Malindo: 11 weekly flights to Perth from KL

I think Perth is becoming very popular for Malaysians. Malindo will be starting its KL – Perth route in November. Not only that, there would be a total of 11 weekly flights! In other words, more than 1 flight per day on average. It has just received the Civil Aviation Safety Authority of Australia’s (CASA) nod to fly from Kuala Lumpur to Perth. This would be its eighth country under the airline’s international route network. Promotional fares start from just RM599 for economy class and RM1,499 for business class one-way and since they are not considered a budget airline, the ticket comes with free baggage allowance, in-flight entertainment, a meal and light refreshments.

It will operate the flight with the narrow-body Boeing 737-900ER aircraft with a seat capacity of 180, with 12 business class and 168 economy class seats. Flight will take 5 hours and 50 minutes. Malindo hopes to provide its travellers with an extensive range of destinations using Kuala Lumpur as a regional hub. I like this statement. It meant more tourists are also coming into Kuala Lumpur as well. Ticket sales would however start only when they have received approval from Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) Malaysia.

I have never been to other cities in Australia other than Perth. I think it’s worth a visit as it’s so clean and there are so many attractions there. My personal views? Here:
Perth – City with parks or actually parks with a city

I have been on Malindo air a few times. I think they are okay. The fares are definitely attractive when compared to the usual air-fares of other airlines. Oh yeah, if you think of Perth as your potential property investment destination, do get to know a bit more.
Up in Sydney and Melbourne, down for Perth

I would definitely hope they increase the frequency in the near future and also wish for more airlines to use Kuala Lumpur as a regional hub. Happy visiting Perth.

written on 1st Oct 2015

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Mall redevelopment will definitely be needed to yield better returns. Another one closing…

Mall redevelopment happens all over the world, not just during COVID-19 period.

Have you been to the eCurve mall recently? Another piece of news which was shared by many people would be the closure of eCurve mall by end of March. This is the mall where you could walk over to the Curve mall. eCurve is also the  mall where the telecommunications company has their customer service centres. Actually, if one could also walk over to The Curve, it also meant that there are competition to its F&B outlets within eCurve mall.

Well, after all these plus the fact that the number of visitors must have reduced even further due to the MCO, the owner has decided to close it down and do something else with it.

Photo by Alex Powell on
Pexels.com

Article in edgeprop.my here.
The eCurve shopping mall in PJ has notified tenants that the mall will close for redevelopment effective March 31, 2021. In the media statement, the management of eCurve shopping centre confirmed that after 14 years, the shopping mall will be undergoing redevelopment in keeping with the changes in the environment and in line with the company’s plans for urban rejuvenation.

Jazmi kamarudin, senior general manager of the Curve said, “We would like to state that the redevelopment plan does not involve the Curve, which will continue operating as normal.
Article in edgeprop.my here.

Good news or bad news?

Depends on which side we want to look at the situation yeah. To me, this is good news yeah. I know some would point to the fact that many people will lose their jobs since the retail shops will close too. Nevertheless, moving forward, construction companies will benefit, more people would need to be hired and well even the banks get to lend to these redevelopment ideas too. We also know that the owner has some ideas already planned too.

Competition to weaker malls from stronger malls

I disagree with limiting all the new malls and just maintain the current number of malls. We need competition yeah. Imagine if there are no competition, then the parking fee at these super popular malls would keep increasing without fail every year. However, with more malls, then what will happen to some of these malls? It’s competition. When malls fail to get visitors and all the visitors chose another mall instead, then that mall which failed should close down. This is a business environment we are in.

Happy understanding that online will not kill malls. Better malls will kill weaker malls.

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Mall to achieve herd immunity?

Mall to achieve herd immunity for the safety of its retail workers as well as the visitors. Is this possible?

Imagine visiting a mall where ALL of its workers and staffs are fully vaccinated and they allow only visitors who are fully vaccinated to enter. Would you feel safe to visit such a mall if you are also someone who has been fully vaccinated? Either two doses with any of the current vaccines such as Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Sinovac or the coming soon Cansino which is one dose vaccine?

This is just an imagination of the possibilities when we have vaccinated enough people across the country and we are moving on into targeted reopening approach instead of continuous lockdowns like currently. We have one mall brand which is proposing a “herd immunity” concept and hopes to have the opportunity to test it out very soon.

Article in themalaysianreserve.com
   AEON Co (M) Bhd Group MD Shafie Shamsuddin says that AEON will be launching its news online platform called MyAEONToGo on a website and mobile apps next month. He is also optimistic that that revenue for financial year ending Dec 31, 2021 (FY21), would match its FY20 performance.

He emphasised the importance of expediting vaccination among essential and non-essential workers in a mall to drive the economy faster. He said, “Instead of giving vaccines sporadically, we suggest the government cater to the central point where people are always coming to buy essentials.”  He proposed to the government to build “herd immunity at the mall” and hopes to have the opportunity to test out the concept soon. Please do read his proposal in full in the article here:
Article in themalaysianreserve.com

Everyone working in the mall are vaccinated

There is a programme called Public-Private Partnership Covid-19 Industry Immunisation Programme (PIKAS).  This is under the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI). Briefly all the employees of factories which are considered essential could register and they could be vaccinated all at the same time via a dedicated PPV. It aims to vaccinate two million workers in the manufacturing sector by the end of the third quarter of this year (3Q21). A few of my friends working in the manufacturing sector has already been vaccinated under this program.

I do think all these programmes help to move vaccinations even faster because it is a few thousands people within a few days versus everyone of them going individually to the PPV centres. Perhaps this may be a model to follow by our retail sector which has also been hard hit with clossure. If you ask me, I malls are much safer as it offers space versus a small confined area. We just need to manage the number of visitors strictly.

Let’s hope for some further news and hopefully if it happens, it is not just for AEON but many other malls too.

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Malls? 50 percent (tough), 20 percent (close) and 100 percent (survivors)

Owning a property just above a mall is an advantage. I would personally like it too because I love shopping. It provides convenience and these units usually come with a premium. These days however, due to the sheer number of new malls within the Klang Valley, it is becoming tougher for these malls to survive. Let’e get real. Even assuming that there are 1,000 units with a full occupancy of 4 per unit, there would only be 4,000 residents living on top of the mall. During the weekdays, half of these residents would be working and during weekends, half of these residents would be visiting other malls. In recent few weeks, I have visited a few newly opened malls. All of them were suffering from low visitor traffic. In fact some of them remain poorly built as there were not even sufficient baby rooms and I think due to cost saving, the air-conditioning was not put at full blast.
These are what I think all malls should have.
 Else, they lose customers like me.

In a recent article in
asianpropertyreview.com
 Dato’ Sri Gavin Tee predicted that within 5 years, 20 percent of the malls in Klang Valley would close. 50 percent of them would be struggling to survive within the next 5 years. The good news for the survivors? It may have 100 percent more visitors! Some reasons were given for the dismal performance of malls today and within the next 5 years.

ONLINE shopping – It said that this technological trend will heavily impact the traditional malls

Oversupply – There is little need to look at statistics. Every time I drive from my home to office,  I could see malls every few minutes!

Increased competition – Inability to get good tenants would be squeezing the margins of smaller malls. Giant malls will take 80 percent of all the traffic leaving the remaining 20 percent traffic for the remaining 80 percent of the malls.

Urbanisation – Malls which are not within the public transportation infrastructure would suffer as well as more consumers depend on public transportation.

Closure of retailers – Some retailers suffering from competition with wholesale markets, premium outlets and even online shopping may close. When they close, malls have lesser tenants.

As an avid shopper, both at the malls and online, I do not see online killing off retailers, at least not the bigger ones with huge varieties and not yet so soon. I know many would say we could buy most of everything online but I am not someone who thinks shopping is only about mouse-clicking. To me, it’s also emotional and hey, let’s move a bit and not sitting down all the time!  One thing’s for sure, I would prefer to buy clothes at malls. Plus, I will usually have my meals at the malls too because of the choices. My two kids will be bored if I do not bring them out too. If you ask me today, I would still prefer to own a home close or nearby or on top of a mall. That has not changed. The only change would be to choose wisely because as Dato’ Sri Gavin Tee predicted, 20 percent may close. It’s a negative when we buy a high-rise on top of a ‘dead’ mall.

written on 24 Feb 2017

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If all the malls are dying then you must have been home all the time

I go to malls on a weekly basis, maybe less often these days but the malls I like to go, for example, 1 Utama, MidValley and Sunway Pyramid are far from being empty. I do think it’s still not at the pre COVID-19 levels though. This brings me to the article today which I have to write because there continue to be some property media writers who write mall articles and I think they have NEVER been to malls. By the way, if your editor was the one who asked you to write such articles, then your editor must have been staying at home all the time too.

Let’s just look at the latest Supply and Occupancy chart from NAPIC released just days ago. One glance and everyone must be thinking OH NO… indeed the occupancy is dropping like crazy!

Supply has been rising

First of all, the supply has been rising throughout the years. From 2016 to 2020, the supply has been rising and rising and rising. From 14.72 million s.m, this has risen to 16.85 million s.m. Look closely and we should also realise that the occupancy is also rising when we compare 2016 to 2020. Number wise, the supply side rose by 2.13 million s.m and the occupancy rose by 1.1 million s.m  What this actually tells us is that the demand has risen SLOWER than the SUPPLY.

2020 was a bad year, remember?

I hope everyone realise that 2020 is indeed an exceptional year as well… and occupancy should drop in 2020 unless Malaysia is some sort of a special country versus the world which are all affected by COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions. Thus, the occupied space dropped from 13.09 s.m in 2019 to 13.06 s.m to 2020. Look closely in case you did not see the negative change. There are two things which could have happened, these tenants managed to hang on… or the tenants who were forced to close (assuming there’s a huge load of them), the space they moved out were quickly taken over by new tenants.

Malls are NOT closing down (especially the better ones)

Let’s look at average number then. If we own a mall and our occupancy is 77.5% in 2020, would we like to say that our mall is about to close down? What the average number is telling us is that there are malls which are struggling and there are malls which are not going to survive another year but there are also malls where the occupancy is high enough that the tenants better not move out or they will lose that retail lot for a very long time.

From what I understand at 1 Utama for example, renovations are continuing in anticipation of full recovery in the near future and even that food court which was closed down already have a new brand opening up soon. This evening, I was at Ippudo (it’s Wednesday night by the way) and Ippudo was full house… As for the restaurants which did not have half their tables filled, that’s more of the restaurant issue and not a lack of visitors issue.

Show you my Ippudo Ramen. (Note: Non Halal)

When we open a restaurant and the food is not good, why do we blame other restaurants or even to start telling people that everyone is eating at home and no longer come out to restaurants? This is the same as malls. When some malls are NOT doing well, why is the first blame going to the market condition and the second blame goes to the online shopping? It is just the malls themselves. Happy understanding and stop believing writers who write about malls but seldom goes to the mall or the writer happens to prefer online shopping…

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Too many malls mean nothing. Another RM1.6 billion one coming

On the site of the former Pudu jail, a new retail mall will be built jointly by the developers of the Bukit Bintang City Centre (BBCC) project and a Japanese real estate giant, Mitsui Fudosan Asia. Total project would have an estimated gross development value of RM1.6bil. Anything above 1 million sq ft is considered a big mall and this mall called the Mitsui Shopping Park Lalaport will have a built-up area of 1.4 million sq ft when completed. It will take 4.5 years to complete. By the way, Mitsui Fudosan is also the
70% owner of the Mitsui Outlet Mall.

Mitsui Shopping Park Lalaport aims to be an attraction for KLites and tourists with its indoor retail space, as well as an outdoor lifestyle street featuring high-end brands, restaurants and cafes. On the rooftop would be a four-acre landscape park. As this will be in Malaysia, there would also be a retailing commercial space called the Malaysia Grand Bazaar showcasing Malaysian goods, handicraft and souvenirs. To encourage tourists, there will be parking facilities for unto 40 coaches. Three tunnels (from Jalan Changkat Thambi Dollah, Jalan Hang Tuah and Jalan Galloway) would also bring shoppers directly into the mall. There would also be 2,400 parking bays underground.

When there’s an
integrated plan to bring people into the mall
, I think it should be able to sustain itself as the number of tourists into Malaysia is increasing and Bukit Bintang area is certainly a hotspot. As for KLites however, I think the diversity of the retail shops available would be far more important than the Malaysia Grand Bazaar. One thing is very certain, when competition heats up, only malls with unique shopping proposition would be successful. Get more international brands which are value for money into Malaysia instead of only the luxury brands. Only then would it attract more middle income Malaysians. For a 1.4 million sq ft mall, it has to appeal to the masses and not just the exclusive few. Happy following.

written on 14 Oct 2016

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Are malls dying all over the Klang Valley?

First of all, 2020 or even 2021 are the two years where malls really suffered. The better and more popular ones struggle to get enough visitors to continue. The not so popular ones was facing certain death and it’s not uncommon for a mall to be standing but the tenants within are almost all gone… As usual, once the tenants are all gone, anyone visiting that mall will be visiting it for the very last time as well. So, are malls dying all over the Klang Valley then? Briefly, no. For more details, do look at below.

Source: NAPIC

Actual retail space occupancy is growing even if occupancy percentage is down

What the image above is showing is that the we can see the retails space growing every year from 2015 all the way to 2021. Meanwhile the occupancy rate is slowly reducing from 80.8% (Malaysia as a whole) down to 73.6% (Malaysia as a whole).

Just need to also be aware that total occupied space was 9,964 sqm x 80.8% in 2015 = 8,051 sqm. In 2021, it is 13,146 sqm x 73.6% = 9,675 sqm. If we look at this over the years, this occupancy in terms of space is 1,624 sqm. Yes, briefly, the occupany % may be moving downwards but actual space being occupied is increasing. Just that the growth in the need for space is lower than the growth in new space.

RM per sqm and actual growth by yearly basis

Referring to the below, it’s quite clear that the rental psm is increasing every year even if the increment is very small. By the way, this is a sign that demand remains strong enough. Else, the rental psm will be reducing and not increasing yeah. Just a plain demand vs supply equation. We can continue to say that the market is weak but statistically speaking, the rental continues to move upwards slowly.

Where are the weak points?

Referring to the below, the Neighbourhood Centre and Community Centre malls are quite weak in terms of average rentals. To know the classifications, please refer here:

In fact the rental has hardly changed between 2015 and 2021. Perhaps this is also because any new township or community will take a little time to build up the population. This may not be enough to support these smaller malls because people may still prefer the larger ones versus the smaller ones. However, the number is still a positive one yeah even if the number is hardly moving.

Happy learning.
Please feel free to view the full report from NAPIC here

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More ‘lepaking’ places? 6.58 million sq ft of new malls coming…

This was posted in
thestar.com.my just a few days ago: More malls to enter the fray in the Klang Valley.
 A good friend mentioned that with all these new malls, there will be even more places for people to ‘lepak.’ (places to chill out)  Refer to the image for more information. Image source: thestar.com.my   In order to understand the sizes inside the image, let’s take a look at some existing malls. Paradigm Mall in Kelana Jaya has a net lettable area (NLA) of about 680,000 sq ft. Yea, this meant that it is around 6 times of The Linc and 7 times GM Bukit Bintang for example. The Starling Mall has 451,000 sq ft of net lettable area. So, yea, we can see that many of the malls stated inside the image would be smaller ones, probably to cater to the nearby residents and office workers. The bigger ones with their net lettable areas in bracket include EKO Cheras Mall (625,000), Empire City Damansara (2.3 million), Tropicana Gardens (1 million), Skypark @Cyberjaya (565,000) and Central Plaza @ i-City (940,000).

Moving on with the article, according to Knight Frank in its Real Estate Highlights report, the recent completion of around 450,000 sq ft of net lettable retail space brings Klang Valley’s cumulative supply to 57.5 million sq ft in the first half. It said, “Retail space per capita, analysed at around 7 sq ft per person, is one of the highest in Malaysia. The current concern weighs more on the completed retail stock that have yet to be filled and this puts further pressure on occupancy levels going forward. The Klang Valley retail landscape continues to face strong headwinds and the recent completion of some 450,000 sq ft of space further heightens competition in an already crowded market.”  Perhaps fortunately, Kuala Lumpur City Hall has frozen new approvals for projects and this may help to provide a breather to the oversupplied retail market as it seeks to find its equilibrium.

Before everyone conclude that a bleak future is in store, Knight Franks is still optimistic about the retail market. It says, “Moving forward, Malaysia Retail Association has revised upwards its full-year forecast from 4.7% to 5.3%. The government’s decision to zero rate the Goods and Services Tax augured well for the retail industry and increased demand for goods and services. The Sales and Service Tax may spur spending with lower prices for necessity goods.” Beyond these, the proposed minimal wage will also strengthen purchasing power. It says that, “For the remaining of 2018, retail sales growth is expected to be sustained as consumer sentiment improves with higher purchasing power. We continue to see more consumers turning to online shopping for greater choices, bargains and convenience evident from rapid growth in e-commerce.”  To continue being competitive, Knight Frank suggests this, “To remain competitive due to rising popularity of online shopping, the retail segment has been banking on securing tenants with services and experience factor such as food and beverage, beauty and dermatology and sports and entertainment.”

Knight Frank also provided some data showing that for some popular malls, the occupancy is extremely high; 97-99 percent. Examples include Suria KLCC and Pavilion Kuala Lumpur. Average monthly rental ranges from RM24 per sq ft to RM26 per sq ft. It also says that “In the city fringe, Mid Valley Megamall and The Gardens Mall command average monthly rentals of RM17 per sq ft and RM16 per sq ft respectively. These malls registered 100% and 98% occupancies, with back-to-back tenant movements and renewals.”  The property consultancy said the average monthly rentals for Sunway Pyramid Shopping Centre and The Mines in Selangor were RM14 per sq ft and RM9 per sq ft respectively.  “These malls are 99% and 94% occupied respectively.”
Do refer here for the full article.

Still believing that more malls will mean the doom of all malls? Personally, many malls will not survive but newer malls are not necessarily worse off than current ones. Here’s one earlier article:
Shopping malls will continue to evolve. That’s why they may prosper
  We can see from the numbers provided by Knight Frank above that it’s not all gloomy for the retail scene. It’s not everything about the locals yeah. Go to the popular malls and we can see many are tourists and shopping in Malaysia is very attractive because we have many brands which they may not have. Kuala Lumpur is one of
the best cities for shopping even when compared to the best in the world as ranked by CNN.
In the mean time, keep supporting the shopping scene yeah.

written on 15 Sept 2018

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Malls, malls, malls everywhere, rate of survival?

Slightly earlier, I read a report saying that 50 new malls are coming into Klang Valley next year. Well, according to one latest article quoting the Sunway Group, there are a total of 40 malls entering Klang Valley next year. There is little need to guess. Most of these malls are the neighbourhood ones or the integrated to your high-rise units type. Why are there so many malls? Well, according to many, this is following the lifestyle of the high-rise and better off. You finish work at 6pm, arrive home, take a shower and from your door to the mall in 5 minutes are you are already in a restaurant of choice. Alternatively, in a nice pub with a group of friends for a happy hour. Cool, right?

According to Sunway Group, these new malls marks an “extremely competitive” time ahead. Out of these, a dozen would have a net lettable area (NLA) of about one million sq ft and above. This is bigger than a mall like Paradigm Mall which has a NLA of 700,000sf. Read some latest news about them here:
If 53 tenants decided not to renew, time to worry?

Malls of this size would have a bigger impact to other smaller neigbourhood malls. The competitive situation has caused many malls to open with just 50% occupancy too. I think many of us can name a few of these, especially those with really nothing special and has the same brands with everyone else.

My comments remain the same as that I shared with my colleagues when Quill City mall opened last year. The developer behind the mall is very important. Without right expertise or even a deeper pocket to get the tenants in first before thinking about longer term profits, most of these new malls would fail. For a new entrepreneur, opening a new outlet is already a huge gamble. Thus, many would welcome better rental rates or they may choose not to open new ones and just stick to their existing ones instead. A friend has closed one of her outlet which has been operating for many years just to consolidate her business and not be exposed to too much risk under current slowdown.

Well, many are still opening new businesses and I learnt that a close friend is opening a new shop selling baking ingredients! I think this is the time to get a very good deal and for competitive businesses to gain even more market share as others are closing or scaling back. In times of uncertainty is where there are lots of opportunities. I hope I am right too by still believing that there’s a difference between investing right and stop investing totally. Happy visiting malls to keep them alive.

written on 9 Sept 2015

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Man-Made Island for a new Penang International Airport

Penang International Airport (PIA) to be relocated to a man-made island? This will happen if Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda) Penang suggestion is taken seriously. According to REHDA Penang’s chairman, Datuk Jerry Chan, this is very important because current PIA is too close to the Penang Free Industrial Zone (FIZ). There are risks to flying over the FIZ. Also, within the next 15 – 20 years, once no further expansion can be done, PIA will be stagnant and future flights has to be diverted to other airports nearby. Both the state and the federal governments must ensure PIA continues to grow and can accommodate ever larger aircrafts. As for where the man-made island should be, further studies has to be conducted.

Remember I wrote about this some time back?
Full capacity in 2017.
 Based on just the terminal capacity alone, it does seem that Penang airport would reach its intended capacity by 2017. That’s not too far ahead in the future. I think the terminal has to at least undergo another expansion very soon. Always remember that irregardless of what the state has planned, airport is a very important supporting infrastructure. Whether it is for tourism or medical tourism or even property investment, no one would be buying if he / she can only reach the property they are buying after many hours of non-stop driving. If I am looking to come for medical tourism, I am not going to fly to a city nearest to Penang and then take the coach to Penang. It’s not a joke to travel when you are not feeling well.

Many years ago, when KLIA was suggested, there were strong objections from many parties. Then when KLIA2 was started, there were also lots of objections from various parties. Now that KLIA2 is completed, many people asked if KLIA2 is an airport or is it a mall. Everyone seemed to have forgotten that KLIA got lots of complaints for lack of shops for shopping. I think this man-made island, once the area has been identified would also receive lots of complaints. I am more supportive to have the airport in mainland and linked by the second Penang bridge or perhaps LRT instead. My reasons are, it’s much cheaper as the land most probably would be state land anyway. For those who wants to say that mainland is SO FAR away, I seriously urge you to travel more often to other countries, then you tell me where the airports are situated and if any of the airports are built just a few km away from the city centre.

Oh yeah, if decision is made to have it on a man-made island instead, count me in as a supporter too. Most important is a plan for a BIGGER PIA. The location to me, is secondary.

written on 25th Sept 2014

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10 things you should know about My100 and My50. Lower costs = Higher savings.

Some time ago I wrote this.
This RM100 is positive for the property market.
If we are a Malaysian and we need to manage our travelling expenses, please continue reading and then take appropriate actions. If we chose to continue driving because there’s no MRT / LRT / bus stops nearby our home, it’s time to CHANGE that home too. I wonder if this My100 and My50 will spur property transactions in the future. Read on and happy saving!

#1 – Where to buy?

– all LRT stations
– all MRT stations
– all Monorail stations
– all BRT stations

–
Five bus hubs
 as listed below:

1) Pasar Seni
2) Seksyen 2, Shah Alam
3) Sri Nilam
4) Greenwood
5) Terminal Kajang

#2 – When could I start using them?
Ans: You can start using My100 or My50 from 1 January 2019 onwards.

#3 – Will I get a new TouchnGo card or I just need MyKad?
Ans: My100 or My50 will be activated on MyKad. If you are an army, it will be activated on your MyTentera.

#4 – How long does it last?
Ans: The validity period is 30 consecutive days (including weekends). You can choose to set the first date of your pass during purchase, or you can leave it open, and the first tap at the rail fare gate or bus reader will be the first date of your pass.

#5- Could I use it for Komuter / ERL?
Ans: My100 or My50 is only valid for Rapid KL network of rail and bus.

#6 – Could I still enjoy the flat-rate parking rate for Park & Ride facilities in LRT and MRT stations?
Ans: Yes, you can still enjoy the flat rate at the LRT and MRT Park n Ride facilities when you take the LRT/ MRT/ Monorail/ BRT. But, you must tap your MyKad or MyTentera that has been activated with My100 or My50 at the Park n Ride entry and use the same MyKad or MyTentera when you ride the train.

#7 – When should I renew the My100 / My50?
 Ans:  You must renew your My100 or My50 seven (7) days before or seven (7) days after its expiry.

#8 – Could I set auto-renewal for My100 or My50?
Ans:  Auto-renewal feature is activated upon request. Once the auto-renewal feature is activated, your My100 or My50 will be automatically renewed seven (7) days before or seven (7) days after the expiry, as long as you have sufficient amount as per the renewal price in your Touch ‘n Go purse value.

For My100, the amount in the purse value must not be less than RM110, and for My50, the amount must not be less than RM55.The minimum balance of RM5 for usage at rail and bus services, and RM3 for usage at bus must always be maintained.You can only select for auto-renewal only when you have an activation date set for your My100 or My50 during your first purchase.

#9 – How do I check the balance of days on My100 or My50?
 Ans: The balance of days of your My100 or My50 will be displayed on the screen at the flap gates when you tap out from the station, or on the card reader when you tap out from Rapid KL bus or MRT feeder bus.  Alternatively, you can go to any Rapid KL Customer Service Counter to check your balance of days.

#10 – What if I have even more questions?

Ans:  Click here.

Happy using My100 and My50.  I think this is an extremely good initiative by our Transport Minister and let’s push the usage of public transport to a record high in 2019. After all, MRT stands for
Malaysians Ride This.
LRT? Let’s Ride This lah…

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written on 24 Dec 2018

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Managing risks, starting strong. (Think Big, Start Small)

One senior manager colleague shared with me that over 10 years ago, he bought a shoplot. In his mind, he was thinking BIG. He thought the shoplot would double in price within 2 or 3 years. Despite just starting, he aimed at commercial property due to the
potential huge profit.

Yes, the entry cost was also bigger than residential. Alas, nothing happened after it was completed for TEN years. He thought it was the worst investment he has ever made and vowed not to buy another one. He had to continue paying for the loan and only recently, with the boom in 2012, the shop lot increased in price sufficiently that he sold it. He said, based on his total investment, it gave him a return of around 80%, divided into 10 years is 8% gross per year. Actually, this is really nothing to shout about but this is still 2 times higher than if he had left his money in Fixed Deposits for the past 10 years. Sometimes, it is just the timing. He was fortunate because he did not buy a few commercial properties at the same time. Manage our risks, start small.

When you think about property investment, do you think of it as a potential or just another form of investment? As a road to quick riches? I think of it as an investment that one must have. The potential depends on how you do it and perhaps a bit of luck. If you happen to buy and your condo was completed during a
 financial crisis, it definitely does not help.

Nevertheless, as long as you have no roof over your head, buy one. If you already have a roof over your head and you like to buy a Segment C car then buy another property first. Chances are you may be able to afford the downpayment for a Segment D car instead, within five years time.

Do not however start property investment thinking that you will be very rich in very short period of time. It does not usually happen this way. Even starting slowly when we are younger would mean that we have repaid for at least one property in 20 years and have 2 properties fully paid for when we retire. Start property investment with a goal of retiring earlier and be financially free. However, start on a strong footing. Have sufficient downpayment before starting and not borrow from our relatives or friends to start the investment. Start right, start small. Buy a property which we can afford easily with our current pay. If we can afford to pay for a mortgage of RM2,000, then buy a property which only needs for a mortgage of RM1,600. There’s nothing wrong with stretching ourselves but it is
very risky for us to stretch to the limit
 just at the very beginning. If we are lucky, we may hit our first jackpot faster than majority but if we are unlucky, we are also the minority who somehow got bankrupt from property investment.

Thus, personally I have always believed that if we
intend to get very rich, retire earlier

than majority, real estate investment is a key investment we must have. Only one thing that I always remind myself is, there’s no need to rush. My first property was only RM123K, second property was slightly higher, followed by the third one at RM247K and this increased slowly over the years until my latest property few months ago at RM540K. I know, nowhere near a lot of really gung-ho property investors but it is ok. My property investment motto remains to be, Think Big, Start Small. Happy buying.

written on 11 Dec 2016

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Mantanani islands in Sabah for sale at RM12 million

I love Sabah… especially that one lady who’s now my wife

As my wife’s a Sabahan, I visit Sabah often (versus most Peninsular based Malaysians). Probably averaging over 3 times per year. Sometimes it could be more as I also visit Sabah when invited to give talks too. Yes, I have two high-rise properties in Sabah too. One is over 10 years and the other is over 8 years. I cannot say I love Sabah if I do not have a property or two over there right? 🙂

No more RPGT, fortunately.

Anyway, if I sell those properties today, I will not be charged any Real Property Gains Tax (RPGT) as announced by the current Finance Minister. Yes, both properties have gained in price. Previously, I was very unhappy when it was announced that RPGT will be 5% FOREVER by one former finance minister. I have no idea who advised him to make that decision. Will I buy another property in Sabah? I do think it’s a possible decision. Let’ see when as I have not been to Sabah for 2 years.

I can only afford one high-rise every few years yeah. Now, the next one up for sale is only for the super wealthy or a potential real estate developer who could somehow turn that purchase into a money generating asset, maybe. Article is in thevibes.com

Article in thevibes.com
  Popular diving spot Mantanani is going on sale for RM12 million, according to a listing. It consists of three islands, and is known to divers for its dugong sightings. The for sale listing is even open to non-citizens. In 2021, the island was also put up for sale at RM14.3 million and the seller claimed that the native title for the island could be converted to a country lease. There are other islands also up for sale. Please do read the full article here:
Article in thevibes.com

What is native title and what is country lease?

It is our fortune that propertyhunter-my has written an article on native title and country lease.
The full article can be referred here.

Country Lease (CL) are land classified outside town area. Leases could be freehold, 999, 99 or 60 years.

Native Title (NT) are land designated for native ownership. The restriction is that it could only be transacted between natives.

Town Lease (TL) are land classified within the town area. Leases are 99, 60 or 30 years.

When we look at these classifications, it is obvious that Mantanani island would be under Native Title or Country Lease. As per the article in thevibes.com, Mantanani island is classified under Native Title but the seller has indicated that it could be converted into Country Lease. This is also the reason why the sale is opened to non-citizens too.

Who could be a potential buyer?

Property developers could be one. Preferably a property developer who specialises in resorts or tourism related developments because building some residential units there really does not make any sense. The buyers of these residential units would have to be super wealthy too since the cost of purchasing may not be the main issue. The main issue would be maintenance…

If the island could be developed into a tourism destination, then it will make financial sense too. Just need to remember that it’s not an easy thing to do yeah. Imagine trying to get 100 guests to the island every month, each paying RM5,000 per visit? That’s RM500,000 per month. This has to cover all the staffing costs, maintenance costs, unforeseen costs and enough to pay bank loan and still leave some profits. Else, why do the resort?

Super wealthy buyer could be the other target. If this is the buyer, then the buyer could just buy it for the purpose of having a private island for a vacation. Since the price is RM12 million, perhaps the buyer could be someone with a wealth of RM1.2 billion. This buyer would not be overly concerned with spending 0.1% of their wealth on a vacation island for them and their loved ones. Plus another 0.1% to build a simple building with facilities. 🙂

Happy thinking about it. I have no idea who the buyer is. If you like to buy, do try and find that listing yeah. Cheers.

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-mantanani-island/

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Mapex 2014 KL @ Mid Valley, Sunday crowd, subdued.

Yesterday, I asked my wife to choose between One Utama and Mid-Valley Megamall. She chose the latter. Today, when I arrived in Mid-Valley I realised Mapex 2014 was on. I used to know all these huge property events, why did I miss it altogether this time? Someone told me about this two weeks ago and I said, if I am in KL, I would definitely drop by. If not for my wife, I would have missed it. I think there are not sufficient buntings on the road. I think they did not spend enough on billboards all over KL. I think their media partner somehow missed telling me. Okay, truth is, I think they missed the ONLINE portion totally. To the organisers, for the next one, do remember the Online portion. If you think the crowd is still acceptable this year, it will start to be less acceptable very soon without an online coverage and I seriously do mean it.

I was there from 1130am till 130pm. I wanted to write bad crowd but then again perhaps this was because 1130am was too early in the morning while noon time till 130pm is a lunch time, of course there are not much crowd. I do not know but if you were there during that time, for MAPEX 2014 that’s considered very low turnout. Some marketers were even sitting down and chit-chatting! Okay, there were a few more crowded booths but majority? No.

I think the lower turnout maybe because 40,000 of them were all waiting to buy the 20,000 units reserved for the married youths from 25 to 40 years old. This was announced in Budget 2015.  Haha. Just joking. Perhaps they feel that this property show is ALSO showing the same properties that they have seen in other smaller shows or every weekend in all the different malls. Is this ‘Property Fair Fatigue’? My friend, Ken of Penang’s major property website,
www.penangpropertytalk.com
 just spoke to me this week about the possibility of way too many property fairs. In fact there were three happening at the same time in Penang on the same weekend! We have never seen such a case before. All three going against each other and hoping that the buyers would visit all three? It’s Star Property vs Ken Link vs Iproperty all on the same weekend of 24-26 October. (I am a good blogger, I give them extra exposure here)

After some considerations, I think there are many other reasons why these property fairs no longer attract the crowds like previously. Besides the reasons above, it’s also because everyone is uncertain about the property market in the near future. I would say negative sentiment is the flavour of the day for now. Perhaps what I believe should happen is happening? More people are going into the secondary market for good bargains today? The prices of secondary market remain attractive even today. In fact a reader just pointed out that Iskandar may have oversupply as a whole but there are some areas in Iskandar where the property price is still extremely attractive and easy to rent out! He gave Bukit Indah as an example.

Hope that more property fairs would understand that it’s not the best way when your media partners are just newspapers. Seriously, you can’t be serious right? Happy Selling.

written on 11 Oct 2014

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MAPEX Perak 2018:  Choices, freely. Comparisons, easily. Learning from speakers, free.

Decisions are not usually made without any potential comparisons. A good friend just asked me about two potential properties. I asked her to go and talk to the sales people at the respective sales galleries. She said it will take a lot of her time since both the galleries are not that close to one another. If she happened to be in Ipoh, perhaps she would be able to decide easier and more objectively too. The reason? A property expo where the ‘sales galleries’ are now next to one another and the developers would really have to put in more effort to tell you more.

Perak’s largest Property Expo is back with the theme of INNOVATION for Life and Living. It will be organised by Real Estate and Housing Developers Association Perak.(REHDA). According to REHDA Perak chairman Tony Khoo, potential homebuyers can expect to save up to between 5% and 10% during the 2018 Perak Malaysia Property Exhibition (Mapex). He shared that attractive discounts will be offered during the three-day exhibition, to be held at the Ipoh Parade shopping mall from Aug 3 to 5. He said, “It will be a great time to dive into the property market. Some developers are offering discounts due to the zero-rated Goods and Services Tax (GST). Legal fees will also dropped by 6%.”

Khoo also shared that he is expecting a crowd of 30,000 and that sales should reach RM30 million this year compared to RM20 million last year.
Organising chairman Jacqui Ng said the exhibition will feature 47 booths and 23 have already been taken up by developers. She shared that there has been a lot of marketing activities carried out for the event and that beyond just projects within Perak, there will also be projects from
Penang, Johor and Selangor too. There will also be
informative talks from industry experts on topics such as property investing, feng shui and smart-homes systems. In fact there are also performances such as cultural dances, cheerleading and a brass band. Most importantly, she added,
“Buyers also stand a chance to win a grand prize from the lucky draw held at the end of the exhibition.”
Mapex will be open from 10am to 10pm from Aug 3 to 5. Venue is Ipoh Parade Shopping Mall.

For developers reading this, I think it’s a fair not to be missed. Decisions are usually made when people are able to compare. Potential buyers may not want to drive to 5 different sales galleries to compare but if they do come to a fair, their decision could be much faster. Plus if they buy, they are entitled to the lucky draw and discounts, remember?
Just DOWNLOAD the Sales Kit to understand more
  Or
DOWNLOAD the Layout HERE.

or just contact
Ms. Anna at 05 – 253 1472 / 05 – 253 4650.
 See you during the expo yeah. I will be one of the speakers with the topic of, “The future for property market with RM22 billion unsold units as at Q1 2018.”  There has been way too many reports about the impact that these unsold units would have on the market. Let me share in 45 minutes on what has happened, all the potential happenings and comparisons using latest numbers. We should only make decisions when we understand what’s really happening right? Happy visiting and see you soon.

written on 25 July 2018 for MAPEX Perak 2018.

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Mapex Perak in Ipoh

My friend who is working in Penang asked me AGAIN. “Should I buy Ipoh property now. I really want to retire in Ipoh.’ I said to her, “how many times do you want me to answer you. As long as you have the intention then take steps to make it work.” Then I said to her, in fact there is a property fair next week in Ipoh. Mapex Perak in Stadium Indera Mulia. She said, but all these property fairs are the same. The developers who can sell would not be there. Only developers who can’t sell are there. Then I asked her, you mean SP Setia, Mah Sing, IJM, Sunway and many more of the other big names NEVER joined property fairs? She laughed. Truth is, continuous branding is a must for any property developer.  Some are known to do their pre-launch there because they needed to see if their upcoming project can sell easily or not.

Know more. Why must you go to one developer by one developer to know more. Why can’t you just spend half a day, visit the whole show and get a feel out of the dozens of projects on offer? Great or good or bad or ‘useless’, it’s all there. Yes, maybe some are selling their very old projects but these developers are everywhere, not just in property fairs. They are even in PC fairs!

Talks. People write a book after they have had many years of experience. If you buy the book for RM49,90, you have learnt so many things that would have taken you years to experience. Reading a book may take you hours or days and for questions that you have, you may not ask the book and the book would not be able to answer you. Typically in these property shows, there are invited speakers speaking on a topic they specialise in. Best part, it is free and what you need to do is just to spend 1 hour to listen. Plus you get to ask questions and most of the time, these speakers would answer you.

Opportunity. The truth is, these fairs can’t be done every month. There’s way too many logistical nightmares. Since it is there once a year, pay it a visit. If you think you know a lot, go and test whether what you know is the truth. If you know little, then you better visit to know more. Who knows, that particular property which fits what you wanted at the price you can afford is there? Be reminded, there are always cases where the original buyer may not get approval for their loans.

She said, of course I am going. I am in Ipoh next weekend. I told her to stop asking me once more about buying Ipoh. To me, if it fits your goal, it’s a good buy.

More information here:
http://www.propertyguru.com.my/mapex-perak2014

written on 5 April.

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MAREC 2020 – “Let professionals help you in your property purchase.”

I am someone who would always insist that buyers and sellers should deal with REGISTERED real estate professionals; negotiators and agents. We need to stop saying that in Malaysia anything goes. Do we really want to pay money to someone who looks like they are veterans in the industry but is actually not registered and thus will be much harder to find once something goes wrong? Think about it seriously.

The Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA) organised the two-day Malaysian Annual Real Estate Convention (MAREC) on 28th and 29th February 2020. At first they were worried about the turnout due to COVID-19. However, the turnout was one of the largest in MAREC history with 403 registered participants. (kopiandproperty.com is official online blog for MAREC 2020 and we also learnt a lot from MAREC 2020 speakers too)

In his opening speech, MIEA President Mr Lim Boon Ping shared that with the current challenging time, it is vital for all practitioner to acquire new information, knowledge and skill-sets to move forward. He reminded everyone to stop saying IT is a disruption but to start embracing it.

 He then shared that MIEA will be undertaking a series IT initiative where we are working with several strategic IT partners in Proptech, Fintech and Insuretech start-ups. One example is the “MIEA AgentData” apps which will help capture property transactions data at the point of bookings (earnest money collected) and followed through till the point of Sale and Purchase Agreement signed. Official transaction data will not be available much quicker than the three to four months period previously.

He also shared that beyond just registered firms, MIEA will now be offering Professional Indemnity (PI) Insurance for individual REA, PEA and REN. The broker firm Howden will offer this at a very affordable rate exclusive to MIEA members.

We have identified an insurance broker firm, Howden to offer this PI Insurance at a very affordable rate exclusive for MIEA members. This move will make the individual practitioners be seen to be professional and accountable in what they are doing and at the same time providing a second level of protection to their clients.

MIEA is also in the midst of creating a reliable “market place” for the practitioners to keep out fake listings. It will be a Multiple Listings Service (MLS) system with Cloudaron. This is not aimed to compete with the existing property portals, but to provide a more efficient and reliable B2B or Agent-to-Agent online system and hence enhancing the chance for agents/negotiators to close more cases through co-agency.

MIEA will also be allocating RM200,000 to run a 12 months’ Public Awareness Campaign to educate the public to use only the services of Registered Estate Agents and Real Estate Negotiators. The campaign will be launched to the public today.  Happy learning to all the participants.

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P/s: I do wonder if they will be using some property blogs in this PR campaign too… especially a blog with 40,000 visits per month?

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Press Release: MAREC 2022 Forum by MIEA Requests Robust Changes To The Real Estate Practice

MIEA just concluded the 36th edition of the Malaysian Real Estate Convention (MAREC Summit) themed “Bridging The Digital Divide In The Real Estate Profession”. Twenty papers on various topics were presented at this two-day convention. MIEA President Chan Ai Cheng said in her keynote address that digital transformation in our profession is necessary for real estate agents to be relevant and to serve the public more efficiently and effectively. It also gives the competitive edge to thwart the challenges of tech firms creeping into the profession.

Hj Zamzuri, the Organizing Chairman and a MIEA board member said in his welcoming address that the Real Estate market is picking up and as professionals, we managed to provide the necessary support to our clients through technology during MCO 1 & 2. This conference aims to help the older generation to embrace technology and that MIEA is proud to continue to help agents in their endeavor through education & training.

The first of concern is to raise the level of professionalism among the Real Estate Negotiators [RENs] numbering some 28,000. They were of the opinion that the entry level for RENs is too low and that there is a need for them to now meet certain qualifications and do an entry exam to be allowed to practice.

The views included that although the supervising agent is ultimately responsible for the actions of the REN, the individual RENs should also be held accountable for their misdeeds. They felt that this will greatly improve the professionalism in the industry.

The number of registered agents is low as there are only 1,400 plus+ agents as of 2020, this is due to the lengthy examination and practical process which takes up to 7 years to be registered. They requested BOVAEP to review the syllabus and the format, like in Singapore where all are registered practitioners unlike the situation in Malaysia today.

There was concurrence from all panelist that the Board of Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and Property Managers the regulatory Board are not at pace to keep up to the needs of the profession. They felt that managing three professions – The Valuers, Estate Agents and Property Managers, is too much to handle and has resulted in many inefficiencies and disconnect with the real estate practice. There was also agreement that the number of Estate Agents only represented in BOVAEP are far too small to bring about any significant change and requested to review this imbalance.

To a question by many delegates why illegal brokers are mushrooming in the country, they felt that the laws are  inadequate and that the police who are empowered to act have not shown great interest in nabbing illegals. They further added that tech firms are now finding loopholes within the law to offer other services and indirectly engaging real estate practice which contravenes section 22C of the Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents & Property Managers Act and urged the government to look into this.

There was also an agreement that the professional fees for estate agents should have a minimum cap as what is practiced in the developed countries and modelling after other professions in the country.

The convention attended by some 350 participants from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia & Thailand ended with a high note that there is much to be done to improve the profession. It was well said by a panelist that ‘we need to look into the mirror’ to see what we are and what we need to do, as there is much to be done to be relevant and progressive in or service to the public and nation.

— the end —

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MAREC 2020 is a MUST-ATTEND event for all RENs. 30 Speakers and a Super VIP Keynote Speaker.

Before you even start reading this article, if you are really a Real Estate Negotiator who wants to move up in this industry,
Click here and register asap.
This is MAREC Summit 2020 where any REN will be able to learn from many hundreds of years of experience combined from all the confirmed speakers. This is also where members of the public could suddenly become more aware of what’s happening and perhaps to start identifying opportunities in the industry and the market too.

Whether’s it’s the market statistics which is super important when it comes to being consultative to your first-time home buyers to the selling better skills and even what makes a REN become a great REN, how to do advertise on FB for free and more, all these and more other relevant topics from very experienced and expert speakers are covered. Yes, I have personally listened to many of them and they will help you improve.

I am not sure what you love to do with RM30 these days but I will spend RM30 to listen, learn and apply new skills and knowledge from established speakers. The registration fee is just RM799 (until end of February) and there are 30 Speakers. In other words, only RM26 per speaker.
Click here to register yeah.

By the way, the below VIP will be the the Keynote Speaker and the Guest of Honour. We have YB Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim. His topic: Role of Estate Agents Towards Nation Building.

See you there yeah. I leave you with this famous quote “
Learning
 is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence.” ?Abigail Adams.

Please download the programme here.

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Will the market get better? Does it even matter?

Somewhere in Kuala Lumpur some days back. “Charles, do you think the property market will improve in 2018?” I answered, ‘Of course NOT! It should continue to slow down for a few more years because I need time to save downpayment for the next one.’ My good friend laughed and I laughed too. Anyway, seriously, when we are buying a home because we need a home, we do not need the market to be better. If we are upgrading to a bigger home, we also do not need to wait for time to get better. Even IF we are buying for investment purpose, why are we waiting for the property market to get better? I know, we want to ‘ride the wave’ of optimism, where the wave will lift all boats regardless of whether the boats have holes in them or not, right? Well, if this is the case, the more important thing would be to
buy the RIGHT property instead of waiting for the RIGHT timing.

If it’s a good property, just need to ride out the slow times. If it’s the wrong property, we need to pray for the next WAVE; not such a good thought actually.

Please do
not think too much about all these timings.

We are not in some Ponzi schemes where the earliest gets the best deal and the last few usually will lose everything.  This is property INVESTMENT. It’s for quite a number of years and based on the usual trends in all advanced property markets, the prices inch upwards. For Malaysia, it’s around 6 percent on average. Please look at the actual area we are buying and not all these average numbers. Sometimes not because the property is extremely attractive but because of inflation, costs are going up (land, labour and materials..) and also because of newer property launches which are usually slightly more expensive than the older ones. Certainly the decision should not even be remotely affected by the General Election never ending news in FB yeah.

Personally, I hope I am right yeah. Investments from China for the One Belt One Road will continue even if we have a new government. This is part of an ASIAN agenda, not just because it’s China. The Malaysian economy will still achieve the GDP growth in 2018 as predicted by IMF (5.3 percent), World Bank (5.4 percent) and even our very own Bank Negara Malaysia (5.5 – 6.0 percent) if the current government remains. That property that we own will still be under our name too yeah. Oh yeah, I really do think that for some developers, it may be more prudent to take a ‘haircut’ if the property happened to be in a not so attractive location. As for the buyers,
do remember those good times when the developers

were much more confident cum arrogant? Demand vs supply is a revolving trend, never a one-sided story. Just look at the advanced property markets to understand how things have been moving for the past 30 years for example. One day, our property market will get to the ‘today
‘

point for the advanced property markets.

Till then, better to invest and wait instead of waiting to invest.

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written on 19 April 2018

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Market is slow? Well, Mah Sing launching 6 new projects.

I seriously do not believe there are developers not affected by current slowdown, no matter how established they may be. There are many projects for which keys have been handed over but the developers are still selling remaining units. It does seem that the market is doing extremely badly? Well, if we are to look at the results from the listed ones which were announced recently, the developers are generally still earning profits! Healthy ones too. Some are even hitting their targets. One of the established ones, Mah Sing is targeting to launch size new property projects with a total gross development value (GDV) of RM2bil in 2016.

Mah Sing said that it is confident to maintain last year’s sales target of RM2.6 billion for 2016. Of the RM2bil upcoming launches, 61% percent will be for the residential segment, while 34% and 5% will be allocated for the commercial and industrial segments. Mah Sing’s six new projects are Cerrado serviced apartments in Southville City@KL South, Bangi, indicatively priced from RM388,000; new township Laman Ayu in Rawang, new blocks in D’Sara Sentral and Lakeville Residence in the central region, Ferringhi Residence 2 in Penang island and Meridin East township in Pasir Gudang. The one in Pasir Gudang is really quite affordable, from RM350,000 for landed homes.

Its group managing director and group chief executive officer Tan Sri Leong Hoy Kum said a few things which we should take note. Mah Sing is still scouting for lands but not in a hurry. In fact there may be opportunities for cheaper land since the market is now on a downtrend. The demand remain strong for houses over the medium to long term. In future, Mah Sing may start a real estate investment trust. It hit last year’s target because the focus was on mass market products with a primary sales focus in the Klang Valley or Greater KL. Mah Sing has 35 active projects currently which will last them for the next 8 years.

The focus on affordable has to continue. The reason is simple, just look at the average salary of working couples in Malaysia today versus the prices for newer launches. The only ones which will appeal to the majority would be the affordable ones. That’s why there are so many newer launches which are smaller sized high-rise units priced around RM500,000 or lower. If possible, please do not believe that these sub 1,000 sq ft units would reach RM1 million or beyond. Seriously, who can keep buying them? Sorry, perhaps the right question is, who could afford them? Any property strategy should also include the secondary market in secondary areas too. That’s where majority are not looking today. Happy searching.

written on 29 Jan 2016

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Sign of Market Recovery Nationwide with an Uptick in Property Asking Prices

PropertyGuru: Uptick in Property Asking Prices Hints at Nationwide Market Recovery

Accelerated rate of vaccinations and reopening of economy encouraged growth in asking prices
Property supply volume saw sharp decline of 6.51% due to delay in new project launches and seller hesitancy

Kuala Lumpur, 18 November 2021
 –
PropertyGuru
 Malaysia announced that its latest
Malaysia Property Market Index (MPMI) report
 registered a quarterly growth of 0.92% in asking prices in Q3 2021, signaling the start of a nationwide market recovery following the ease of lockdown and resumption of economic sectors.

This uptick in property asking prices is observed across four key regions covered by the MPMI, namely Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang, and Johor, which observed a year-on-year (YoY) increase of 1.56%, 1.5%, 1.38%, and 0.15% respectively. This marks
the first time that all four key markets saw an increase in asking prices since the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in Q2 2020.

Sheldon Fernandez, Country Manager of PropertyGuru Malaysia
 shared, “The
accelerated rate of vaccinations, paired with the reopening of the economy
are the catalysts that drove the recent increase in asking prices. With our nation emerging from the COVID-19 battlefield stronger and more resilient than ever before, consumer confidence is naturally rising, and this is expected to result in a gradual but steady return of demand for property in Malaysia.”

“While properties in some key markets in Malaysia have fluctuated between positive and negative price movements since Q2 2020, the overall YoY trend has been declining, which coincides with the onset of the lockdown restrictions and limitations on commercial activity. Hence, while this recent uptick in asking prices hints at the recovery of Malaysia’s property sector, it will be some time before real estate values return to pre-pandemic levels,” he added.

Sharp Decline in Supply Due to Project Delays and Seller Hesitancy

The PropertyGuru Malaysia Property Supply Index, which tracks supply via property listings on the website, registered a
sharp decline of 6.51% in supply volume in Q3 2021, qu
arter-on-quarter (QoQ), despite a positive gain of 11.94% the quarter before. In the four key markets covered by the MPMI,
Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang, and Johor
observed a QoQ drop of 7.3%, 2.63%, 13.79%, and 13.36% respectively, in terms of property supply volume.

The downward trend in supply volume in the primary sector may be attributed to the halting of construction work during the lockdown in Q3 2021, which led to delays in project deliveries and new development launches. Meanwhile, the temporary decrease in supply volume from the secondary market is most likely driven by hesitancy among sellers in the market, due to low buyer appetite and downward pressure on house prices that were seen in previous months.

“The sharp decline in property supply volume observed in Q3 2021 serves as a reminder that the property sector is still reeling from the effects of the pandemic. Nonetheless, it is encouraging to note that listing activity on the PropertyGuru website has already picked up pace in Q4 2021. We can expect a change in this trend by this year-end, if property prices continue to stabilise or move upwards in the coming months,” said Sheldon.

He added, “
Overall, the property market is expected to see a gradual but steady improvement in the months ahead, in tandem with the overall economic activity, improving sentiments on job and financial stability, as well as the growing percentage of fully vaccinated individuals. However, in the near term, market confidence will continue to be heavily influenced by any positive or negative developments on the COVID-19 front.
 Until the pandemic is fully under control, we should remain cautious – not just in terms of the outlook on the market, but also in our day-to-day lives by strictly following SOPs – as we are not completely out of the woods yet.”

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Market is soft, yes. Right location and right pricing sells, still.

Developers are doing more to attract property buyers. Let’s not waste this window of opportunity. Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) held a media conference recently to announce their Mega Bonanza Promotion. I learnt that the acting CEO Norita Mohd Sidek shared similar thoughts as me and many property people in the industry.

Norita shared to a room full of media people that she understands that the
market is soft but properties in the right location with the right pricing will always garner interest.
 She said, “For example, our semi-dee project called 10 Residensi at Shah Alam priced at RM1.2 million launched last year was sold out in two hours.”

Norita also shared that for 2019, PKNS will be launching properties with a GDV of RM1.1 billion. She was speaking in a press conference on the PKNS Mega Bonanza launch event. She said, “We will be launching a total of 13 projects which comprise 2,537 units in total across the region of Selangor. Out of the 2,537 units, 864 will be affordable homes priced from RM42,000 to RM250,000, from apartments to terraced homes in new growth areas such as Kota Puteri, Bernam Jaya, Cyber Valley [in Cyberjaya], Antara Gapi and Bangi.

In conjunction with the Chinese New Year, PKNS is also offering promotional packages for its property projects and offering rebates of up to RM1 million for potential buyers. The promotion runs from 1 Jan to 28 Feb 2019 and is applicable for ready-built and ready-to-move-in projects by PKNS. The incentives include discounts of up to 20% for their projects Daffina 2, Daffina 3 and Elaisha homes at Kota Puteri near Ijok, Selangor; Azhara at Antara Gapi, Serendah; and Menara U and Menara U2 at Shah Alam. Cash rebates of up to RM1 million are available for their Hijauan Enklaf and Anggun Kiara projects at Alam Nusantara, Setia Alam and 10 Residensi at Section 17, Shah Alam.

To cater to different preferences from buyers, PKNS will also be offering other incentives such as the giving out of electricity appliances vouchers, interior design vouchers and the absorption of the Sales and Purchase Agreement and Memorandum of Transfer cost to be borne by the developer for selected projects. There are also incentives for PKNS’s first-time property buyers where a 10% discount is given under the “First Ownership” incentive while subsequent buyers of PKNS properties are entitled to a 12% discount under the “Loyalty Scheme” incentive. All the incentives and rebates are valid for Bumiputera and non-Bumiputera homebuyers.

PKNS MEGA BONANZA INCENTIVES:

Completed houses and ready for occupancy.
Discount up to 20 percent for the selected project
(Daffina 3, Daffina 2, Elaisha, Azhara, Menara U & U2).
Cash rebates for selected projects (total cash rebate worth up to RM1 million) (
Marbella, Hijauan Enklaf, Anggun Kirana, 10 Residensi
).
Incentive Documentation for up to RM15,000 for the selected projects. (
Hijauan Enklaf, Opal Residensi, Taman Bayu Malawati
,
10 Residensi
).
Electrical goods vouchers worth up to RM30,000 for selected projects.
(Hijauan Enklaf, Opal Residensi, Avenue Rasa).
Smart Home Vouchers worth up to RM15,000 for selected projects (
Anggun Kirana & Vega Residensi 2).
Early bird buyers discount for project (
Estera, Dillenia, Kamelia
 and
Violet
 in Bernam Jaya).
Interior design vouchers worth up to RM10,000 for selected projects (
Taman Bayu Malawati).
The Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA) and Memorandum of Transfer (MOT) be borne by PKNS for selected projects.
PKNS Smart Ownership Scheme:

i) “First Ownership” Incentive which is a 10 percent discount on the purchase of PKNS’s first property to potential buyers (
Bumiputera
and non-
Bumiputera
).

ii) The “Loyalty Scheme” Incentive which is a 12 percent discount to PKNS property buyers for a second or more including residential / commercial or industry (
Bumiputera
 and non-
Bumiputera
).

LIST OF PARTICIPATING PROJECTS

Residential Projects

Daffina 3
Daffina 2
Elaisha
Hijauan Enklaf
Anggun Kirana
10 Residensi
Opal Residensi
Taman Bayu Malawati
Anggun Kirana
Vega Residensi
Estera
Millenia
Kamelia
Violet

Commercial Projects

Avenue Rasa
Menara U
Menara U2

* terms and conditions apply

Happy buying a PKNS project today.

written on 27 Jan 2019

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Perhaps marketing is getting more sophisticated.

Remember a few weeks ago during Chinese New Year, many developers were trying to outdo each other with their television advertisement? Read here:
Emerging Trend or Desperation?

Actually, 2015 is the first time I see so many developers advertising at the same period. To understand if this an emerging trend, we have to look at 2016 Chinese New Year. Perhaps they may even advertise during other festive periods? Yesterday, someone told me of a developer who is launching their project and buyers may get to ride hot balloons. While I have no detail if buyer must pay deposit or not in order to get a hot balloon ride but this is definitely a new thing in the market! Imagine visiting a showhouse and you like the concept but needs to think a bit and the sales person tells you that if you can decide now, you and family can have a hot balloon ride? 🙂  Yes, I can see that smile on your face.

There are also more cases of developers offering free flights and accommodation if the buyer happen to be those wealthy and high potential buyers. This free flight is not confined to just within Malaysia. Many have informed me of groups of buyers from Japan or China flying to Malaysia to have a look at the show house as well as a vacation. Most of the time, if the buyer signs, the whole trip would be fully paid for. For the Japanese, a round of golf would be greatly appreciated.

When we look at these new ‘techniques’, if it is not due to the slowdown in the market, then perhaps the property marketing in Malaysia has now reached a maturity stage and every developer would now have to try something new in order to excite the buyers. Perhaps the next one would be a free cruise from a certain port to the port nearest to the property show house? Free food, entertainment and property talks by property gurus during the cruise so that by the time these potential buyers arrive at the destination port, they would already be ready to buy? Well, if they are not, they can always pay for their trip home, with the same cruise. Let’s wait for this one then. Happy ‘enjoying’ before buying or perhaps ‘enjoy’ after buy.

written on 7 Apr 2015

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Marketing using English? Do it right, please

Today is Saturday. Let’s talk about something indirect about marketing and promotions for properties. I was invited to speak in a Toastmasters event today. I reminded all the club leaders that we are NOT an English class. Toastmasters provide a positive environment for everyone to learn by doing and at their own pace. Everyone is different and everyone should be respected for their effort and willingness to improve themselves. However, when it comes to developers appointing agents to sell their properties and their agents promote those properties using ‘UNBELIEVABLE’ English, I could not accept. My colleagues laughed when I showed them and somehow they did not even want to read about the project any further.

My dear agents, the commission scheme from the developer already allows you to spend a very small sum, get the marketing stuffs edited before being pushed to the public. Please do not give descriptions which would make the potential buyers laugh. A little more care, a little more effort is certainly necessary. I do not think Malaysian developers marketing their projects in foreign countries could survive with this kind of ‘never mind’ about the English attitude. How about stopping the promotion in English and just use Mandarin instead? Sorry, can’t share who but there has been a few. Whether it’s from SMSes, Emails or even Facebook pages.

My dear developers. If you could, you should have an idea how agents are representing you. How about actively reading through the materials that they are using? Of course, marketing materials aside, some agents open their conversation by using the famous developer’s name and then their next line is, 20 percent discount. You have no idea how much this will affect all your branding and future developments. If as a developer, you believe this is fine, then do continue. I guess no harm since they say the English standard among Malaysians are dropping anyway. Perhaps when they read the marketing materials they would understand and could not detect grammatical or spelling errors.

Not too long ago, a HR professional told me that her boss, the Managing Director wants to edit every material that goes out to the public. She said she does not understand WHY? She works in an institution specialising in language teaching. This is the ‘why.’  A better way would actually be for the Managing Director to do more strategic things and get the editing work to be done by some other staffs instead. For property marketing in English however, do it right, please.

written on 11 Aug 2017

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Marks and Spencer. Shutting stores because of NO SUPPLY?

If you have been reading kopiandproperty.com for a while, you would know that I am against Brexit. To me, it is better for Britain to remain in the E.U and not out of it. Well, somehow people voted, so decision has to be respected.

When I was in the UK way back in 1998, in my first group assignment on International Business module, there were not even a single British in my team. One was a French, another German, one from Hong Kong and there’s me. Of course in the whole course, close to half were British. It is common for Europeans to study in the UK then. Let’s see which country will benefit most from all these ‘loss’ for the UK.

So, now we have another news about Marks and Spencer having to shut their stores because they just could not get supplies. Erm…

Article in nst.com.my
   Paul Friston, managing director of the British company’s international arm said,  “M&S has a long history of serving customers in France and this is not a decision we or our partner SFH have taken lightly.”

“However, as things stand today, the supply chain complexities in place following the UK’s exit from the European Union, now make it near impossible for us to serve fresh and chilled products to customers to the high standards they expect.”

M&S is announcing the closure of 11 out of 20 franchise stores in the coming months. Do read the details in the article here:
Article in nst.com.my

Lessons to be learnt from this Marks and Spencer news?

Voting does not necessarily produce the best answers because the voters may not have the true picture of what’s going to happen. The voters may be voting because the party they like tells them to do so. The voters may be voting because of a better marketing campaign for Brexit versus against Brexit. The voters may be voting because they are following their community leaders who may not have sufficient knowledge about how economy works when you are out of an economic grouping…

You see, they have never been out of the grouping before yeah. When you insist on leaving, how do you think the grouping will react? Happily? Willingly? Think again. By the way, do google what has happened to the trucking industry for the UK due to Brexit yeah.

Well, all the best in going alone and perhaps this is when the UK may now forge even closer economic relationship with Commonwealth nations including Malaysia? We shall see. For now, some people working for Marks and Spencer will have to start looking for a new job.

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Marriage provides property affordability, seriously

I was in Hong Hong recently and I was talking to a colleague about buying a home. He has yet to own one and is currently renting but he shared that if one were to look ahead,  then the home should not be too small. He was saying that anything above 700 sq ft is acceptable to him. In terms of property prices, buying a home in Hong Kong is something which many would never be able to achieve during their working life. For many
non-professional senior citizens,

many are only renting a bed today. He then shared that for him, it will be slightly more affordable now. The good news? He got married recently. An even better news? His wife works in the bank which meant lower rates for home loans. As a couple, their combined incomes would allow them to get a decent home. Not a luxury one but definitely big enough just in case they needed to raise a family in the near future. I think he is right in wanting to look for something bigger and slightly further away. The reason is because these days, the new apartments are getting higher (more floors) and smaller.
(Mosquito flats?)

According to
South China Morning Post in an online article,
the number of 215 sq ft flats are rising. There are fewer apartments of 735 sq ft or higher. The main reason for small sizes would be affordability. It seems that property prices have risen so much that people could only afford small homes today. As per Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey, house prices in Hong Kong is the most expensive in the world, from the 406 cities surveyed throughout the world. The article also quoted one housing expert, Lawrence Poon who shared something which I agree. He said, “When prices fall to a more affordable level, buyers will want to buy bigger flats, then the demand for micro-flats will fall sharply. This trend will maybe last for around one or two years because property prices are high now.” Denis Ma, head of research at real estate agency Jones Lang LaSalle said, “It’s really about budget, and the reality is that not that many people have that much spare change sitting in their back pockets. Developers are building what they believe they can sell in the market.”

When we look at these more advanced property markets, there’s much to learn. Smaller sizes would become popular because of affordability up to a point. If prices do go down, then buyers who has the same amount of cash would opt for a bigger sized unit instead. I believe this is the same for all countries unless the buyer loves being single. Do note though that if you ask me, even if I am a single, I would still think anything smaller than 500 sq ft is too small for me. My own preference would be to buy further away. Just like in Hong Kong, the further away from the island that one buys, the cheaper it gets. Another colleague needs an hour and a half to arrive at work everyday. He said that it’s okay. He could listen to music or play with his smartphone. Well, I wish my colleague all the best and hope that he could get a good place for him to start raising a family. Regardless of the country, property investment remains a necessity because the number of rooms needed would keep rising, even if the
Millennial professionals choose not to buy and prefer to rent instead.

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written on 27 April 2017

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Getting married? Better with a home, please.

Before I got married, my parents and my wife’s parents “forced” me to buy a home even if it was a small apartment of 700 sq ft. Of course, way before that it was always, ‘when are you getting married?’ I think my parents and my in-laws are visionary. Their view is that everyone must own a home. To be very honest, I would have preferred a bigger car instead of my father’s Nissan Sunny 130Y at that time. After using all my savings for the new home and renovations plus a monthly mortgage payment, it has sapped all my wants for a new car. At that time, I was looking at Nissan Sentra 1.6, which was slightly below RM90,000. My apartment? RM123K. Haha. Choice is clear today but it was blurry then.

What would have happened if I had gotten that car instead? Well, it would be 10 years old today. I would have finished paying for it 3 years ago. I think I would not have been able to buy my second property which sparked my property investment journey. I still save and have unit trusts, stocks and even a tiny bit of gold. The gold is just for fun. The others are mostly to ensure I am more diversified and not overly reliant on just property. I do not think I can sleep easily today if I over-stretched myself with only properties. It’s too sticky during bad times. I can easily understand why some luxury condos are sold lower these days.  Here:
Luxury condominium oversupply in Kuala Lumpur

During Chinese New Year, the singles would always get asked when are they getting married. Seriously, a more responsible question may be, have you bought a property yet. If the answer is no, it’s best to stay single. Just my personal opinion. To those who argued that money is not important, then understand that the most major reason for arguments in marriages are almost always about money. A property guarantees nothing beyond that the couple can have something which will tie up some of their funds into an appreciating asset. I think this reason is already enough to push all couples to get a home. As for those intending to just rent, don’t worry too much. There are still lots of properties for rental today, owned by couples who believe in ‘getting married? Better with a home, please.

written on 22 Feb 2016

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The 6 steps of AirBnB property investing

Do you know that there are now over 31,900 AirBnB listings by property owners in Malaysia?
(Latest report in TheStar, dated 17 March 2018)
 Would you like to venture into this potentially lucrative short-term rental business? Many successful AirBnB property owners have reported profits which are above what they could from the longer term rentals. Please be reminded that not all property owners would achieve great success with the rental market, whether via AirBnB or long term rental. To maximize the potential for success, here are 6 steps to start our AirBnB property investing.

1.Finding a strategic location

This is not that hard to do these days. Just go to AirBnB.com, search for the location that you intend to buy or where your property is. Look for 3 things.

i. Are there units in the listing which already have lots of reviews? This indicates a good demand for the particular location.

ii. For these units with lots of reviews, look at what the reviews say. This helps us to understand the reasons why the units are popular.

iii. Look at the typical prices per night for different types of properties. Do some calculations. Conservatively, think about being able to rent out just the 8 weekend nights per month. By the way, once our unit has many good reviews, the number of nights that it could be rented out would trend upwards.

2. Local regulations

At the moment, there are no specific laws and regulations for AirBnB here in Malaysia. In other words, it is not illegal. Strata owners could also put up their units in AirBnB. However for strata owners, this depends on the management body which may decide during the AGM or EGM. Without an AGM or EGM which specifically bars owners from AirBnB, there are no restrictions.

3. Managing by ourselves or letting others do it

If our spouse is not working and has the time, it is possible to manage the rentals without the need for a third party. However, If we have a full time job, it may not be in our interest to manage it ourselves. We may ask the local real estate negotiators who may be willing to assist us on a profit-sharing basis or we could also check out lazyhost.co which provides a range of services for AirBnB hostings.

4. Accounting for all the costs

There are certainly fixed costs that we would need to be aware of. Initial investment would be to make sure the unit is comfortable. Please get lots of ideas from all the other more successful listings in AirBnB. As much as possible, DIY instead of getting a professional interior designer. Recurring costs include cleaning, electricity, water, usual servicing of the air-cond units and even the internet connection. (this last one is a MUST nowadays).

5. Set the right price

Right price here would mean we benchmark against all our ‘peers’ (similar units) in the same area. Remember, a good review is 75 percent of the battle won. It may be in our interest to start with a slightly lower rate and quickly gain many good reviews right from the beginning. Yes, it is also possible to rent to all your good friends first!

6. Expected returns from our AirBnB adventure

Everything starts from finding that property which we could change it to give us recurring incomes. This is usually a property which is well designed and not too expensive to begin with. Buy it from an established developer. In fact, this could be a lucrative ‘business’ venture which may even give us enough returns to get another unit in the future.

Happy hosting!

Article was first published in
1sendayanblog

Perhaps a look at a cool project in Kuala Lumpur?

written on 30 April 2018

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Matrix Concept Holdings: 28.6 percent net profit, healthy.

Pressure has been mounting on developers in terms of selling their projects. 2016 has been a pretty
‘slow’
 year. Remember an article earlier about how
creative has developers
 become? Many have started to offer rebates, discounts and many other different attractive promotions. Of course, if you ask me, whether developers of individual sellers,
desperation is not yet
 a word to describe them. Developers are also said to be pessimistic and even our neighbour
Singaporean developers
 are facing a tough time.

It should then be expected that listed developers would start showing worst net profit numbers, right? Well, one has just reported healthy set of net profits. Matrix Concepts Holdings Bhd posted a net profit of RM261.2 million on a revenue of RM912.2 million for the 15 months period ending March 2016. This gives it a net profit of 28.6 percent. (Matrix Concepts changed its reporting period from December 31 to March 31.) This percentage is likely to be one of the highest among listed developers.

Matrix Concepts have unbilled sales stood of RM621.4 million as at March 31, 2016 to be recognised until 2018. For the past 12 months, Matrix Concepts sold RM817.4 million of property sales across its flagship townships in Bandar Sri Sendayan in Negri Sembilan and Bandar Seri Impian in Johor. This is not considered a major developer nor is it on of those huge brands. Its results have however shown that with the right products, developers continue to do well. In brief, demand remain strong because property is a necessity. Let’s keep following all these to understand if the market is really bad or just the sentiment.

written on 20 May 2016

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