactions, if we assume it’s just the same number every quarter would be 89,000 x 4 = 356,000 transactions… This is definitely not a small number yeah.

Falling is just a comparison. Total transactions today versus pre-pandemic is also a comparison. Any comparison would mean we need to understand what’s really happening versus just listening to the ‘falling’ word or worst still, the ‘increasing’ word and then rushed to buy and bought the wrong one.

The total transaction numbers declining and the total transactions value increasing means that the total prices on average is moving upwards too. This is also one reason some people may have earned some profits from their property investments too.

Bad or good, just ask more questions and learn

By the way, if someone is saying property investment is great, ask them many more questions yeah. Why they say so. Where they buy. What they buy. What price they buy. What price they sold. etc etc etc.  Please ensure they are not saying property investment is great because they want your money! 🙂

At the same time, if someone is saying property investment is bad, ask them many more questions. Why they say so. Where they buy. What they buy. What price they buy. What price they sold etc etc etc. All these questions help you to determine if they really know or they just simply buy. If there are ‘simply buy’ and can earn profits, there are no poor people today. Stay realistic okay.

Happy deciding.

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:
When rates rise, property transactions drop, right?

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Important sign for the property market too; BANKS’ results

When banks are earning higher profits, that’s good for all industries, right? Basic idea, yes. This is because in a bad economy, businesses will not be borrowing too much for expansion. Banks will also be really selective as they do not want their Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) to go up because there will be some borrowers who are unable to service their debts. There’s also the talk about the P2P taking businesses away from the banks. Frankly, this is still way too early to tell. Even in advanced economies, conventional banks remain much larger than any other alternative fundings.

Reported in TheMalaysianReserve: Banks stay on positive path after maintaining growth in 3Q18
 It said, s
ix of Malaysia’s eighth-largest banking groups posted higher earnings during the quarter except for Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank). Public Bank Bhd meanwhile recorded a higher net profit a year ago due to a one-off gain.
AmInvestment Bank Bhd analyst and senior VP of domestic equity Kelvin Ong said,
“There was a slight slowdown on topline growth, but profits are tracking within expectations.
Non-interest income (NII) was affected by market activities, and the trend was seen not just at Maybank, but at other large banks as well.
We were expecting NII to be weaker because of market volatility.”

Some results:  Maybank’s net profit slipped 3.4% to RM1.96 billion in 3Q18 from RM2.03 billion last year.
CIMB Group Holdings Bhd recorded a 4.4% rise in earnings to RM1.18 billion in 3Q18, from RM1.13 billion a year earlier.
Public Bank’s 3Q18 earnings declined 1.4% to RM1.38 billion from RM1.4 billion a year ago.
RHB Bank Bhd’s net profit jumped 18.4% to RM578.69 million in 3Q18 from RM488.83 million previously.
Hong Leong Bank Bhd posted a double-digit growth in net profit for 3Q18, with earnings up 10.6% to RM706.92 million from RM638.97 million previously.
AMMB Holdings Bhd’s (AmBank) net profit climbed 5% to RM348.15 million in its second quarter ended Sept 30, 2018 (2Q19), from RM331.47 million last year.
Alliance Bank Bhd’s earnings jumped 14.4% to RM140.52 million in its 2Q19 from RM122.8 million last year, its highest quarterly net profit in three years, on stronger net income.
Affin Bank Bhd, the smallest of the eight players, saw net profit rise more than threefold to RM144.56 million in 3Q18 from RM39.9 million last year.
Full report in TMR here.

Always note the banks’ profits because it is a barometer of the country’s economic health. This is a good report card because it comes out every 3 months. NPL will always be one important sign of property bubble bursting signs.
Here’s that earlier article.

Remember the 1998 crisis? It was not a happy time for banks. When the economy continues growth, the most competitive bank will earn more and well, the tide lifts all boats. A friend also reminded me to accumulate some undervalued bank stocks too. Well, not my cup of tea. Happy following.

Please LIKE
kopiandproperty.com FB page
 or
Sign Up for free
 to get daily updates about the property market. Else,
follow me on Twitter here.

written on 3 Dec 2018

Next suggested article:
Robust Malaysian economy support to all banks.

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Property market will recover faster. You believe that?

Actually what do people mean when they say property market will recover faster?  Do they mean the property transactions will be moving up? When they say moving up, do they say every month it gets higher and this is considered as a recovery even when the numbers this year is still lower than last year? Or must the transactions be higher month by month and also higher than the year before? Or perhaps it is not about transactions because actually higher or lower transactions do not benefit buyer or the seller. It’s just the market.

Photo by Ketut Subiyanto on
Pexels.com

It’s about property price?

So if it is about property price, does it mean the average property prices are now increasing? Or average prices can stay the same but the median property prices are increasing? If it is increasing by 0.1%, is this recovery? What is the smallest percentage increase in order for it to be considered a recovery then? 3%? Based on what? higher than Fixed Deposit rate? 6%? So that it’s higher than typical dividend stock today? Perhaps they are not talking about price. Maybe it’s just the sentiment?

It’s about sentiment?

If it’s sentiment, how do we know?  Based on a large scale sentiment survey? Well, for those surveys, it is usually positive when the survey was done with industry stakeholders. It is also usually positive when the survey is done among people who’s interested with property. However, it does not tell much because the ones who are not within the industry or is not reading about property will not be participating in such a survey.

It’s about survey results?

Maybe it’s not a survey? Maybe it’s just the time when your friends are positive about property market and everyone is telling you they have just placed a deposit for a property? Maybe it’s the time when you feel the time is right to jump into the property market because EVERYONE you know is so positive about it. Plus the fact that you feel positive about it meant the social media will feed you even more of those news making you even more positive! Haha.

Stay focused about the property you are about to buy

There seems to be no specific answer, right? I hope you understand my point. Whether property market will recover faster or it will take a long time more to recover is not our concern. Our concern is whether we are paying TOO HIGH for a property… or DID NOT do enough due diligence and preferred to believe the real estate agent who is aiming to get the RM20,000 commission once we become a buyer.

Yes, keep asking too. “The property market will recover faster?” to every property speaker you happened to listen to. See what they say as well. 🙂   Do not believe the answers totally. Do our own research and due diligence. A 30% discount may still mean that property price is higher than median transacted price per sf. That’s not a good sign no matter how much you love the property.

Till then, if you noticed, the prediction about property will recover faster also does not have time lines… And if they give you the time lines, it will be something like ‘next year’ or ‘within the next 12-18 months’ or something like that. Cheers.

Love to be updated of investment news?
Sign up for KopiWeekly. (once per week for 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:
Property market to collapse when moratorium ends?

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Property market will be worse with Trump’s win?

During lunch today everyone was discussing about how Donald Trump seems to be leading in the race to become the President of the most powerful nation in the world. I have to agree that military wise, they are. Economically, it’s debatable. Anyway, all the
comments were negative
 and one said everything will be bad if Trump wins. Another said when Malaysians travel to the U.S. in the future, the checks will be even more thorough. She said in her last trip, she was already searched thoroughly because she was holding a Malaysian passport. Then one question popped up, should we stop buying property until the situation becomes stable. I laughed and asked, ‘becomes stable’ means what? He shared that Trump is against many people and countries. Well, a few hours after the discussion, Trump really did win. (Image) Let me share my views.

Trump focused on a very real theme; SECURITY. There has been many publicised attacks in the U.S recently. Around the world, security becomes a huge concern with unprecedented attacks. In other words, this theme is really suitable to get more direct votes. Now that he has won however, would he take even more aggressive stance? To be frank, I think he will start to rebuild some of the ‘tough’ image. Seriously, he is now the President of the U.S. and NOT just for the people who voted him. It is really not that clever to keep pushing the other side. Engaging from the position of power will yield much better results. So, yes I think Mr. Donald Trump will be sensible enough with his newly won job. Who knows, if he does a good job, it may be a career for him, like Mr. Obama who won re-election.

In brief, my answer is simple. Need a property so that you stop paying rent and start getting potential capital appreciation in the future, buy lah. Found a property which the owner is now more willing to negotiate because of the extremely negative sentiment currently, take the opportunity lah. Look at the stock market today, some stocks have fallen simply because of this result. Will it really affect the business so fast, so soon or if ever at all? Casual reminder also that
China or even ASEAN
 are bigger trading partners to Malaysia than the U.S. and the onus should be on them to increase this number bigger because we are having surpluses and they are having deficits. Am I not right? Yes, ringgit is expected to be extremely volatile with a negative bias at least till everything calms down? Happy following and I hope you will be a sensible President, Mr. Trump.

written on 9 Nov 2016

Next suggested article:
4 Reasons why America likes Malaysia as a base in Asia

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Property market expected to rebound, supported by demand for affordable housing.

Opportunities continue to exist in the property market

I believe opportunities continue to exist in the property market. I think many people agree with me because the total transactions for H1 2021 is pretty “huge” yeah. Please do take a look below. Some would point out that property transactions for H1 2021 was the second lowest when compared to years from H1 2017. I am sure they are right, statistically. However, close to 140,000 transactions is still big and does not show the market is in a deep sleep… right?

Article in nst.com.my
  Mah Sing founder and group managing director Tan Sri Leong Hoy Kum says that Malaysia’s property market is expected to rebound in 2022 but demand for property would be skewed towards affordable housing. Mah Sing is cautiously optimistic of the property market because of demand from the young demographic.

Mah Sing also said that it expected the pace of recovery will depend on global and domestic economic growth. It said that positive business environment could be sighted in the coming months because of the recovery of the employment for sectors including hospitality, airlines, tourism and corporate. In fact what will happen with opening of travel borders is that demand for rental market will be increasing in 2022. Please do read here for the full views of Mah Sing.
Article in nst.com.my

Affordable property will always be true

Before everyone thinks affordable property means a property below RM300,000 then I need to tell everyone that my affordable property and your affordable property will be different from someone else’s affordable property. The reason is a simple one. Everyone may have a different monthly income or even have a different level of support from their loved ones or most of the time, parents.

If majority of people could afford RM400,000 property, then this is considered affordable property and if property developers build based on this demand, property transactions will continue to happen. We also need to be savvy to the fact that new properties account for just 20% of all transactions yeah. If affordable properties continue to be available in the secondary market, then the transactions will also continue to happen too.

There are still those affordable ones too

Just a quick check in any property listing site would reveal to us that choices remain aplenty for options below RM500,000. Perhaps the location and the type is just not to everyone’s liking. That’s why transactions can still happen because just because we do not like does not mean everyone else in Malaysia also dislikes them too. Happy knowing and happy choosing.

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:
Property Bubble signs? Here are some of those we can see for ourselves

Header Image by
chien than
 from
Pixabay

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Property market from my observations on potential buyers

A close friend who is working in a public listed developer told me that she may have to work during the upcoming Chinese New Year (CNY). This is because opening during the CNY is considered a wise decision. Many decisions to buy could be easily made during these family gatherings. Some may be coming back from overseas, carrying with them currencies of a higher value compared to the Ringgit. She shared with me her observations for the past many months, especially of the potential buyers of her project, a luxury one. Her sharing as follows:

Start of sharing

Property market is slow. This is 99 percent true no matter whom you ask. Majority are deciding on whether should they buy now or later. A slow market doesn’t mean nobody is buying as those who need a house will still buy and those who can afford will also buy. In fact many buyers are repeat buyers too. However, those intending to buy are becoming more cautious and most of them tend to do more homework as compared to few years ago.

Only just a few years ago, almost all the projects in Penang are selling like hot cakes. People queued up since midnight or early morning just to grab a unit costing a few hundred thousand. Many were buying homes as if they were buying a piece of cake from a bakery shop. A few minutes may meant that the unit you were eyeing had been lost to someone else. This was the situation regardless of big or small developers. It was such a good time for developers as people will just buy without much question on value and quality. Believing was easy.

Today, there are still people buying. However, from all my potential buyers, they do much more. They look around, compare what was being offered, the price and the quality. A lot of questions were asked to ensure the value they pay meets their expectations. It becomes tougher for developers but has indirectly help in pushing most of the developers to be more cautious in term of launchings, quality delivery and finalizing of the property launching price. In additional, developers would need to do a lot more in order to grab the potential buyers. Good or bad? Looking at it from a bigger picture basis, this might be the only way to upgrade the standard of the overall property market. It does not happen to everyone and every developer though. Some buyers are still choosing to buy properties with ‘launching prices below market rate’ and ignoring the fact that without sufficient profits, there’s just no way for quality… Well, everyone has his own choice. Right?

From observations, it is definitely a good time for those who wants to buy. Supply is more than the cautious demand currently. As a buyer, one has the upper-hand in negotiations. This is the time to request for more. I quote my close friend, Charles of kopiandproperty.com who said, ‘ this is not the waint-and-see period. This is the view-and-offer time. This may be the only time when your offer of slightly below the market rate would not be seen as rude. Best wishes.

End of sharing. Written by Hayley Huan on 10 Jan 2016.

This close friend is thinking of Greater KL currently and has started to review some areas. I think she would be buying one unit within 2016. Will see if she is faster or I am faster in finding that ‘perfect’ property to buy under the current market condition. Happy searching to both of us.

written on 10 Jan 2016

next suggested article:
Are you buying value or glamour?

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Property Melaka – Today, Tomorrow and Beyond (For Investment)

Many property gurus travel to Melaka to speak about Melaka property market. More often than not, they do not stay in Melaka. Most of the time in property fairs in KL or Penang or even JB, it will be tough to pitch Melaka properties especially when people regard it as a secondary city when it comes to property investment. Today, let us listen to someone who’s not just familiar with Melaka but has developed a successful project there. We have views from Mr. Lim Boon Keong is the CEO of First Avenue Partners (Asia) and its group of companies.

1.  Mr. Lim, in Malaysia, there are a few key and primary property markets. Melaka is not yet one considered one. Tell us why Melaka? What are the main advantages of property investment in Melaka?

It has good tourism appeal and the fact it’s also a UNESCO World Heritage Site together with Georgetown, Penang. Cost of land is still relatively cheap and not overly inflated. This meant there are lots of growth potential.

Location is another very important points. Melaka is midway between Singapore and KL and soon it will be even more accessible when the high speed train starts operating.

In conclusion, three key reasons; tourist appeal, still affordable and lots of growth potential.

2.  There are not many huge tracts of lands left in prime areas in Melaka city centre. Melaka Gateway will be on two man-made islands. Since you are not the master developer of Malacca Gateway, tell us what are your thoughts about Melaka Gateway and the significance that it will bring to Melaka.

Once it gets underway Melaka Gateway will bring about growth, employment and higher living standard for the locals. Once completed, this would be multiplied many folds which is very important. The truth is, the appeal of Melaka should not just be confined to whatever we have today. It has to be constantly refined, upgraded and maintained. With Melaka Gateway, many developers would benefit as well because all of us can co-exist and compliment it. Growth benefits all and not just the master developer.

3.  Both Melaka and Georgetown, Penang were recognized as UNESCO Heritage cities. Within the island itself, Penang’s property has become a little unaffordable. Do you think Melaka property prices are also moving towards that direction? What is the typical prices per sf today in Melaka and your thoughts about it moving forward?

Eventually, Melaka may reach the prices of Penang today. However, current prices remained very attractive. We must always note that value is obtained when we invest in potential. Chasing ever higher prices is not a healthy trend. Today, the price per sf for commercial units are around RM750psf. The prices has been inching upwards for the past few years.

4.  You are helming a small developer company. Some call these developers as boutique developers. What are the advantages of buying properties from some of the more reputable boutique developers?

Our philosophy is always about creating value for our customers. Our projects are unique and one of a kind. I guess that is also one of the few reasons why we have many repeat customers. The advantage of buying from boutique developers is the overall personal experience. The customer knows the developer personally and the after sales service is good too. The other advantage is quality control. If the project is too big, you have to make sure your product must appeal to everyone. This is difficult to achieve if the project is going to stand out from the crowd. We put a lot of effort in design and construction. I think we are the only developer who has the knowhow and the ability to construct the property using traditional craftsmanship. Example, the Peranakan tiles we use are not available anymore and so we custom make them. It took us lots of effort to persuade the retired and old master craftsman to come out of retirement and do it for us.

5.  What is the next project for First Avenue Partners (Asia) Group after your successful Porto Historia? Tell us a little about the project. Who are you targeting as buyers and why?

Our next project will be
The Riviera Melaka
. It’s a luxurious waterfront development located at the door’s of Pulau Melaka. It is the only development boasting an unobstructed view of Melaka City Centre. The Riviera Melaka is set to be a hallmark of timeless beauty – combining Renaissance-inspired architecture, fastidious attention to details, fabulous location and great investment value. We’ve already started selling and response has been very positive and we will be starting construction very soon. Prices start at RM646 psf for serviced suites and RM600 psf for shop units.

Our target buyers are both local and overseas. Investors who are looking for a well priced, unique one of a kind development. You may visit our official website here:
therivieramelaka.com.my

About Mr. Lim Boon Keong

Mr. Lim Boon Keong is the CEO of First Avenue Partners (Asia) and its group of companies. He is a Chartered Accountant and is a member of MIA and ACCA and has vast experience in the banking industry. Its property development group specialises in creating unique, innovative and heritage lifestyles concepts. The pursuit for perfection and originality is embedded in our values and it is this driven passion and culture that has allowed us to develop the loyal connection and bond with our discerning clientele.

Our unique heritage design, superior quality and unrivalled craftsmanship define us as one of the most unique developer in Malaysia. The key highlights of our portfolio is the sold out Porto Historia, a first of its kind heritage development in Melaka, Malaysia. First Avenue Partners (Asia) – Redefining The Art of Building.

Next suggested article:
Reasons, Numbers and Potential from my latest Melaka visit

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Property? Millennials may not be that positive but Generation Z will be buying!

Do you think the younger generation love to go for vacations or buy a property? I think it’s the former, most of the time. It’s so hard for me to decide to go for overseas holidays because of the financial part but I can safely tell you that I envy the younger working professionals. They seem to have been to MANY countries even before they reach 30 years old. For example, Japan? It’s a common destination. Maldives? Usually a destination to RELAX… Hong Kong? Been there a few times…  Then again, perhaps that’s because they did not think of buying a property yet, thus have lots of money to spare. Here’s one recent article about the Millennials and Gen-Z.

Who are the Millennials? There are many different interpretations but
here’s one by PropertyShark.com:

Property Shark defines the newest generation to reach buzzword-happy marketers as those  born after 1995 into a fully digital world. Millennials were considered those born between 1981 and 1994 and Gen Z as those born between 1995 and 2010. Okay, if we look at age, the Millennials are currently between 24 – 37 years old. (Nope, I am not within this category.
An earlier article about my generation here.
 The Gen-Z are meanwhile those between 8 to 23 years old. Okay, could these people afford to buy a property, yet? According to the
 article in PropertyShark.com,
 the target for real estate professionals has always been the millennials but it is suggesting that itis time to focus more on Generation Z.

The reason? All signs are pointing to the fact that Gen-Z are more optimistic in homeownership versus the Millennials. In fact,its survey showed that the younger cohort is remarkable in its positive feelings towards real estate investing. In the survey, 83 percent of Gen-Z respondents planned to purchase a home within 5 years. Millennials who have been renting for years are less positive. Now, the survey also showed that 100,000 Gen-Zers ALREADY OWN PROPERTY, despite the oldest of them all just 23 years of age. Other takeaways from the study include:

Gen X chooses intergenerational living to care for relatives more often than any other generation

Gen Z is willing to compromise on almost anything to keep costs down — but still aspires to have ample space and amenities

Gen Z will pose serious competition to millennials on the real estate market

So, kopiandproperty.com readers, what are your thoughts? Here’s what an earlier survey showed:
85% will still buy a property, as per kopiandproperty.com readers
.
Happy following.

written on 14th Oct 2018

Please LIKE
kopiandproperty.com FB page
 or
Sign Up for free
 to get daily updates about the property market. Else,
follow me on Twitter here.

Next suggested article:
Property investment is not sure win. Caution needed.

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Property news Kemaman, Terengganu: RM156 million holiday villas development

I googled a little and found the super nice place which one could take a hike and visit in Kemaman, Terengganu.

Image source:
https://penangfoodie.com/pepsi-blue-lake-kemaman-terengganu/

Now, coming back to the holiday property development in Kemaman Terengganu. When we think of holiday places in Terengganu, the famous one is Pulau Perhentian (Perhentian Island). I have been there and managed to catch some squids which was cooked by one of the restaurants and it was amazing. My family and I still remember the freshness of the squid until today.

I have also been to Dungun two times as part of the Langkawi Education project (now no more) where we stay with foster families to encourage their children to continue their studies in tertiary education institutions. I am still in touch with my foster family until today. However, I have not been to Kemaman specifically for a holiday. So, perhaps this latest holiday development will be the one which gives me another holiday choice a few years later.

Article in edgeprop.my
   Tile manufacturer cum property developer Seacera Group Bhd is partnering Ikhlas Al Dain Sdn Bhd, the indirect wholly owned unit of Mlabs Systems Bhd, to develop holiday villas in Kemaman, Terengganu. This project will have an estimated gross development value (GDV) of RM156.46 million.

Ikhlas was in August last year granted sole, exclusive rights by Ribuan Bakat Sdn Bhd to develop several plots of freehold Malay Reserve Land totalling 30.17 acres that Ribuan Bakat owns. Seacera says that this JV will help it to further expand its revenue from property development.
Article in edgeprop.my

It’s not just the development, it’s also the accessibility and the promotion too

I love the fact that we will have another place to visit here in Malaysia. Furthermore it’s in a state many may not think of as the main state to go for a holiday. Anyway, any place where it’s facing the South China Sea will always be an amazing place to be. Somehow people just love the sea… then sun and well the waves too. However, it’s very important for all developers to also plan to ensure there’s accessibility and also there’s the promotion of the place to the world as well.

The developer must continue to share more details on a periodical basis. The more people know about it, the more interest it could generate too. Just constructing and opening a resort by itself cannot work just like that. All the best yeah. I think this article can also make probably another 50-100 people know about Kemaman too within these few days. If this is successful, it’s great news for Kemaman.

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:
Property is no longer a key retirement asset

 Header Image source:
https://penangfoodie.com/pepsi-blue-lake-kemaman-terengganu/

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Property News Malaysia. Buy before price rises in 2022?

Every now and then, there would be some articles quoting some property experts telling the world that it’s better to buy a property now because when the property market recovers, then the prices would rise and we would miss the opportunity to buy at the lowest possible price. There would be some predictions. For example, in 2020, when we started to recover from Covid-19, there was a prediction that property market Malaysia will rise in 2021. Then, Covid-19 returned with a vengeance.
(By the way, it is NOT clever to allow inter-state too early yeah. Sharing facts here)

Another prediction for 2022 for property market Malaysia

Now, there’s the prediction under property news Malaysia for a recovery in property price increase. 2022 is the year of property market recovery. Actually, if we look at the property market of countries which had managed to control the Covid-19 situation, property prices are rising. For example, U.S., the UK, Australia and even New Zealand. Their prices are generally rising in double digits. In fact, Australia’s home price has risen too fast for comfort and has received a warning from the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Please read here for the article.

So is it true then that 2022 will be a year of recovery for property market Malaysia? We also need to know that the government has also announced another
500,000 homes to be built within 5 years yeah. (Read here for details)

How about looking at property investment as an investment and not a speculation?

Well, let me tell you this little secret (from someone who’s not from the developer, not from any real estate agency and certainly not someone with a course to sell at the end of this article).

Actually property prices do rise if we take a long term approach to property investment. Plus, opportunities will always exist whether yesterday, today and definitely tomorrow and beyond too. Please take a look at the Malaysia House Price Index by type below. Look closely at the lines and note that 5% and the -5% and the middle point of these two would be ZERO. Hope we could see that most of the time, the lines are above zero yeah.

How about looking at it over a longer period then?

If we use 2010 as the base year, then we can see that on a 10 year basis, the property price has been rising. It does NOT rise every quarter as we could see the trend in the chart above. However, overall trend is a positive one. This is the most IMPORTANT FACT There’s little need to try and game the market when it comes to property investment. The HUGE discount does not mean the best buy or the SMALL discount does not mean a bad buy. Buying the WRONG property is the one which will affect us the most. Thus, due diligence is required yeah.

Focus on WHY, it will be a better decision versus on TIME

If we need a new place because we want to have a bigger space for a growing family, then stop focusing on just new properties but extend the choices into the secondary property market too. This gives us more choices too.

If we are single and we prefer to have an easy working life (wake up at 8am and in office by 830am), then stop thinking about buying further away just because someone told us to buy a bigger place further away from city centre.

If we are buying our first property, then focus on affordability and not dream home. Our dream home will keep changing as our income and circumstances change over the years. No point in over-stretching financially and having sleepless nights every month!

This is why we must focus on WHY instead of being too influenced by some articles quoting some experts that we better buy a property soonest because price will be rising a lot in 2022. Rushing to buy may just be that wrong decision we will regret later. Hope everyone gets to own a home they could turn into their home sweet home.

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:
Property market Malaysia. 500,000 new homes coming

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Property News Malaysia since 2013. Happy reading!

Property News Malaysia @ kopiandproperty.com

kopiandproperty.com was started in November 2013 and the founder Charles Tan has been writing here ever since. He believes Malaysians should invest (invest and not speculate or gamble) because that’s the only way to be financially prepared for retirement. Savings alone is no longer enough today and relying on just
EPF is going to be late when one retires.

Meanwhile anyone without a property will face a negative future because rental does not stop even after our income has stopped. Imagine paying just RM1,500 every month forever… until we bid farewell to this world. Thus, Charles’ main focus would be Property News Malaysia. Plus all other investment related news so that we are updated in all and not be limited to just property investment.

He reads from many different media daily and will then write on financial / investment related issues so that all of us (yes, including himself) is updated and thus would be able to make a better decision when it comes to investing our hard earned money.

Feel free to browse some recent
Property News Malaysia
articles below.
Sign up
 to have it delivered to you on a daily basis too. Happy reading and investing.

Feel free to send to us any interesting property news Malaysia too. We will be happy to write about it.

Sincerely,
kopiandproperty.com team

Latest Property News Malaysia:

				Property Investment 101: It’s the tenant’s market. It’s also the buyer’s market.

			10 April 2023

			1 Comment

If I have a home which I am not staying and yet I am paying, I would be desperately looking for a tenant to rent it from me. You see, every month that I could not rent it out, I would have to pay for it. If I could rent it out, even if I could not cover my monthly repayment, at least I do not have to bear the full repayment by myself. I am very sure there are homeowners who are in this situation.

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...

			Read More »

				Property Investment 101: 3 Learnings from a landlord.

			6 April 2023

			1 Comment

My tenant called me one day and said, “Charles, I intend to move out in 2 months time. I have bought a new place.” For 4 years, the tenant (a Malaysian Indian engineer) was diligently paying his rental for my 730 sq ft apartment. He was driving a Proton Iswara though he is already a senior engineer in a multinational company. He was telling me that he will stop renting because he is buying a landed property from the secondary market. His new home is easily 2.5 times bigger than the apartment he is renting. Probably 2.5 times the price of the apartment he’s renting too.

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...

			Read More »

				Property Investment 101: Property price update. Going up or coming down?

			29 March 2023

			No Comments

Typical Homeowner: I want to sell as high as I could. My property is a very good property.

Typical Homebuyer: Please sell me at a lower price. Market is slow, I want better prices before I buy.

Homeowner with an overpriced property:  If I sell at this price, I will lose money. If I do not sell, then I have to keep paying the monthly mortgage. Property investment is such a bad investment.

Homeowner with an in-demand property:  I prefer to have that extra RM50,000 even if I know if I reduce it by RM50,000 I could sell quickly. Let’s look at some of the offers first.

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...

			Read More »

				Property Investment 101: Budget 2023 highlights for property

			16 March 2023

			No Comments

Property Investment 101: Budget 2023 highlights for property Let’s run through the Budget which was unveiled by PM Anwar Ibrahim recently. Source: theedgeprop.my (click here

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...

			Read More »

				Lessons from property and inequality

			8 August 2022

			No Comments

There are more people without a property

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...

			Read More »

				Property Investment: If you refuse to pay maintenance fees…

			7 April 2022

			No Comments

Property Investment: If you refuse to pay maintenance fees…

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...

			Read More »

				Property Investment? Maintenance fees are also forever…

			4 April 2022

			No Comments

Property Investment? Maintenance fees are also forever…

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...

			Read More »

				Property market Malaysia to recover in 2022?

			18 February 2022

			No Comments

Property market Malaysia to recover in 2022?

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...

			Read More »

				Hong Kong developer developing flagship development in Genting Highlands

			8 February 2022

			No Comments

Hong Kong developer developing flagship development in Genting Highlands

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...

			Read More »

				Sunway GEOLake Residences Buyers Welcomed into Luxurious Sustainable Community within A World Class City

			6 January 2022

			No Comments

Sunway GEOLake Residences Buyers Welcomed into Luxurious Sustainable Community within A World Class City

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...

			Read More »

				Centralized Labour Quarters (CLQ). I think this is a great idea.

			22 November 2021

			No Comments

Centralized Labour Quarters (CLQ). I think this is a great idea.

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...

			Read More »

				Latest on MM2H Malaysia. Rules are relaxed for current MM2H participants. Good news?

			6 October 2021

			No Comments

Latest on MM2H Malaysia. Rules are relaxed for current MM2H participants. Good news?

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...

			Read More »

				Property News Malaysia. Buy before price rises in 2022?

			6 October 2021

			No Comments

Property News Malaysia.  Property prices are rising.  Every now and then, there would be some articles quoting some property experts telling the world that it’s better to buy a property now because when the property market recovers, then the prices would rise and we would miss the opportunity to buy at the lowest possible price. There would be some predictions. For example, in 2020, when we started to recover from Covid-19, there was a prediction that property market Malaysia will rise in 2021. Then, Covid-19 returned with a vengeance.

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...

			Read More »

				Holiday Villa news. Property development is always on value creation.

			6 October 2021

			No Comments

Holiday Villa news. Property development is always on value creation.

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...

			Read More »

				Rental Demand For Spacious Landed Homes Boosts National Demand Figure in H1 2021

			5 October 2021

			No Comments

Rental Demand For Spacious Landed Homes Boosts National Demand Figure in H1 2021

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...

			Read More »

				Property price must not keep rising as if the sky’s the limit. 10% per year is considered high by the way.

			4 October 2021

			No Comments

Property price must not keep rising as if the sky’s the limit.  Salary does not increase by double digits, except if one were to resign and got a better offer or if the one got a promotion in title and it comes with a bigger responsibility and bigger pay package. Else, it’s the usual few percent per year just so that everyone is not worse off versus the year before due to inflation.

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...

			Read More »

				Household income Malaysia. How much do T20, M40 and B40 actually earn per month?

			4 October 2021

			No Comments

Household income Malaysia. How much do T20, M40 and B40 actually earn per month.

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...

			Read More »

				RM 160 Million Sunway Hotel Big Box Poised To Open In An Extraordinary Natural Biosphere In Johor

			30 September 2021

			No Comments

RM 160 Million Sunway Hotel Big Box Poised To Open In An Extraordinary Natural Biosphere In Johor

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...

			Read More »

				Malaysia GDP growth: World Bank revises the number down for 2021.

			30 September 2021

			No Comments

Malaysia GDP growth: World Bank revises the number down for 2021.

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...

			Read More »

				Are You Game to Own A Home? #BringMyraHome Is Here to Make Sure of It

			29 September 2021

			No Comments

Are You Game to Own A Home? #BringMyraHome Is Here to Make Sure of It

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...

			Read More »

« Previous

Page
1

Page
2

Next »

				Glomac Berhad – Meaningful Malaysia Day For 2 Acadian Buyers

			28 September 2021

			No Comments

Glomac Berhad – Meaningful Malaysia Day For 2 Acadian Buyers

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...

			Read More »

				Eco World reported net profit for Q3 is RM35.15 million. Positive or negative?

			20 September 2021

			No Comments

Eco World news. Property market vitality can only be seen from the results of property developers too. If they start to show losses, that would meant that sales are no longer growing and if their construction has to continue, this would lead to losses in the near term until they sold what they built. By the way there are developers who did not manage to sell all the units even after the project is completed yeah. This is where our overhang numbers come from.

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...

			Read More »

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Property investment: It’s not always rosy.

I think I read about this development when I was still working in Penang. At the time, I was also attracted by the Guaranteed Rental Returns (GRR) that they were offering. I am talking about Hotwer Development’s The Boss project in Klang. Recently, I read about it again and this time, it’s bad news. The project has stalled and all the 300 investors who bought are now left with an uncompleted building. The project has been abandoned halfway. The Boss is a high-rise residential hotel suite with commercial space and was sold for between RM250,000 and RM900,000. Many of the buyers bought after seeing the roadshows in popular malls in the Klang Valley. The developer also went to market their properties in East Malaysia too.

According to a report in The Star, most of the buyers were from outside Klang. Latest situation seems better, that a liquidator has been appointed by the Kuala Lumpur High Court. A meeting was also held and The Boss Purchasers Association (TBPA) vice-president Heng Hock Lai said the meeting had been fruitful. Chances are, the project should be revised soon. He said, “We believe the new contractor will be able to complete the project without adding more costs to us.” Based on the interviews by the daily with some of the buyers, majority were buying because they were attracted by the generous promise of returns; GRR. In fact, one of them used cash to buy which meant if the project is not revived, they would lose everything. One said that he was attracted by 7.5% and 8% monthly returns from the developer!

I always believe many developers go into property development because they want to be in the business for a long time. Thus, even newer developers who are serious should be a good developer after a few projects. However, let us be very objective in whatever we buy. If the GRR being offered is way too high compared to those in the market, we should be wary. Better be safe than sorry. Yes, I would personally let go off this opportunity to earn big money. Secondly, it may be better not to put all our eggs in one basket. While buying with all the cash we have can save us interests, it also meant that the risks are suddenly much higher because we may lose everything. For those who are still servicing their loans to the banks, at the very least, it’s on a monthly basis and not a huge chunk of money gone just like that. Last but not least, there is no such thing as ‘sure earn money’ from property investment. Truth is, nothing is always rosy. I wish the project would be revived soon for the 300 investors of The Boss.

written on 1 July 2015

Next suggested article:
Why scratch your own face? Case of established developers

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Property not necessary and not a necessity

I laughed when a close friend related her conversation with a fellow manager in her company. The manager works in a US multinational so salary not much of an issue to buy a property. The manager said, he does need to buy a property, preferring to rent because when he needs to move back to his hometown, he can stay at his father’s home. While I advocate that everyone should at least own the property which he stays in, but after looking at this particular circumstance, perhaps there are a few reasons why the manager chose not to buy a property.

He was renting a flat, whole flat for just RM600. With that price I think it’s furnished. If he uses that flat as a benchmark, then he may feel not much different whether he buys or rent because the flat price in Penang does not move much anyway. If the property price does not increase much and the property is a low priced one, when you factor in the maintenance, the lawyer’s fee, the time spent etc, I do think it may be worthwhile to just rent. Note that this is particularly true for only this particular case.

He has also the mindset that he would like to move back to his hometown, thus perhaps he may be saving a lot of money for whatever reasons may be in his mind. When one has a very strong mindset that he should go back to hometown, it is not likely that he may want to own a piece of property in a place he calls as just a working place.

I believe also that he has never viewed any property to his liking because he may come from a smaller town where the landed properties are much cheaper than even the condos in Penang. The fact is, until today I have friends who said, it is crazy to pay RM500,000 or higher for a condo of which the land may be shared by hundreds of other units! Yes, even a lot of Penangites who has yet to buy a property still say the prices would crash soon because how can a condo be priced at RM700,000!

The world is a very strange place. One man’s meat is another’s poison. Come to think of it, if everyone in the world love to own a property, it is also not advisable because it may make the property price so expensive that even I may not have been able to buy one.My advice to people who really feel very strongly that they would love to rent, I think you should continue. No losses likely though the potential capital appreciation that you may enjoy is now nil as well.

written on 2nd jan 2014

next suggested article:
Start as young as you can

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


18th July: Property Online Purchase 101: Homebuyers’s Guide. See you!

People say that everything will be moving to online. That COVID-19 has changed everything. Our habit of buying groceries at the supermarket could now be done easily online. Need fresh fish, go online. Need a new handbag at off-season prices, go online. There’s one more which seems to be moving towards online as well. It’s a HUGE thing, actually. Buying properties online, how far has this come, how soon will this be like a normal buying behaviour?  Is this truly safe? Let’s listen to many experts sharing their views on this important topic for all home buyers.

See you on 18th July (Saturday) at 11am. LIVE from Malaysian Property studio would be three experts. They are Dr. Daniele Gambero, Propenomist and REI Group Co-Founder and CEO, Ms. Vanda Chan, Digital Marketing Specialist and Dato’ Aric Ng, President of Mobile Commerce Association of Malaysia. Lots of interesting discussions and everyone will get new perspectives on technology and property, also known as proptech.

Please register now at
https://bit.ly/MPTOnlineProperty
 for our live talk PROPERTY ONLINE PURCHASE 101: Homebuyer’s Guide.

Malaysian Property is proud to announce that Beverly Group, CPI Land, Fajarbaru Builder Group, Gamuda Land, Hap Seng Land, Hua Yang Berhad, IOI Properties, Ivory Properties Group Berhad, Lion Group Property, Matrix Concepts Holdings Berhad, Mitraland Group, OCR Property, SCP Properties, Setia Awan Group, Sime Darby Property and Tropicana Corporation Berhad are the latest developers supporting this live talk series.? Happy attending.

Love to be updated of investment news?
Sign up for KopiWeekly. (once per week for 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:
How do we resolve construction delays due to COVID-19?

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


It’s the end of 2016. Was it an awesome year or best to forget? It’s okay, let’s get ready for 2017. If you are very interested with property investment and has ONE (1) day to spare, it’s time to quickly sign up and join the BLT Trio who has planned a day full of ‘Knowledge Absorption” for everyone. They have arranged many well known speakers and panelists including Miichael Yeoh, Chris Tan, Richard Oon, Ishmael Ho, Adrian Un, Daniele Gambero, KC Lau, Shan Saeed, Faizul Ridzuan, Prudence Wong. There are also two mystery panelists too. Do refer to image for more information. Some of these speakers have been involved in sharing their knowledge on personal finance for years. Some has been sharing stats because he believes stats say more than mere words. Some of them are still buying properties as they are able to sniff out good deals.

The integration between areas within the Klang Valley is starting to look good and this is the reason why opportunities may appear. Seriously, how many of us can afford to buy properties in the popular areas these days? Not even the high rises….Personally, I believe that we must have a BIG property investment goal. However, we can always start small. Having just 3 fully paid properties when we retire is very advantageous because money shrinks (inflation bites) and majority of Malaysians have little savings in EPF or use them up within months after retirement. Ready to learn and perhaps even take that MRT ride which is part of the programme?
Register here.
(Free for the first 50 kopiandproperty.com readers. Once full, the system will inform you)

The full agenda can be downloaded here:
Property Outlook 2017 – The BLT Perspective.

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Property Outlook 2020: Property market in low interest rate environment.

If we want to look at the property outlook 2020, we need to take into account the current LOW interest environment. When the interest rates are low, the returns from the fixed deposits are low. So, what should we do with our investments which are giving super low returns? Perhaps we could think about investing it into some other place?

Tomorrow, we will two distinguished gentlemen who will share with us their views. Date is tomorrow. 19th September at 11am SHARP.  You could catch it live in
fb.com/kopiandproperty
too.

Mr. Ahyat Ishak, the Founder of the Strategic Property Investor Program and Mr, Cheng Jun Hann, Headof Business Development of Finology. The host is Mr.Azlan Jais. After learning from them, perhaps we could make better decisions then? This is a free online talk show and the platform partner is
malaysiakini. (click here for their FB page)

Message by the Platform Partner:

You may sign up here.
http://bit.ly/MPTRealEstate
  This is an event organised by Malaysian Property alongside Malaysiakini, by clicking the register button on the sign up page, you have agreed to allow Malaysian Property and Malaysiakini to retain your information.
#MalaysianPropertyOutlook
#MalaysianProperty
#AzlanJais
#LowInterestRate

Happy watching Property Outlook 2020 and beyond Talk Show. Keep learning and keep investing.

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:
Start strong. Your Property Investment Steps

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Property Outlook in 2018? Sharing on 13th January 2018.

2017 is coming to an end. Has it been a good 12 months for you? If you have bought a good property in 2017, that’s great. If you are still waiting, the opportunity is still available because developers are competing against one another strongly. What would be some of the potential happenings in 2018? Would it get ever harder to get your loan approved? Would you like to understand some of the potential strategies which is usable in 2018? Property market is an exciting one but it is also very risky. Get to know some of these potential risks and even learn how to identify signs of potential property bubble bursting.
GM Training Academy PLT
 will be organising the Property Outlook 2018 seminar.
Sign up here.

Feel free to read many of Miichael’s tips for those looking to ensure their mortgage applications have the highest chance for approval. During this event, Miichael Yeoh will also be launching the
Mortgage Health Report
which is the first in Malaysia. This report will assist loan borrowers in securing loan approvals. I am honoured to have been invited by the famous mortgage expert,
Miichael Yeoh
 to join him in sharing my personal views about property investment too. I will be sharing as a working professional who invests in the property market occasionally. Sorry that I will not be sharing on how to buy 10 properties at one go…
Sign up here.
 Readers of kopiandproperty.com, please do come and say Hi yeah.

The Details for the event is as follows:

DATE AND TIME

Sat, January 13, 2018

11:00 AM – 4:00 PM Malaysia Time Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) Time

LOCATION

Sqwhere Sales Gallery

108, Jalan Baru Sungai Buloh, Kampung Baru

Sungai Buloh

Shah Alam, Selangor 10460

*Light refreshment will be served

Next suggested article:
Tax submission done? First-timer, you better… for your property’s sake

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Property overhang in Malaysia. Johor is top.

I had a casual conversation with a close friend from JB. Ms. C. She’s the one whom I have to help jump start her car two times within a period of a few months. She told me that one property development whom we spoke about a few years back is now super quiet. In fact it seems that the developer has not ‘surfaced’ for some time.

She asked if I will be buying a property in JB. My brief answer is, yes. However, let’s talk about that one development which has now gone quiet.

Yes, I remember that property and I still remember that the developer team at the time was super confident to attract foreign buyers with their pricing which will scare away most Malaysians. Unfortunately, many things happened since then and Covid-19 has been around since beginning of 2020. Below would be the latest update in terms of overhang numbers for Malaysia, especially in Johor.

Article in themalaysianreserve.com
  According to Rahim & Co International Sdn Bhd director of research Sulaiman Saheh said, “Right now, as of 3Q21, there are 56,000 units which consist of residential as well as commercial properties amounting to RM41 billion.”

He added, “Johor still accounts for the large chunk of the overhang units, followed by Kuala Lumpur with 10,000 units, Selangor with 6,900 units and Penang with 5,000 units.” He shared this during his presentation of Rahim & Co’s Property Market Review 2021/2022 publication in Kuala Lumpur today. Do read the report in full here:
Article in themalaysianreserve.com

Decision to buy or not to buy?

First, we need to know if the property we intend to buy is within that group of overhang / unsold property. If it is, then it’s time to start pressuring the particular developer to sell their unit at a price you like to buy. If they refuse, that means they are not desperate enough. It may also mean that transactions are unlikely to happen and the number will remain high.

Do not be too surprised that some of these developers are able to continue holding because here in Malaysia, the government does not force the developers to sell by certain time or else they will be fined like Singapore does.

Second, if the property we like to buy is in the secondary market, it is also time to use the excuse of new property overhang as an excuse for the property owners of these secondary market to reduce their asking price. Again, if they refuse, it may also mean that they are unwilling to sell at a price you like. This also meant that transactions are likely to be subdued since both parties cannot agree to a price.

Just remember, the decision to buy or not to buy really depends on you. The reason(s) to buy differ and this is why it’s not possible to generalise just because there’s property overhang. Until today, I intend to sell a property I have in Penang but the potential seller is giving me a price which will make me feel bad to sell. So, transaction has yet to happen.

In conclusion, my decision to sell or to hold has got very little to do with overhang / unsold property. It’s everything to do with me. If I need the money, I need to sell lower. Period. Else, I can wait. Hope this explains how a home owner thinks.

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:
Property deals worth highlighting

Header Image by
Harry Strauss
 from
Pixabay

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Property overhang is not main reason for property price to drop

I always tell people that if we start looking, we will find opportunities. If we stop looking, that’s when everything we say is just complaining. Property market starts to see more transactions and some friends say, property bubble is coming. Property market starts to have property overhang and some friends say, property price will soon be falling. No matter what happens in the Malaysian property market, there are always one group of people who will thrive as they jump into the market and find good investment opportunities and there is another group standing by the side and commenting on everything that’s happening. Today, we talk about overhang property.

Overhang property trend

The image below is showing actual overhang status right below. Property overhang was 25,455 units way back in 2006 before it went down every year until it was only 10,285 units in 2015. It has since gone up to highest point in 2018 which was 32,313 units but since 2019, 2020 has been on a very slow downtrend. However, the number remains extremely high. Some say, overhang should cause property prices to drop. Right?

With such a high number of overhang units, why is the price not coming down? Let us ask the owners, shall we? Property owners including me lah. I do want to sell one or two of my properties at the moment.

Image Source: iproperty.com

#1 question. If you bought at RM400,000 would you want to sell at RM300,000?

If I am the owner being asked this question, I do think the one who asked the question was just asking for fun. How many of us would want to sell something at a lower price if we bought it at higher price? With cars, we have to sell at a lower price because of depreciation but what about property? Just need to ask the earlier buyers of all the mature townships of today if they could sell you their properties at a price they bought long time ago when no one wanted to buy…

#2 question. If you do not really need the money, would you sell at a lower price?

If I do not really needed the money, I will not be willing to sell at a lower price. I will hold on for as long as possible. This is the reason why owners do not usually sell at a lower price because it would make them feel bad. No one wants to feel bad in any decision they do.

Of course, If it’s for emergency, then I would sell at any price… If this is happening, then it happens at ALL TIME, not just during the time when there’s property overhang yeah.

If I needed the money for renovation for my new home which will happen one year later, then I may sell when the price is right and as my renovation date nears, then I may sell at a lower price too. By the way, if I needed the money for renovation, the question of selling during overhang or no overhang is also not applicable. I just needed the money.

#3 question. If I am not under financial pressure and I still want to sell, then how?

If I do not have any financial pressure but I just want to sell because I just do not want to continue holding the property and prefers cash, then what would be the price I may sell? I will sell at … extra 1%. Haha. Okay, we assume the market price / transacted prices to be RM500,000 currently.

If I am selling that RM500,000 home, I will be willing to sell at RM505,000 (1% extra just to make me feel better) even if I spent RM100,000 for my renovation. The buyer to this RM505,000 property would be happy because he can buy a fully renovated home at just RM505,000 versus a market price of RM500,000 for a partially renovated one.

Unless of course the buyer was lucky and found a financially distressed seller. Else, my RM505,000 unit is a very good deal as he can easily save the renovation fee with just minor touch-ups. RM505,000 is still showing a 1% higher in property price when it comes to the statistics.

#4 question. Then what happens if there is a financial crisis?

During a financial crisis, we would suddenly have a big group of sellers who needs money. When we have a sudden huge supply, then the pressure will cause prices to drop and it’s usually fast too. So, when there is a financial crisis, property prices being transacted always show a downtrend. At that time, cash is king. Buyers are usually the ones with bargaining powers.

For example, during the 1998 ASEAN financial crisis, property prices in Malaysia dropped by double digits. if I remember correctly, it was 16%. Image below from ceicdata.com

https://www.ceicdata.com/en/indicator/malaysia/real-residential-property-price-index-growth

We just need to be aware that usually, when financial crisis is over, property prices will start to rise again because now, the ones who could hold is more than the ones who are desperate. The desperate ones would have sold their properties earlier, during the financial crisis period. If they could hold on during the financial crisis period, they will now not be willing to sell lower since financial crisis is over.

#5 question. What’s the reason there’s an overhang in the first place?

If the new property development does not sell well for whatever reasons, it will soon become an overhang property. Overhang property are properties which have received Certificate of Completion and Compliance (CCC) but remained unsold for more than 9 months.

Now, the next question is, when it did not sell last year, can it sell well this year? If it is to sell well this year, then prices would have to be adjusted. How about 10% lower? No one has any interest if is just 10% lower for properties which people did not want previously.

How about 20% lower? Maybe a small number of potential buyers who think it’s already a good deal.

What about 30% lower or higher than 30%? Haha. If it’s 30% or higher, then we need to think about why they can actually discount 30% from the initial price in the first place… Unless of course the units are all the very old units, then still possible that the developer wants to have cash versus keeping the property.

Conclusion?

Overhang does not cause prices to drop.
Overpriced property
 will cause prices to drop. Financial crisis will cause prices to drop. A badly designed property using sub-quality materials will soon cause prices to drop. In fact, even financially stressed sellers will cause property price to drop. We can see there are many reasons which will cause property prices to drop. Happy evaluating.

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?

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Property overhang is ‘worrying.’ Easing over next two years.

My personal thoughts about unsold properties in the market is to ask two questions. #1 – Are these unsold properties because of the economic situation or because of the mismatch of properties? If it’s due to the economic situation, then I think the issue will be prolonged. If it is due to the mismatch of properties versus the demand, then it will just need some time to heal itself. #2 – Is it because people could not afford or because people prefer to wait. First one is a bigger issue and will take time because household incomes do not rise in a few months or suddenly. If people could afford to buy they prefer to wait,then this is sentiment related. If it’s sentiment related, we will need something positive to happen and the rest will just follow. The question is are we moving towards a more positive sentiment in the near future?

According to the National Property Information Centre, current overhang residential units in Malaysia as at first half of 2018 is 29,227 units valued at RM17.24 billion.
Article in TheStar here.
 According to Rahim & Co executive chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Abdul Rahman, the level of overhang in the country was “worrying.” However, Rahim & Co expects the property overhang in Malaysia to ease over the next two years as market forces and various prudent measures are expected to stabilise the situation. He also pointed out that the property market eventually recovered in the last two recessions. He added, “The current situation is not a recession, it’s just an oversupply situation. In this case, the developer needs to be prudent in what they are offering. It must be something that is sellable given the current market situation.”

This is Rahim & Co’s real estate agency director Robert Ang’s views about the current restrictions from “Our economy is fairly matured and you should let market forces decide its direction, not impose restrictions on developers and investors. Let developers sort themselves out. This can be done in the way of lowering rates or offering special packages. In business, you need to be smart.” He added that in line with the current market glut, developers need to slow down or postpone launches so that demand can eventually catch up with supply.
The article in TheStar here.

Letting the property market takes care of itself will depend on which party is more powerful. This is why I still favour government intervention favouring the potential first-time home buyers. Budget 2019 seeks to address some of these issues with first-time home buyers but I am not so sure if it is also able to put a more positive sentiment into the market, something I think we are lacking at this moment. Remember, if the road ahead is not clearly lit, travellers along the road will move very slowly. Happy understanding the property market of Malaysia. By the way, it’s doing okay.

written on 17 Nov 2018

Next suggested article:
When sentiment turns positive and good fundamental

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Property Ownership is about mentality, not salary.

Property ownership is about mentality, not salary. Unless of course the salary earned is really not enough and the banks refuse to lend the money to buy a home.

Anyone telling you buying is the best and only option is lying

We answer this first question first. Should everyone think about property ownership? To be honest, not everyone. Sometimes, it’s just not the best option to buy a place of our own and then struggle every day, every week and every month thinking of how to pay for it. Or getting one speeding ticket alone is enough to cause us to panic as we only have just enough every month for all expenses and that home mortgage. Perhaps just continue renting that room may be a better option instead.

It’s common to know of many friends who do not own a property yet

Some weeks ago, someone younger than me (many, many years younger) who already owns a few properties told me that at least half of his friends do not own a property yet. Yeah, he was talking about those around his age. Slightly below 35. I think it’s not that surprising because even at my age (In my 40s) I can safely estimate at least 20-30 percent of my friends without a property to their names yet. Now for the question again. Must all my friends own a property in order for them to continue to be a friend to the founder of kopiandproperty.com? Answer is a firm NO.

If you earn way higher than everyone, property is really just an option

Some of these very wealthy friends actually do NOT need a property. I meant a home they call home. Not some vacation property in some exotic places. They earn way too much income to worry about paying rental forever. So, renting may just be a much better strategy instead of being tied to one property, one place for a very long time. Besides, when they travel after they retire, they could just pay for the hotel / homestay instead. So, taking these friends aside, what about all other working professionals then? Should they buy a property? I think it’s not because of salary, it’s mostly mentality.

kopiandproperty.com does not have property listings yeah

Before everyone thinks that I am asking everyone to buy property, this is kopiandproperty.com yeah. We do not sell any property and there’s also no need to mention our name even if any developer sponsored any post here yeah. We do not get any additional commission from them. The founder Charles is also not a member of any real estate agency and does not own a REN tag too.  Today, we look at property ownership which is always a favourite topic.

Just too expensive, how?

Many people say, ‘I want to buy a property but the property is just too expensive!’ Never mind that within 1H 2020 alone, we have over 75,000 residential property transactions. Never mind that my ex-colleague who earns less than RM5,000 per month bought her 2nd property after listening to my sharing. Haha.

Photo by Khwanchai Phanthong on
Pexels.com

My younger friend’s friends’ reasons?

The reason that most of them (his friends and my friends) mentioned was that their salaries were still low while the property price already too high. Perhaps his friends did not know about choices beyond all the expensive areas which are already mature, already full of amenities and already full of people staying too. They may have also forgotten that if they included additional choices 10 minutes away from where they wanted to buy, perhaps they could find a cheaper property already.

Decision is ours to make, our future depends on what we do today

We determine the group we are going to be in. Whether it’s the always give excuse group or the let’s see what are the opportunities and buy one group. Property Ownership is a choice. This is Malaysia. There are countries where properties in the city centre? You can work until the day you die and you still could not afford them.

There’s also no such thing as who should follow who.
As Jon Bon Jovi said, ‘It’s my life!”
 Just remember that if we did not know, we may not know how to choose. If we already know, then the choice becomes a responsibility. Happy living life to the fullest!

Love articles 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:
Increasing cost of living, a certainty.

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Property market Penang better than national, number wise.

You read earlier about the overall Malaysian property transaction and value numbers. It showed that perhaps the worst is considered over in 2013. 2014 has showed a little spark of recovery. If you missed it, you can read it here:
Malaysia residential property market recovery in 2014

In Penang, the growth in property transactions is higher than the national average. It grew 4.01%. This growth primarily came from the primary market while the secondary market, just like the national has also shown a decline. I think one reason is because the demand for new housing remain high but because of the uncertainty in sentiment, those who can wait is still choosing to wait. Perhaps the sales of ‘chairs’ are increasing in Malaysia. For these people to sit and wait. Haha. The increase in primary is a little ‘crazy’. It went up by nearly 49 percent in 2014 versus 2013. In actual number, this is 4,095 units compared to 2,750 units in 2013. The secondary market showed a slight drop of 4.25 percent. From 14,950 units in 2013, it has dropped to 14,315 units in 2014. Now, for the GOOD news. The value of transactions has seen a slight drop of 1.84% from RM5.89 billion in 2013 to RM5.78 billion in 2014. Refer to the chart for more details:

One very apparent number that we note is the transactions for the properties between prices of RM200,001 to RM500,000 is highest and it has also increased a lot. The typical sizes for these would be those which are below 1,000sf. Check property portals for more detailed prices, especially the secondary ones. The RM500,001 – RM1,000,000 is also increasing and we can safely deduce that these would mostly be referring to units which are above 1,000sf to all the typical landed terrace homes. Yes, for all these, I am referring to the island itself. Of course the prices in mainland for both the high-rises and landed are lower and many times, easily 30 percent lower for similar type of properties.

This gap between mainland and island should be less in future. Read here:
Buying Batu Kawan? Same price as island.

According to Valuation Consulting & International Real Estate Company Raine & Horne International Zaki + Partners Sdn Bhd’s senior partner Michael Geh, the increase in the transacted units for residential properties priced above RM500,000 could be due to the scarcity of properties priced lower than this. He further said that the current signs do point to the fact that the Penang’s residential property market is looking up again after the bottom in 2013. He mentioned that it would be even better if Bank Negara can relax some of the loan requirements for the buyers as this will ensure a continued interest in the residential property market.

Personally, I think Penang property market is similar to Singapore. Newer and less popular areas, even if within the same island are still priced much lower than the matured or the popular ones. Just look at Tanjung Bungah vs Sungai Ara or Jelutong vs Relau and until today we can still see the price differentiation and the different value that Penangites assign to these places. What this meant to me is that if I am buying for my own stay it may be better to buy in less popular areas because if the people can afford to pay much higher for the current hotspots, they would be able to pay higher for these cheaper areas of today. Of course, for the super wealthy ones, buy anywhere you like most. You deserve this after working so hard to earn more than majority. Happy buying or investing in Penang.

written on 26 Apr 2015

next suggested article:
Little impact from GST and CLEAR by August 2015

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Property Port Dickson? Tough. Just not enough action.

Last year, my wife told me that she wanted to visit Port Dickson as she has never been there before. I said, sure, let’s go. Well, nothing happened because I have many other preferred choices like Langkawi, Melaka, Tanjung Sepat, Sekinchan, Genting Highlands and more and because the weekends are limited, I have brought my family to all these places since then. This time, we finally decided and booked a hotel and drove to Port Dickson. It’s not far, only 1 hour and 20 minutes away from my Damansara Damai home. On the way there we were chatting and I told her that Port Dickson is just 45 minutes away from KL. Thus it’s popular and perhaps some KLites may have properties there just to enjoy their weekends. Of course, this is just my theory.

We arrived at our hotel, checked in and went out to drive around. The whole stretch of Jalan Pantai was full of hotels. From the smaller ones to the bigger ones and the special promotion ones to the luxurious ones. Perhaps because it’s not a weekend, there were not that many cars on the road and traffic was easy. We had dinner at Avillion Admiral Cove and came across this condo project called Marina Bay. Painted in white, it looked worn out and empty. I wanted to know if my observation was correct. A check online then showed that it’s 1,300 sf and prices are around RM300,000 – RM360,000. Sort of confirmed why it looks worn out and empty. Perhaps it’s just not popular enough amongst those going to Port Dickson (too many other choices) OR there’s just not enough tourists to Port Dickson. For high-rise developments, maintenance is critical. Thus maintenance fees are critical and as soon as many did not pay, the maintenance starts to go down, facilities start to break down and even more would then refuse to pay. Actually, everyone is just ‘killing’ everyone and this becomes a cycle of no return. I certainly hope this is not happening to Marina Bay. It may be empty because it was not a weekend.

Next day, we had breakfast at a famous breakfast place. P.D. Eating Point.  Overall, it’s ok, Nasi Lemak and the western sets. Nearby, there was a development called PD Water Front which I dropped by too. Strolled around for a while and noticed that all the restaurants facing the ‘water front’ are opened. From Papa Rich to Korean food to Japanese and even Waffles, basically you have it all here. Just not the crowd. Okay, perhaps it’s not a weekend. Checking online, its website is down. Sigh.
http://www.pdwaterfront.com.my
  Well, that’s the end of my search and interest. I wish the developer the best.

This trip was okay. Sun, sea, sand, food and lots of smiles from both my wife and baby. So it’s a good and relaxing trip. However, for property investment, I am sorry Port Dickson, I would favour Melaka anytime. In terms of current attractions, potential developments and investment reasons, Melaka would trump Port Dickson anytim if I am the one choosing. Sorry, I have no investment in both places yet though for Melaka I think it should not be too far in the future. We shall see. Everything is available in Port Dickson, just not up to what I wanted. The next trip might be long time to come. Who knows, maybe PD Waterfront may invite me for a latte and tell me why their website was down today.

written on 22 Oct 2014

Next suggested article:
Reasons, Numbers and Potential from my latest Melaka visit

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Interesting property portal in Malaysia today

There are many property portals in Malaysia today. Most of the time, they have lots of listings. Some visitors would complain that many of these sites have repeated listings. It’s true, I have not seen any of the top few sites without any repeated listings. However, most of them would have some mechanisms to deter people from repetitive postings. The only issue with systems is that they will never be able to beat humans, not when we can improve while systems are static until improved. Anyway, I recently discovered a new site where its listings are mostly for the the more luxurious ones.
88home.co

It has a clean interface and the functions are considered advanced. One example would be the accuracy of the location map when we search for a certain particular area. Image beside. Although it currently does not have as many listings as the top few property portals, it does have many interesting luxury listings. This include new ones as well as secondary ones. (Another redirection to 88home.co here)

 They include a boutique hotel for sale in Penang, a beach fronting resort in British Virgin Islands, bungalow listings and even
Residensi OPUS
 which is a condo facing the PNB118 (Merdeka Tower) which when completed will be the tallest building in Malaysia, surpassing the Petronas Twin Towers in height.

According to its CEO Olivia Lim, ’88home.co is focusing our marketing in China currently because Malaysia is an attractive property market for these Chinese investors.” She explained that the only issue with these potential investors is that many of them were not aware of all the details in buying Malaysian properties. Some of them already know about Iskandar due to their own developers and Kuala Lumpur as a capital city of Malaysia but with regards to the actual locations to buy, investment potentials and even all the potential choices, they know little. In fact for some of these investors, it seems much easier to buy Australian properties than Malaysian ones. This is the time to tell them more. I think I agree with her views. Perhaps it’s time to be slightly more pro-active in attracting these new foreign investments into Malaysia where real estate is concerned. Happy browsing.

written on 26 July 2016

Next suggested article:
Why Chinese investors are warming up to Malaysia’s property market

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...