Donald, do not touch the tough regulations.

Yellen is a tough lady, Trump is meanwhile her President. I mean she’s an American and he’s the American President. As for acting in concert however, they are not the best pals. Yellen recently said that the next financial crisis should not happen within our life time. The reason was because the financial market has learnt its lessons and the regulations have been tightened. Guess what, President Donald Trump wanted to lift some of these regulations that prevent risky behaviour. Yellen said, “Already, for some, memories of this experience may be fading – memories of just how costly the financial crisis was.” She added, “The core reforms we have put in place have substantially boosted resilience without unduly limiting credit availability or economic growth.”
Full article in TheGuardian.com here.

In brief? Accommodative stance to support the economy but responsive lending guidelines to ensure only those who qualify gets the loan they applied for. Familiar? Haha.
BNM’s accommodative stance for the economy maintained
 What did Trump said he would do? He is listening to executives on Wall Street and Republicans in Congress for looser financial regulations to spur growth. (What growth? Growth in actual business / trades or just growth in financial terms?)  In brief, Trump wished to roll back some of the regulations introduced earlier. Back in February, Trump said, “I have so many people, friends of mine, that had nice businesses. They can’t borrow money. They just can’t get any money because the banks just won’t let them borrow it, because of the rules and regulations in Dodd-Frank.” (Well, as long as applicants qualify, I do not see the rationale NOT to lend them the money they applied for)

A lot more could be read here. Mainly arguments from both ends.
Full article in TheGuardian.com here.
 The Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was signed in 2010 and brought with it hundreds of new regulations including tougher consumer lending rules and the need for banks to hold bigger capital reserves. (I think this is HEALTHY) In terms of the winner from this ‘disagreement,’ from now till end of 2018, Yellen is still the Federal Reserve’s chair. Trump holds the key of whether to reappoint her after that. OOPS. The current Fed vice-chair of financial supervision prefers to lessen the burden of regulation. As usual, too tight and nothing happens. Too lose and the next crisis may come again sooner than we can say, ‘Again??’ Happy following. I am on Yellen’s side on this one.

written on 28 Aug 2017

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Dont buy leasehold property

I have to be honest, if prices are exactly the same and the location is the same, I would take freehold anytime. However, if you noticed, leasehold properties are typically cheaper. Perhaps 15-20% cheaper sometimes. Most of the time, the leasehold properties are also in good areas. As an example, Kelana Jaya.

A friend buying a new property for her own stay asked me if she should buy leasehold. She said her friends said, freehold is better. I said her friend is correct but is the leasehold property near her office, price is attractive and in a good location? She said yes to all. Then she said she scared because ONLY 99 years.

Let me explain as simple as I can. when you buy 99 years, you may be 30 years old. When you are 60 years old, your lease still have 60 years to go. By then your children is 30 years old. When you reach 90 years old and your son reaches 60 years old and your grandson reaches 30 years old, you still have 30 years left on your lease. When you are 120 years old, your son is 90 years old, your grandson is 60 years old and your grandson’s son is 30 years old, your lease expires. At that time, your grandson’s son’s son just born.

I hope you already get what I mean. If not, fine, please don’t buy leasehold. 🙂

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PLEASE don’t force renovation packages

PLEASE
 is in capital because this is only an advice. Penang Housing committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said that developers cannot force home purchasers of affordable homes to buy any renovation package. I assume this includes also additional car park package etc. Of course they are free to offer such packages but it must be on a willing buyer-willing seller basis. Under no circumstances that the buyer should be coerced to buy the package. In short, “Renovation packages are optional.” He also said that whatever the price and size announced should be the final price and not any additional number on top of the original price.

Personally, I am not sure how much can Jagdeep do to exert pressure on these developers. The buyers may be those who were approved by the state housing committee while the developer is not part of the state housing committee. However, I do believe that for these affordable projects, their plot density should have been increased and thus, the developer should be able to earn profits, even if it may be lower than usual projects. After all, if the price offered is just not possible, why are developers of these affordable homes offering it in the first place?

Maybe the best would be for all these buyers to always go to the press with the names of these unscrupulous developers. These days, news travel in seconds and I am not sure if the developer would want to be mentioned in a bad light. The one thing they can do? Well, for their next project, they can also register a new company name. Perhaps these affordable projects should only be handled by the established players whether big or small who has completed many projects? This ensures they are likely to be in this business for the long term and may be more reluctant to do things which may damage their image. Frankly, I am not sure if a totally new developer is able to be effective and efficient enough for all these affordable units project which is cheap and yet must still maintain quality and be completed on time. Let’s continue to share news against unfair practices then. Cheers.

written on 9 Apr 2015

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Don’t ‘kill’ your sales people yea… (HOT SUN)

Every time a sales person closes one property deal, the reward is pretty good. That is why some sales people (either from the developer or from a real estate agency) are willing to work long hours everyday because one sale is already equal to one new iPhone or more. Anyway, I had lunch with relatives in SS2 (PJ) today. It was 130pm (afternoon). One huge truck was parked in one of the roads. The truck was beautifully decorated and we can see that the back portion had been turned into a temporary cum mini sales gallery. I could see a few ladies seated inside the transparent back. The back portion must be made of high-grade and strong plastics I guess because even tempered glass would be a bit too fragile. All the ladies were seated and were fanning themselves. Yea, I think they are hot, I mean they must be feeling hot. (Temperature…) The particular project that the truck was marketing is a huge integrated one and the developer is a famous one.

Perhaps the first question is, who decided on such a ‘truck marketing,’ and second question is whether the person who decided has actually been on the truck at 130pm in the afternoon. Well, perhaps the air-condition on the truck has malfunctioned today? However, even with a strong air-con, it will still be warm inside the truck. It’s under the sun and it’s transparent… Are they really expecting customers to go up the truck and while listening to the explanation, sweating…? I did not try because I was rushing but I promise that I will try and listen to experience it first hand. Actually, if the truck is parked in some shaded area, it is a good marketing strategy. They are reaching out to more potential buyers on the streets and if the sales people were well trained, then the success rate would be pretty good.

Okay, if the question is whether this is a good or bad marketing tactic, well, perhaps it’s just an awesome idea which was not executed properly. Hey, maybe after reading this article, they would park that truck under some shaded areas in the near future? Coming back to the working environment. We must never ‘kill’ our sales people or for that matter, any of our staffs at all. It is extremely important to make sure they are comfortable. If we ask them to work under some stressful environment, it is highly likely that they would not be able to perform well. People seeing them (sales people) working in this kind of working environment, especially potential customers would also feel for them and this is negative for the developer. Oh yeah, it’s not just the sales people yeah. Any developer whose guard post is dilapidated and their guard is working in a stuffy little hut, I promise to give them a piece of my mind. We are fellow working people anyway. Stop ‘killing’ them and start motivating them instead. When they feel good, our results start to be good. Cheers.

written on 22 April 2018

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Kiss your sales goodbye

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Don’t rent to them lah, my thoughts on potential tenants

Do you have a property that you want to rent out? Or are you thinking of how to rent out your ‘extra’ property? I always think
renting out the unit for the very first time is scary
.

Come on, our property is at least a few hundred thousand Ringgit and we are renting it out to someone, usually a stranger who would be paying us just a few hundred or perhaps over a thousand ringgit? Here are some personal tips for your consideration, in choosing the right tenant. I say consideration because everyone would have their own way of choosing the tenant they like or filtering out potentially BAD ones. As long as it works, keep doing it. Do share here as well okay. I am still learning too. Oh yeah, the advice below is applicable more to someone renting out
fully furnished. It’s my favourite way of renting out.

1. Your Feeling. You do not have a good feeling about the potential tenant. Note, this is not like meeting your potential husband. This is JUST a tenant. If you don’t like, don’t rent. There is NO need to try to ‘give chance’ and evaluate before rejecting. Remember, ejecting them may be harder in future.

2. The Unrealistic Negotiator. After the viewing, they try their best to negotiate for a VERY much lower price by commenting that your home is not up to their expectations. Well, if not up to the expectations, it is great to view other cheaper units. For this type, I think they are just too calculative. Since I am not one, I would not rent out my unit to one.

3. The ‘Don’t Care’ type. Sorry but I really mind a lot about those who do not even take care of how they smell. Messy perhaps. Drunk the night before, perhaps. Did not wash their clothes? Perhaps. Whatever, does not matter. These are not my choice too. If they had just came from the gym, I think it’s best to shower and change before viewing.

4. The Secretive type. Come on, questions such as what do you do SHOULD be answered easily and directly. As the homeowner, I have no issues telling you what I do for a living but if you could not do the same, I think there’s something wrong with you. Yes, even if they tell they may be lying but chances are definitely lower to one who refuses to even tell.

5. The Threatening Type. They would not want to view unless you lower your rental. Fat chance, please try on others. I will never price myself out of the market for fully furnished but without even viewing you are already trying to negotiate lower? Just a note, fully furnished units mean they can move in just with their luggage…

6. The Missing in Action type. Hard to meet them. They ask their agents to be the middleman. It’s okay, just let them be. I prefer to meet my potential tenants before I say Yes. If it’s hard to meet them the first time, when you need to meet them in future, it would be almost impossible. Remember, at that time, you do not even have the agent to help you.

7. The Complaining Type. They are looking for a new place because their previous landlord was VERY BAD. It may be true,so asking them to explain why their landlord was bad may also reveal why their landlords were bad to them. Until today, I think my tenants’ relationships with me has been quite good. Somehow, all of them are successful! One is a corporate advisor (law grad), one bought a landed property in Penang island, one is a Marketing Manager, one is a Regional Manager and a few more.

8. The Foolish type. They came to view, knowing it is a fully furnished unit. Yet they ask if they could rent the unit without the furniture. If you say no, they would most probably say, how about lowering your rental. I would not negotiate at all. I would let them loose. I think they deserve a better landlord who would move the furniture out for them.

9. The Indirect one. Asking them how many people staying and they have to think for a while before answering. I am worried if they are going to sub-let my place and turn it into some crisis relief centre or a student ‘megamall’. Couples who are both working would be great.

10. The ‘Not-Enough-Money’ type. They asked if they can pay just one month advance and one month rental. The another month deposit, they want to pay later. This was a an actual issue for me and fortunately it was settled after a few months. I would not want to rent to these people ever again! Yes, it was not 100% okay even for me thus far.

Some other notes. Always sign a rental agreement. If they refuse, I also do not want them. A few hundred thousands worth of property from me versus just over a thousand ringgit rental from them every month, I think I stand to lose more. Always remember, renting to the wrong one is going to cost you lots of time, effort and money to move them out. There’s no guarantee that every tenant we have would be good people but we can try our best to reduce the possibilities. I have rented out mostly to working adults and once, students on internship for 8 months. For students, get their parents to be the one signing the agreement. All have ended well except for reason no. 10 above.  Please avoid these at all costs. Happy renting out fully furnished.

written on 18 Aug 2017

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Don’t simply buy Iskandar property because..

An article I read online said that even with the Ringgit’s depreciation, it’s not the best time for Singaporeans to buy Malaysian properties in Iskandar today. It gave three really real reasons. First is because of the incoming supply glut. It quoted Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Lawrence Wong who used data from Malaysia’s National Property Information Centre (NAPIC) to show that there are around 336,000 new private residential units in the pipeline. This 336,000 is more than the total number of private homes in Singapore. Well, I do hope the writer would give an idea on when would these 336,000 units be completed. Are they all going to be completed next year? (I do not think so)

Secondly, I also hope the writer would also state very clearly, how many number of private homes are there in Singapore. This is because from my little understanding, majority of anyone and everyone could not afford a private home in Singapore. Even for many managers, they are still staying in HDB apartments, just bigger ones. Of course, if they buy and stay in Iskandar today, it is crazy to travel to and fro because of the jams every morning.

It also said that Malaysia has ‘country risk.’ It quoted the many protests asking for the resignation of current Prime Minister and even said they have concerns about how the central bank is managing its foreign currency reserves as well as quoting one bank UBS as saying that Malaysia’s risks are no better than Mexico. It then concluded that political and economic stability are two key pillars and that if these are shaky, investors would all flee. I hope they would also listen to many more banks’ analysis. I hope they would also look at the current ratings for Malaysia from all the three rating agencies. I also hope they outline very clearly the actual foreign reserve positions versus the short-term debt and I hope they DARE to compare this to the so-called more advanced nation which everyone looks so high today.

Last, they said that during good times, Malaysia doubled the minimum price of homes that foreigners could buy to RM1 million. They said this before saying that Malaysia has also raised the capital gains tax to 30 percent of properties bought by foreigners and sold within five years of purchase. Honestly, are these cooling measures applicable to ONLY Malaysia? Secondly, if you are a foreigner looking to buy and stay, WHY would you be interested to buy and sell within 5 years? It then said that when compared to Singapore, the risk seems to be worth taking but you may not be able to dispose the property easily when the value falls below RM1 million. I agree fully to this particular statement. I also hope this is the case so that Malaysia can attract longer term buyers and not just the speculative ones.

I have no properties in Iskandar or Johor Bahru today. I also have no intention to buy one within 2015. Perhaps not even within 2016. My focus remain to be Greater KL. However, to simply write an article about Iskandar by hiding some facts here and there is totally unfair. Come on, write an objective one. Iskandar is actually a great place to complement Singapore’s continuous growth. It has never and would never be a competitor to the Singaporean property market. HOWEVER, I do not believe the prices should be too high. For example, when some prices hit RM850 psf no matter how luxurious the developer say their project is, I told my friend, ‘this is stupid and crazy and I wish people who buy all the best.’ However, if the prices remain just around the same value as a typical HDB flat in Singapore, I think this remains a good option. Looking ahead, the only issue is the linkage. Without more linkages to reduce travelling time, nothing further will happen. Happy skipping or jumping in. It’s a decision everyone should be responsible for.

written on 12 Sept 2015

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Don’t simply say, be careful in Singapore yeah.

I personally like a T-shirt design in Singapore. It’s the “Singapore is a FINE city.” If you think this is a bad thing, you are very wrong. The reason why it’s so clean, so organised and so real is because whatever they do, they take it seriously. If you speed, you are getting a ticket for sure and not many would even want to try flouting the non-smoking zones. The latest one? Stop any “misleading, speculative and cannot be substantiated claims,” This was reported by Channel NewsAsia.

It was from a recommendation from the Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore – an advisory council under the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE). The reason for this is because they would like to protect Singaporeans who are buying overseas. I think this will continue to increase as the SGD has been strong thus far even if it is depreciating versus the US$. These new guidelines would raise the usual standards of disclosures like warnings and qualifications to ensure a sufficient highlight of potential investment risks. Of course, this applies to ALL external advertisers who are trying to lure Singaporean investors.

It seems that the number of cases are increasing. The Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore received 41 complaints of which the cases were due to  advertisements promising high, guaranteed returns and the advertisements lack sufficient warning against risks. The new changes are to compel advertisers to clearly provide information about the development and features of the property, including tax liabilities and potential ownership restrictions. The new guidelines have taken effect since 12 August 2014. A grace period of 3 months are given to media owners and advertisers with contracts signed before the effective date.

I love this new rule. Come on, be real, how many times have we been cheated by these advertisements? One latest case here:
Property investment: It’s not always rosy

It may not be such a huge case. Sometimes, the developers would advertise the price in huge and bold numbers but did not tell us that even though it’s a condominium, only one car park is given. Some would even put in their advertisements about, ‘Last 4 days.’ Yet, when you happen to view their project one week later, the price was still applicable! My cousin sister got ‘cheated’ this way to place deposit. Anyway, she liked the place, so she was okay. Last but not least, can Malaysia do the same? Enforce the same rules? I certainly hope so because this is definitely a good benchmark where advertisements are concerned. Do note that there are also claims in advertisements in Malaysia from overseas developers too. Some promises sounded so real that it could not be….. Happy buying, carefully.

written on 23 Aug 2015

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Don’t worry? GDP contracted by 17.1% Q2 2020.

This was the title in an article in
channelnewsasia.com, “Malaysia economy contracts 17.1% in 2nd quarter, worst slump since 1998 financial crisis”
 (yeah, you can click to read the article if you like). Briefly, it looks bad, really bad when it comes to the GDP of Malaysia for Q2 2020. When the economy is in lockdown, nothing happens and this was what happened. Private consumption suddenly just vanished into thin air beginning 18th March when the Movement Control Order started.

Is this the end for Malaysia, ONLY?

Well, to put things in perspective, Singapore’s GDP contracted by over 40% in Q2 2020. (click to read)
   Meanwhile the largest economy in the world,
USA’s GDP for Q2 contracted by 30% in Q2 2020. (Click here to read)
  UK’s economy shrank
by 20% in Q2 2020 due to COVID-19 effects. (click here to read)
 Now, for some good news.
Malaysia’s largest trading partner, China’s GDP for Q2 2020 has returned into positive territory. It grew 3.2%.
The reason why I have to mention what is happening in the world is because some Malaysians thought Malaysia is the only country in the world with a negative GDP growth…

Article in theedgemarkets.com
  With such an unexpected worst contraction versus forecasted Q2 GDP number, MIDF has revised downwards Malaysia’s gross domestic product from -2.1% to -4.8%. This was what MIDF said. It said that based on recent developments and indicators, the economy is set to improve but sentiments remain weak due to uncertainty over COVID-19 and these would be affecting growth moving forward; political situation, rising protectionism and geopolitical tensions. As the country’s border remained shut and there’s high unemployment, this will affect private consumption which is the biggest drive of the economy. MIDF said that the stimulus package and overnight policy rate (OPR) cuts would likely cushion some of these impacts. Do refer to the full article here.
Article in theedgemarkets.com

What happens moving forward?

This was an article recently pointing a U-shaped recovery in ASEAN led by China.
China will lead U-shaped recovery in ASEAN
  So, am I so confident that Malaysia’s economy will be on a recovery mode from now onwards?  Let me share three things as a common Malaysian.

#1 is that it’s now much harder to find a parking spot in Mid Valley shopping mall and this started since few weeks ago.

#2 I was given a number 12 queuing spot when I was at Chillis in 1 Utama and

#3 All the sales galleries I went to in Rawang two weeks ago, all were doing well and a few told me to wait for the next upcoming launch because the current phase is sold out or down to the last 5 units.

My wish?

If I could choose what’s coming up in Q3 GDP number, I will choose to see a better number than Q2 GDP 2020. I believe it should be happening.  Oh yeah, in the mean time, continue to spend and help the SMEs in Malaysia yeah. All these would help to carry multiplier effects and that RM50 you spend may just have an effect of RM200 to the economy. Happy enjoying your favourite food and coffee (local coffee… local cafes) too.

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About the unsold units? We still need more units, actually.

Do we worry about the ‘extremely high’ unsold units yet? We should worry if all these unsold units are very cheap and in awesome locations and yet nobody wants to buy because they could not afford. Maybe it is because the job market is bad. No one could afford because they do not have a job. However, if all these unsold units are VERY EXPENSIVE, then quickly look at the whole market. If the whole market is full of only super expensive properties, a property bubble crisis is looking. It will burst soon.
So, what are the other signs for a property bubble to burst?

Anyway, should we be worried about these unsold units? Well, I think it depends on who we represent. For the authorities, this is worrying because it may signify some weaknesses with the market demand vs supply. For the developers with these unsold units, they would need a lot more strategies to sell the units sooner rather than later. Every quarter new projects are launched which meant competition gets tougher. For the buyers, actually nothing has happened, yet.  Just view and buy objectively and everything will be just fine.

Full article in Edgeprop here.

According to Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia (REHDA), in terms of residential properties, Malaysia is still short of 3.2 million homes. REHDA President Datuk Seri FD Iskandar Mohamed Mansor said, “We concur with Bank Negara that we are also concerned over the number of commercial, office and retail spaces that are coming to the market, because the incoming numbers definitely outstrip the demand.”  (This meant he agree that commercial properties have issues because the incoming supply is far higher than the demand for them. Market needs time to absorb them all)  He shared why he said Malaysia needs more residential properties. Malaysia’s population is expected to increase by almost 2.8% from 32.1 million to about 32.99 million by end-2018. However, latest data from the National Property Information Centre (Napic) showed that there are only 5.1 million homes in the market.

He added, “Today’s household size is shrinking to four people per household from 5.2 people five years ago and six over people 10 years ago. If you take the 33 million population and divide by four people per household, you will get about 8.3 million homes. But now we only have 5.1 million homes according to Napic’s data, so we are still short of 3.2 million homes.”  As for the unsold units, 45 percent were priced from RM500,001 – RM1 million. (Hopefully everyone can understand now why there are so many unsold units. The price is just too high for many to get their loans approved based on their current income! Perhaps we need to wait a bit?)  were not sold over the past three years.  FD Iskandar also urged banks to provide higher financing margins of at least 90 – 95 percent to homebuyers because these homebuyers just could not come up with the upfront cost.
That full article again for your reference.

Conclusion? Residential homes are still

needed based on the population growth in Malaysia.

Huge shortage in fact. Commercial properties may not be that easy nut to crack currently, buy very carefully. Please SAVE the downpayment and not buy every time there’s something we like! Remember, when the majority are not saving, we will be heads and shoulders above the
rest when we have enough to buy a property.

Frankly, I disagree that banks should lower their lending standards but I agree that sometimes they should also be more pro-active instead of relying on just some statistics to decide whether to approve or not. Happy following yeah.

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written on 21 April 2018

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Double storey terrace in Kota Kinabalu outskirt is now RM450,000. Is this expensive when compared to outskirts in KL? For example Sungai Buloh? How about mainland of Penang? RM450,000 is not actually expensive. However, in 2007, the same property was just RM210,000. Now, it does seem high. This is an increase of 11.5% per year. Major reasons? The usual stuffs, land prices going up, building materials and labour costs. Oh yeah, including the fact that these developers wanted to maintain the same margin. Why is Kota Kinabalu properties so popular? Well, it is the capital of Sabah. Thus, with urbanisation, it meant that the population from smaller towns would be flocking to Kota Kinabalu. This meant a continuous stream of new demand and thus the price increase.

I fly to Kota Kinabalu on a yearly basis. I have successfully climbed the Mount Kinabalu before. When I arrived at the top, I realised that majority of the climbers are non Malaysians. I realised then that Kota Kinabalu is visited by a huge number of tourists. Kota Kinabalu airport confirmed it. It’s the second busiest airport in Malaysia, losing only to Kuala Lumpur and beating even the Penang International Airport which is expected to reach full capacity by 2017. Kota Kinabalu’s airport’s extension and upgrading would be completed by January 2015. This meant the number of tourists arrivals would increase even further. You may ask what does tourist number has to do with property prices.

Briefly. Tourism numbers increase, accommodation needs increases and more hotels open, food consumption increases and more restaurants open, flight numbers increase and this spurs more economic activities. With higher earnings, where do these people spend their money? Actually, property is a good way to invest their hard earned money because at this particular moment, the malls in Kota Kinabalu are still nowhere near those in Kuala Lumpur. Yes, there’s 1Borneo but I could not rate it on the same level as established malls like Paradigm or Setia City Mall. We have not yet included those who were in KK for MM2H too.

Ok, I seriously do not think the prices can still continue its 11% growth per year. At RM450,000 it is already considered expensive because the salary range for jobs in Kota Kinabalu is without doubt lower than Kuala Lumpur. Nevertheless I see Kota Kinabalu as the beacon of property development for the state of Sabah and I seriously do think that its worth a look, especially for some diversification purpose. Just like its tourism sector which is still growing rapidly, the prices would continue inching up until everyone said, ‘no more, I could not afford. Better rent’.

written on 3 Oct 2014

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Two brands I like. Same company, soon? Money flowing into Malaysia, good.

On a daily basis, I drink two cups of coffee. Usually, one of it would be white coffee and another would be instant coffee with milk. Occasionally, when I am with friends, then it looks ‘classier’ to have a latte in cafes, usually Starbucks. (I prefer Coffee Bean though. 😛 )  One white coffee brand I like is definitely Old Town but my most favourite white coffee brand is actually Chek Hup White Coffee.  Both came from Ipoh, so it’s okay. For instant coffee, the brand I love the most thus far is Moccona by Jacobs Douwe Egberts. Yes, I prefer it over brands such as Nescafe, Indocafe. It’s a little more expensive but I think it’s value for money when it comes to enjoyment. Guess what, OldTown would soon be a part of Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE). HDE will be acquiring a majority stake in OldTown Berhad $361 million (RM1.472 billion). OldTown Berhad has 232 outlets, mostly in Malaysia. here’s that
full article in dealstreetasia.com

Can add Malaysia soon…

I dislike companies which continues to take money from
new investors and yet kept reporting losses year after year.

OldTown Berhad is a profitable company and JDE too. As per the article, Lee Siew Heng, group managing director of OldTown said, “We are deeply honored that JDE recognizes the powerful brand and platform that we have tirelessly built over the past 18 years. We strongly believe JDE is the ideal partner as we continue to serve best-in-class products to our customers. We look forward to drawing on JDE’s deep global expertise and building a highly successful partnership with them.” Jacobs Douwe Egberts Holdings is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Netherland-based Jacobs Douwe Egberts B.V (JDE) which offers well-known coffee and tea brands like Jacobs, Tassimo, Moccona, Senseo, L’OR and Douwe Egberts in over 120 countries. Fabien Simon, CFO of JDE said, “The OldTown team is focused on delivering premium, high-quality products to consumers and we see huge potential in the business. We are excited to work with the OldTown team to rapidly grow the business as part of the broader JDE platform.”
full article in dealstreetasia.com

Perhaps now we will see OldTown White Coffee is even more countries. How about over 50 countries from the current 17 mentioned in the article? Frankly, OldTown white coffee is a very popular souvenir of all my ex-colleagues from everywhere in ASEAN thus far. In fact, my Hawaii uncle likes it a lot and every year I would send him a few packs. Actually, the cost of sending over is far higher than the cost of those few packs. Haha. I personally think it’s important for Malaysian brands to continue its expansion into the world market. We have way too many good things to share with the world. With the money what can the shareholders of OldTown do? Actually, a lot. Perhaps even go into full fledged property developer? Haha. Just a wild guess.

In case you still do not know why Ipoh whitecoffee is called as such, here’s a simple explanation by Wiki for which I have known for quite some time. Wikipedia:  Traditionally, Malaysian style ‘black’ coffee roast (Kopi-O) is produced by roasting the beans with sugar, margarine and wheat.
[2]
‘White’ coffee, on the other hand, is produced with only
margarine
 and without any sugar, resulting in a less dark roast. Ipoh White Coffee is also widely available in an
instant
 version.
[1]
 It is sometimes consumed after dinner.
[3]
The generic term ‘Ipoh white coffee’ in Chinese is “?????” commonly meaning white, has nothing to do with the colour in this instance, but is rather a reference to the way the coffee is roasted. In Chinese, Bái also means ‘without’ or ‘unadulterated’,
[4]
 nothing has been added to the coffee during the roasting process. Happy enjoying this success all the awesome people who has brought OldTown to this stage of growth from 1999.

written on 24 Dec 2017

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The more cafes in the neighbourhood, the higher the property price?

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Down 20% up 45%, down again by 20% and up again by 45%

According to Raine & Horne Malaysia (Penang) senior partner Michael Geh, during the 1986 recession, property prices dropped 20% over a two year period but during the seven year upturn after that, prices went up 45%. This was seen again during the 1997/98 Asian financial crisis where prices went down 20% but rose by as much as 45% after that for a continuous seven years or so. We could see this again during the periods of 2008-2010. Property prices again went down by 20% but beginning 2009, it has been rising and even up till the latest date, despite transactions dropping continuously, prices kept rising.

These trends mirror the demand and supply. During tough times, majority of everyone would not want to take up additional risk, thus demand softened and this caused prices to go down even if supply also went down due to the tougher times. However, as they said, it is during these times that many opportunities exist. Imagine someone who happened to have some money and braved himself to buy one unit 20% below its usual price. As soon as the economy recover, prices quickly went up and this lucky man has just gotten huge returns beyond his wildest dreams. Imagine paying RM40,000 downpayment for a RM400,000 property which used to be RM500,000.  As soon as the recovery started, prices went back to RM500,000 within 2 years. Total gross ROI would have been a massive 125% per annum!

The latest data still showed prices moving up despite lower transactions. However, one reason for this is also because during these uncertain times, those who are still buying properties are definitely those who can afford it instead of the borderline cases. With stricter guidelines, think objectively, whose loan applications would be rejected? These would be those who are trying ti buy affordable properties. Without the inclusion of these more affordable secondary properties into the national average, we can see that the overall prices continue to go up. If the affordable homes start to flood the market beginning next year since all the huge affordable schemes were started only two years ago, we would see a moderation of average prices.

Therefore, it is important for buyers to buy if they need a place to stay. This is not the time when you simply buy, buy, buy because you fear the mortgage going up by another 25 basis points. Some fear GST and thus are buying now. Do remember, GST is a on-off increase. This one off increase should not be your reason to buy as well. Statistics are for our reference. Any interpretations from any parties should always be cautiously examined. No developer would tell you that property prices will drop. Happy buying your home sweet home.

written on 17 July 2014.

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Down 40% since 2012 because of strict cooling measures beginning 2009?

I have been to Singapore 8 times within this year. I have been to Sentosa a few times.  It’s always full of activities even if the sand feels a bit rough and it’s not the usual white sandy beaches you find in natural islands. These days, the property prices in Singapore, especially the luxury ones have fallen. I just read an article quoting Alan Cheong, a Singapore-based director at broker Savills Pls saying that prices in Sentosa island have fallen to the 2008 levels. 2008, if you remember was the year of mortgage crisis in USA and it affected many investors including Temasek of Singapore which lost billions in their investments overseas. If prices have fallen to 2008 levels, should it not start to rise again since this is likely the bottom?

Many have pointed at the Singapore government’s cooling measures as a key component for this. For example, the additional taxes for foreigners when they buy residential properties were raise to 15% and when this is included to the stamp duty rate of 3%, it meant that as soon as any foreigner buys, they ‘lost’ 18%. Selling within the first year incurs another 16 percent. Actually, is it due to just these measures? I think it is more than this. I think the main reason for this correction has to do much more with the actual pricing as well as the demand. When the prices went up way too much compared to the usual fundamentals, plus they were supported more by the foreign purchasers guess what happens when the tide turns? These foreigners can easily just sell and move elsewhere.

This can happen to many projects in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Iskandar too. The only question is just time. Seriously, how many can continue to afford RM1 million condos or anything higher than RM1,000 psf? A view of KLCC and a small unit may mean RM1,600 psf. Prices for sea view luxury condos can hit RM1,200 – RM1,500 psf in Penang. Of course for Iskandar, it has started. 13.5% drop for 2014 compared to last year. Maybe because it is nearest to Sentosa, thus the sentiment is stronger. A friend just told me the other day about a potential RM700,000 property going to RM850,000 in 4 years. Total square feet of just 1,000. I told her I have no answer.  As the head of a family with a wife, a baby daughter and another new baby next April, I would not pay RM850,000 for a 1,000sf condo. No matter what the view may be. It’s just too small and I would rather buy slightly further away for a lower price and a bigger unit, plus a hill view or swimming pool view. Oh yeah, that’s why I did. Haha.

Remember, whatever the cooling measures may be, if sentiment remain to be bullish, cooling measures will only kick in after some time. This has happened. Thus, stay objective and think before you buy. Would you pay more in 4 years time? If you say Yes, then sure, please buy.

written on 7 Nov 2014

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Press Release: PropertyGuru- Downward Trend in Asking Prices Leading into 2021

Kuala Lumpur, 17 November 2020 –
Malaysia’s economic outlook of the property market is still facing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and has impacted Q3 2020. PropertyGuru Malaysia’s Property Market Index (MPMI) report reveals a downward trend in asking prices across all four key markets of Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang and Johor.

Overall property asking prices in Malaysia dropped by 1.34% this quarter; in contrast to the 0.38% increase registered in Q2 and 0.63% increase in the first quarter of 2020. For the first time this year, all key markets saw a fall in prices, indicating that this could be more than a quick dip.

With the latest implementation of the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) after cases increased in a majority of states, PropertyGuru, Malaysia’s leading and largest property site believes that under these new restrictions, current and future commercial activity will be impacted. This leads to a dampening effect on asking prices and the overall property market.

Johor registered the sharpest decline in Q3, where asking prices fell by 2.97%. Kuala Lumpur and Selangor projected weak figures as well with 1.35% and 1.04% contraction respectively.

Penang saw a slight contraction of 0.64% this quarter. With a slight downward dip in asking prices, Penang is a stable haven for those who wish to preserve their assets through property investments.

Silver Lining For Millennials & Upgraders

Properties priced below RM700,000 See Fresh Interest.

According to the
National Property Information Centre (NAPIC)
’s Property Market Report, H1 2020, the Malaysian House Price Index saw a marginal quarterly decline of 0.7% from the first quarter.

The report indicates that asking prices may continue to take a dip in the months to come. Despite these findings, there is a silver lining as it may unlock pent-up demand for millennials looking for affordable homes.

“With the loss of income and employment brought on by COVID-19, the property market and economy at large needs time to recover. The impact of the COVID-19 outbreak is undeniable, and it will take time to get the economy back on track as many Malaysians struggle with the loss of income and employment.

“Our
recent study
 has shown that up to 81% of the Malaysians we surveyed have the intention to own their own homes by 2021. Properties priced below RM700,000 are seeing interest as many are eager to upgrade or pursue bigger spaces after the discomfort experienced during the lockdown,” said Sheldon Fernandez, Country Manager, PropertyGuru Malaysia.

Supply Of New Properties on the Rise

Selangor Leads with 23.55% Growth followed by Penang, Johor & KL

Based on PropertyGuru’s MPMI report, overall new property supply rebounded and has increased by 19.80% this quarter.

A 10.14% growth was captured on a year-on-year basis, an indication of an upward moving trend. This inclination reflects the easing of the Movement Control Order (MCO) in the first half of the year, with the return of commercial activity.

“Overall, Selangor records the largest increase in supply of new properties by 23.55% this quarter. Market watchers continue to be confident of the state’s long-term prospect, despite it facing the second-largest overhang in the country,” adds Fernandez.

The supply growth follows with Penang (20.30%), Kuala Lumpur (14.39%) and Johor (18.36%) rising quarter to quarter.

Johor Faces Largest Overhang in the Country

Penang Safe Haven For Property Investment

With
6,166 unsold completed units in the market
, Johor is the state with the largest number of overhang properties in the country.

The state also registered the sharpest drop in asking prices. Nevertheless, the downward trending price might be favourable for Johor as it may appeal better to the domestic market, which has seen an increase in its online activity on the region’s properties.
“As for Kuala Lumpur, it is going through a challenging period with weakened interest from foreign investors leaving an unsold upmarket stock that is mismatched with local appetites and affordability range,” added Fernandez.
Based on
 NAPIC’s
 H1 2020 report, Malaysia’s residential overhang rose 3.3% to 31,661 unsold completed units worth RM20.03 billion during the first half of 2020, compared to the 30,664 units valued at RM18.82 billion over the same period last year.

Opportunities Abound In Light of Challenges

All does not look bleak as there are factors in place to mitigate the risk of financial stability, whereby
Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM)
 is extending 80% of loans for homes that are owner-occupied. The extension substantially reduces the likelihood of borrowers defaulting on their loans.

“Moving forward into 2021 with a climate of lower property prices, expect to see renewed interest and activity among younger buyers who have been actively saving for a property purchase, but have so far been priced out of the market,” said Fernandez.

“Certain hotspots in key interest areas have shown a spike in website traffic which leads us to leverage on the fact that
 75% of Malaysians rely on property portals
 as a preferred starting point for their homeownership journey.

“This trend reflects a broader shift to digital tools in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic with PropertyGuru launching the region’s first
Asia Virtual Property Expo
, covering ten countries and featuring up to 300 projects – all in one central location.

“Essentially, stay safe and search for your dream home from the comforts of wherever you are,” he further added.

For more info, please visit:
https://avpe.propertyguru.com.my/
.

— End Of Press Release —

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Dream on. Dream away or even start dreaming.

How many talks / seminars have we heard the speaker talking about the
property market recovery in 2017, 2018, 2019 or even 2020?
 I am very sure some of them have good credentials and some would be quoting statistics while some may be paid to speak. Haha. My personal view? There’s nothing wrong to listen and believe those you want to believe.

A better question an individual investor should think about is whether that particular property he is buying is worth buying or not. A real example. Buying a property for rental next to a very famous university. You happened to know the owner and he wanted to migrate and thus is selling the property cheaper than the market by 15 percent. When you buy this property, it’s called calculated risk because you have a buffer of 15 percent even in the event of a bad market PLUS your property is next to a famous university. The rental will always be continuous. Does it have to depend on when will the property market be up or down or whatever?

A Facebook reader was commenting about this article:
Is the property market really ‘coming back?’
He said, all these predictions are merely, ‘dream on!’ My reply:
“perhaps even 2019 or 2020 or beyond. 😛 I love predictions too. Haha..”
Truth is, I do not really care that much about predictions. Not just those relating to timing but also those related to some awesome developments.

Seriously, when we go to some of these talks sponsored by developers, can we say the speaker is fully neutral? However, do we think that the speaker is accepting a small payment from the developer and tell all lies and then destroys his reputation forever? He wants to continue speaking for other developers too.. right? That’s why his views are still worth listening because it includes lots of knowledge we could learn.

Plus we could ask questions and pick his mind too. Once we have read a lot more, listened a lot more, then whatever is being predicted or being said would make more sense to us. Very good example, assuming recovery predicted in 2018 and we believe it, so do we do NOTHING now or must take quick actions now?

If we intend to start investing, we need to start dreaming of owning one. In our dream, it should include all those things we want to do with the property. It should also include
how much we could really afford.

It should also include some future proofing, for example some primary schools nearby if we have young kids. Today of course,it’s better if it’s within 15 minutes away from any MRT station right.

What it means here is that the dream needs to be a more thorough dream. It must not end with ‘Should I buy? or should I not buy? That’s not a dream even. It’s just a sporadic thought which is going nowhere! You know, one day when we start to hate our job, we should also start
to dream about changing job.

Where, when, what and even how. If we are merely stopping at, ‘I am so stressed from my job’ and in the end do nothing, well, nothing happens. Dream on, dream away or start dreaming? Happy deciding.

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written on 22 July 2017

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Dream comes true with a Dream Home for a paralysed scholar

Fancy a home in Selangor? The below is a feel-good news to share. Sometimes, the dream to own a dream home could come true.

Press Release:  Over 130,000 Malaysians Come Together To Gift Paralysed Scholar A Home

Kuala Lumpur, 27
July 2021:
A paralysed scholar’s dream of owning a home came true today when he was gifted with a freehold, fully-furnished home at Tropicana Metropark, Subang Jaya thanks to PropertyGuru, and Tropicana Corporation Berhad, an award-winning Top 10 Developer in Malaysia as well as over 130,000 Malaysians who voted to change his life.

As a person living with physical limitations, Dr. Basri bin Husin’s dream of having his own space was more than a simple desire. Wheelchair-bound and limited by his partial paralysis, he finds his independence constantly hindered by his body’s limitations, but constantly pushes past his obstacles without fail. Through his moving story about his search for a home that suits him and his family’s needs, the 39-year-old touched the hearts of the many Malaysians, who came together and took action in voting for him as most deserving to own the unit worth over RM600,000.

Due to his experience of living in an unsanitary neighbourhood which resulted in his waist down paralysis, Dr. Basri was determined to ensure his family would never again have to be at such a risk. Pushing his personal afflictions aside, Dr. Basri dove back into his PhD studies in Universiti Malaya with renewed vigour, knowing that completing his higher education would only result in better career opportunities that can help him support his family and bring him a step closer to his homeownership aspiration. This life milestone that he has been working tirelessly towards has been achieved much earlier with the help of Malaysians nationwide.

Dr. Basri shared, “It warms my heart to see so many Malaysians come together to support me in the PropertyGuru Home Giveaway initiative. My wife and I are currently renting a Rumah Malaysia unit (formerly known as People’s Housing Project or PPR home) for our family of four with two young children. My salary as a research assistant and her earnings from her part-time work all go towards our rental and daily expenses. We never thought we would be able to own a brand-new home in such a prime location. Our lives have changed forever, and we are forever thankful for everyone who has helped play a part in supporting us.”

Knowing her husband’s desire of having a space that enables his independence, Dr. Basri’s wife nominated him for the PropertyGuru Home Giveaway initiative, as she realised that Tropicana Metropark has what he both wants and needs. The serviced residences are in a mature location that has easy accessibility and connectivity that would not only encourage Dr. Basri’s independence but also provide a good living environment for their family with a 9.2-acre urban park ideal for their children to play in. Following the nomination, and along with four other finalists, Dr. Basri was then shortlisted among 1,000 entries. His story received the greatest number of votes from Malaysians who wanted to play a part in helping him own his first home.
Here
 is his reaction when he found out that his dream came true and he would be walking away with a free home.

The PropertyGuru Home Giveaway initiative is PropertyGuru’s way of giving back to Malaysians at an unprecedented time when the country and its people are faced with a weak economy due to COVID-19. In
PropertyGuru’s H1 2021 Consumer Sentiment Study
, Malaysians continue to cite an inability to afford the down payment and unstable job salaries as the top barriers to taking on a home loan, signifying that the dream of owning a home is still elusive for many.

Sheldon Fernandez, Country Manager of PropertyGuru, said, “Owning a home has been a financial milestone that’s hard to reach for many Malaysians even prior to the pandemic, and we’re glad to be able to help one deserving Malaysian like Dr. Basri make his dream of owning a home come true. While the ‘PropertyGuru Home Giveaway’ campaign has ended, we will continue to support Malaysians on their homeownership journeys, by serving them with the right properties, insights, and solutions to make confident property decisions.”

There are currently several housing schemes available which Malaysians of various income groups can benefit from, such as, Rent-to-Own (RTO) scheme, and the Home Ownership Campaign (HOC). For more information and guidance in finding the right home, visit PropertyGuru’s resource page at:
https://www.propertyguru.com.my/property-resources

— end of press release —

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Dream home? It does not happen now.

What’s your dream home? A bungalow with lots of land around the house and you could even drive a car around the house? A luxury condo with a 12 feet ceiling height and an olympic size swimming pool within a super low density development of say 100 units? An affordable apartment of 900 sq ft and priced at RM288,000? Or perhaps just a roof over the head, close to the place of work and near enough to the grocery shop and restaurants?

To everyone who’s thinking of a dream home, stop dreaming. When we first started working, our dream home will be one that stretches our income to the limit or perhaps we need help from the PA-MA (father and mother) bank too. My dream home when I was 25 years old? An apartment of 730 sq ft.  My dream home when I was 27 years old? A 1,258 sq ft condominium in a secondary area in Penang. (That’s what my salary could afford!)

However, when we rise up the corporate career ladder, our dream home when we were earning much lower salaries will change too. The new dream home will again stretch our income to the limit because now we want something even more expensive because it shows our social status… This does not stop here yeah.

If we suddenly become a CEO one day (earning millions of ringgit per year), then the dream home will change again. Perhaps the only difference then is that when that day arrives, our dream home can be most of the homes in Malaysia and need not be an aspiration anymore. This is why there is no need to stretch ourselves so much that we become a
mortgage slave (read here to know what is a mortgage slave).

It is much more important to buy a place which we could stay for a couple of years and during those years to keep earning higher salaries and saving ever more money. Once we found a property which we see as an upgrade to the one we were staying, go for it. As for the one we were staying, we could sell it for capital gains or even rent it out for continuous rental yield. If we had hold it for 5 years, chances are the rental could give us a positive yield already.

I said, chances okay. There’s no guarantee. However, what has happened when we bought that second property is that we now have two properties instead of only half-dead paying for one…  A dream home should be an ever evolving one yeah. It’s definitely not that first property which you want to buy to impress your peers… Oh yeah, that applies for a car too. Buy a convenience (transportation) and not buy a suffering (paying through the nose every month.  Cheers.

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5 reasons why your dream home will stop being your dream home

My story about my dream home

I started working when I was 21 years old, right after graduating with my first degree. Yes, I subsequently studied hard for an MBA. I purchased my first home, yes it’s my dream home based on my salary at the time. It was an apartment of 730 sq ft with everything I wanted. A big living room which meant the other rooms are smaller, a dining area and a kitchen which is separated from the dining area. I renovated it lah.

After a few years, I realised my dream home is something bigger… with better facilities… so I bought another place and moved. This happened again when I moved to KL and then happened again after 1 year staying in that home and then I have news of my second baby; my son. So, I am now staying in my 4th home. In Q1 2023, I will move again and that will be my 5th home. Since I have experience with buying 5 own-stay homes, let me share 5 reasons why that dream home will always keep changing.

#1 – Income will grow

I really do wish everyone will continue to earn ever higher income with every passing year. A very simple example, we could have started as an officer, work very hard and we will soon be an assistant manager. Upgrade ourselves further especially on communications and leadership and soon we will be a manager and with experience we will soon be a senior manager when we are close to 40.

With all these income changes… we usually would want a bigger and better home to reflect our changing social status too… That’s why demand for homes are growing every year.

#2 – Trends will change

There were times when homes within the city centre was the choice of everyone. These days, look at the top 10 fastest growing list of property transactions and one would see that most of the names on the list are not in the city centre. There are many reasons but one of it is also because now working from home is becoming more of a norm.

People also want more space versus buying a smaller place in the city centre. This trend of staying further for bigger is not just in Malaysia. It’s everywhere around the world, Melbourne, Sydney, London and even Singapore… Not everyone can afford to stay close to Orchard…

#3 – Needs will change

I had just my wife when I moved into my first home. It’s good enough and we were comfortable. Then, we wanted a baby when we moved into our 2nd home. So, we bought an extra car park space too since my wife would need to drive.

Then, we realised we needed more space when baby number 2 was on the way. So, we bought a bigger place with sufficient car parks and a big park for the kids to run around when they could. By the way, it’s not just the baby yeah. It can also be your parents who wants to stay with you. It could also be your sister who is now studying at a university nearby your home. Basically, the needs for that home will keep changing.

#4 – Career will change

Studies have shown that nearly no one works for more than 5 years with a company these days. Gone are the days when we have one big group of people on stage for their 5 years anniversary with the company. When we change our job, we may need a new home. Else, we may need to only look for jobs nearby our home?

That’s not all, some may be moving to a different city altogether when they get that promotion opportunity. When this happens, the home will also have to change. This is why property transactions continue to happen yeah. Someone would love your earlier home. Sell it and let them enjoy it.

#5 – Partner may change…

I do hope not but these circumstances do happen. We cannot be staying at the same place if we are no longer in relationship with the person whom we bought the home with. One may have to move or even two will move since staying at the same place does not seem right especially when a new partner emerges.

Conclusion

By the way, the reasons to move on from that earlier dream home are endless. Many people move for many other reasons. This is why we need to stop saying that I am still looking for my dream home and then delay buying that first property so that we can keep spending all our money into overpriced coffee… expensive cheesecakes… unnecessary segment B Japanese car and even a holiday we think we deserved after working so hard.

Property prices will keep rising with inflation. That’s a fact. Happy buying or well, enjoying your life to the fullest like many say they wanted to. Cheers.

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Want to save RM2,664 per year and still drink good coffee? Read on.

Want to save RM2,664 like me and still get to drink good coffee? Read on. Want to read about property investment? Choose another article yeah.
Click here for it.
Happy coffeeing.

My latte consumption per year

Every year, I can estimate that I would drop by a cafe for a latte twice per week. You have to expect that because even this site is called kopiandproperty. That’s roughly 104 cups per year. If we use RM15 per cup of latte, that meant that I would have spent RM1,560 every year. (Enough for a local trip for a family of 4. Oops, must not let my wife see this. Haha.) What about you? Are you some who needs to drink latte in a good environment? How many cups of latte / Americano you drink every year?

How much per year then?

Perhaps it’s one per week on average? That’s 52 x RM15 = RM780 per year. Well, usually when you are in that cafe, you also ordered cakes…  Anyway, from March 2020 until October 2020. Roughly 7 months, my personal barista and his wife and myself finished all these arabica beans you see in the image below. Every pack is 250gm and a few of them are 500gm packs.

How much beans for a cup?

Usually, one cup of Americano coffee (120 ml) or if you mix in the mix, the coffee bean required is around 12gm. So, one pack of 250gm is enough for probably 20 cups of freshly brewed coffee. Image shows 22 bags. That’s 22 x 250 gm = 5.5kg  A few packs were 500gm packs, so probably in total it should be like 7kg.  This is enough for: 7kg divided by 12gm = 583 cups of coffee. 583 cups divided by 3 drinkers = 174 cups per person. 7 months is 210 days. Roughly nearly 1 cup per drinker per day.

How much savings then?

Not local robusta coffee beans yeah, these are all Arabica beans and typical price is RM35 per 250gm and some like the Geisha beans can be RM50 per 250gm.  We assume average price of RM40 per 250gm. RM40 divided by 20 cups = RM2 per cup.  How much do we pay for an Americano in the cafe?  Probably RM10? That’s a saving of RM8 per cup.  We had 583 cups.  That’s 583 x RM8 savings per cup or a total savings of
RM4,664 just within these 7 months alone!
This is RM1,554 per person. Divided by 7 = RM222 savings per month! WOW. (RM2,664 per year!)

Okay, that’s not the full story

We did not count the manpower cost (my friend, the barista), electricity cost, water cost (washing the cups etc), the MACHINE itself (over a thousand ringgit) and also the fact that I have to drive over to his home to get my coffee. However, beyond just the thousands we saved together, I guess we have also increased our conversations about coffee. It has also increased our knowledge about coffee too.

Lots of new knowledge too

We also learnt that generally these sellers really do sell what they said they were selling. Most of the time, the beans were bought via
SHOPEE.
 (i do not gain a single cent when you click this link)  We even did blind test for two different vendors selling the same beans. We also learnt different amount of milk, brand of milk makes a difference too. We also learnt that coffee beans from BRANDED cafes do not necessary mean it’s the best…

Conclusion

Beyond saving money, I have gained a lot of new knowledge. My barista friend who used to think of coffee as just coffee has also learnt a lot too. We learnt that there’s a huge difference bwteen dark roast and light roast. We learnt that quality of beans really do differ and prices really do have some bearings too. To do what I do? Find a good friend who loves the feeling of making a cup of good coffee.

Of course, if you ask me if I prefer to drink latte alone at home or have a conversation with some of my property industry friends, the answer is a firm, ‘let’s meet up.’  Coffee in cafes is NOT because of savings. I have never compared two different cafes and go into the cafe where the coffee is cheaper thus far. So, this is my MCO coffee story.

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Not too high salary but driving an expensive car, can / should it happen? RM200,000 car?

Many of our friends could be driving an expensive car. If we are earning a RM6,000 salary, could we drive a RM200,000 car? This is usually a hot debate and this would also come out, “we buy unnecessary things to impress people we don’t necessary care.” By the way, for some circumstances, driving a much better car will help to get people to believe you more and thus they would be more willing to listen to you because then they could also be like you; driving that luxury car.

Some examples of those circumstances?  E.g, multi-level marketing (I do not think any leaders here should drive an old dilapidated car and anyone would listen to his teaching). In the real estate world, if an agent is a top performer and he drives an old national car, people may question if his results were real…  A CEO of a MNC needs to also drive a proper car because he may be attending external meetings and it reflects very badly on the organisation if the CEO was driving a loud-noise-making and rusty car…

Photo by Erik Mclean on
Pexels.com

Coming back to the question. If we earn RM6,000 could we be driving a RM200,000 car then? Brief answer is, why not? Affordability wise, take a look at how much one has to pay every month for a RM200,000 car. It’s JUST RM2,117 per month if we take a 9-year loan and even if it’s a 7-year loan, the answer is still a yes; it’s affordable for someone earning a RM6,000 salary per month. Monthly repayment would be RM2,593 for a 7-year loan.

But… RM6,000 salary may not be net pay

We assume 15% of the salary goes into EPF contribution and tax deduction. Therefore, RM6,000 is left with just RM5,100 net pay every month. If it’s a 9-year loan, the person still have close to RM3,000 for his rental and other expenses. Perhaps he could rent a room… then everything will be just fine. If it’s a 7-year loan, then he would be left with RM2,507 per month. Still enough lah. Just do not go for Happy Hour every day lah.

Conclusion

This article basically tells all of us WHY someone earning RM6,000 could be driving a car which made us wonder how and wonder why. Do not wonder too much, it’s actually possible yeah. In fact, stretch it a little bit more and someone with RM5,000 salary could also drive a RM200,000 car!  Life’s about choices yeah. This time, will not give any of those old-fashioned advice. Just enjoy what you love!  Calculation wise, I have shown you yeah.

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Dropping and increasing property price. Depends on how we see it. Good sign?

It’s important to look at the median price instead of the average price when it comes to the property market. Median refers to the price which happened the most while average price usually does not make much sense when two different types of properties are combined. For example, an affordable apartment at RM200,000 plus a high-end condominium at RM1,000,000 meant an average price of RM600,000? It reflects nothing, actually.

The median price for homes in Malaysia was RM303,000 in Q3 2017. For the whole Malaysia and not just Kuala Lumpur. It (the median price) is now RM293,000 in Q3 2018. So, it has dropped. Of course this should be expected because newer launches are becoming more affordable than previously. As for the secondary market, the power is with the buyer instead of the owner except if the area is a hotspot. However, if compared to Q2 108, this has increased because in Q2 2018, the median price was RM288,000. All these prices are as per National Property Information Centre (Napic).
The article in TheEdgeMarkets.com here.

Kuala Lumpur has the highest median house price at RM550,000 followed by Putrajaya (RM400,000), Selangor (RM382,000), Johor (RM345,000) and Labuan (RM325,000). As for the lower half of the spectrum, we have Kelantan (RM175,000), Kedah (RM180,000), Melaka (RM200,000), and Perlis (RM210,000). The average prices meanwhile are as follows: KL (RM772,980), Putrajaya (RM756,394; 36 transactions), Selangor (RM496,593; 7,913 transactions), Penang (RM438,379; 2,376 transactions), and Johor (RM382,820; 4,122 transactions). According to Napic, the data used to derive these figures are residential transactions submitted to the Valuation and Property Service Department by the Inland Revenue Board for stamp duty valuation purposes.
The article in TheEdgeMarkets.com here.

Looking at these numbers positively, the market remains resilient even after lower transaction numbers from the peak in 2012. Imagine what would have happened if many Malaysian home owners do not have a stable job? Some would have sold their properties at fire-sale prices and the median prices would not have been so ‘sticky.’ Beyond that, we should also be very glad that all the banks did not lend indiscriminately because if they did, coupled with a slow market, it would have been a recipe for disaster. Hopefully these adjustments will continue and I do not mind prices continue to soften slowly because it has to reflect the demand from the market and as everyone knows, the market wants more affordable prices. Happy following.

written on 26 Dec 2018

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Dual-key may be okay for now, triple-key coming soon?

At least two friends have asked me about the potential for dual-key units in Kuala Lumpur. Actually, if it’s for own stay, I think it makes very good sense for those who would love to stay with their parents but not within the same home. To be honest, I would love to stay nearby my parents but staying together within the same home does have potential frictions. One very small thing, my daughter may not understand enough and wants to watch the TV at the same time that my parents were watching their favourite Hua Hee Tai. Who wins? My parents may give in but I do not like that. So, a dual key unit may serve this purpose as long as it is of my personal minimum size of 1,300 or higher. If it’s less than 1,000 sq ft, I think it will be hard for this first purpose.

Location is key
. As long as it is at an area favoured by many, it’s also very suitable for investment as the unit can be rented out to two different tenants. Alternatively, one unit for the owner and the other for a tenant. This allows the owner to stay in a hotspot for half the price he would have needed to pay and at the same time slowly ‘own’ a place in a hotspot. How cool is that. I do not own any dual-key unit currently and have no wish to move to the usual hotspots favoured by many. I need more space for my family but I need money to built wealth, so could not
afford to spend too much.

Well dual-keys may be new to Malaysia but in Singapore, it’s already TRIPLE-KEYs. There are of course not many of these but one got caught in the news recently. It was about how the triple-key unit developer for Gem Residences in Toa Payoh was instructed by the The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) to build only
ONE
 open kitchen for each triple-key unit instead of three as shown in the sales brochure. Three bathrooms are okay but only ONE open kitchen area is allowed.

This was reported The Business Times. It said, “URA approved the floor plan for a three-bedroom residential unit in Gem Residences comprising three bedrooms and an open kitchen. The floor plan that was submitted to us for these units did not reflect three separate kitchens. The developer was thus requested to market the residential units according to the approved plans.” Do note that building three kitchen units for a triple-key unit is NOT illegal but in this case, the earlier approval by URA did not include the three kitchen units while the brochure printed out later do. If anyone knows of any triple-key development in Malaysia, do let me know yeah. Happy buying.

written on 6 June 2016

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Dubai: 8 million sq ft mall to proceed

The world would most probably be in a recession mode for 2016. IMF’s assessment. Read here:
Getting ready for the next global recession?

: It’s not too hard to understand why, the world’s largest market, China’s growth has fallen so much that it is affecting countries with lots of exposure to it including even our neighbour, Singapore. One country is still pushing ahead with the construction of the world’s largest shopping mall. Dubai (UAE) said that its 8 million sq ft shopping mall called The Mall of the World would proceed even if it will continue to assess the market in later phases of the project. This mall is connected to a theme park, 100 hotels and serviced apartment buildings with 20,000 rooms.

Total capital needed would be around US$22 billion and the first phase would be ready before Dubai hosts the Expo 2020 exhibition. Beyond that, it will depend on market dynamics. The company responsible for this mall is Dubai Holding and it’s owned by the emirate’s ruler. Its vice-chairman and managing director Ahmad bin Byat said that the project would still be the the world’s largest shopping destination. He said, “This is a mixed-use project which will be very interesting not only to locals but for the global market to invest in.” (This confidence is good because there was a huge slowdown in 2009 in UAE especially in Dubai but the restructuring has been completed within less than 2 years, it bounced back)

I have a few friends working in UAE and I just met one this morning. I think he has full confidence with his career there because he has not just bought a place there but is relocating his family including his Singaporean wife and his daughter there. Well, in terms of pay, it’s indeed very lucrative indeed plus all the benefits which I think is second to none, even when compared to the most advanced nation in South East Asia, Singapore. For those who think it’s so amazing because of oil, the truth is, oil and gas output is now accounting for less than 25% of its GDP. (Source: CIA World Factbook) In other words, this is considered a diversified economy.

Sometimes, we think we know the world. Seriously, I do not. Truth is, there are still many countries which are like a magnet to the world’s talents. If we really are thinking about earning huge money and saying most of it, I think Dubai presents a great opportunity if the skill we have matches what they require. The advice remains the same, really to stay focussed on earning and saving because no one knows if the crisis in 2009 which hit Dubai hard may come back. Oh yeah, property investment? I do not have enough knowledge but a one bedroom apartment availability and price is as per image. The price starts from AED800,000 (RM896,000) or higher. (Ex. rate as per 11 Feb 2016). Compared to the salary my friend is earning, I guess this is still considered quite affordable? I should pay a visit to my good friend. Hopefully, he will also take leave to bring me around too besides letting me stay in his home. Happy visiting.

written on 11 Feb 2016

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DuitNow and PayNow? Linked by 2022

DuitNow and PayNow? Fully linked by 2022

In case you did not know, any tt transaction in Malaysia takes seconds at maximum. Feel free to check how FAST the tt transfers are in the UK or the US yeah. 😛  Stop thinking we are slower yeah.

Anyway, the good news is not just we are faster. We will be even more faster internationally with at least one country for a start. Malaysia’s DuitNow and Singapore’s PayNow will be linked in 2022. This is very good news yeah. The more linked, the less need for any intermediate currency yeah… The more direct, the better.
It’s foolish to trade between two countries and instead of using the currency of either country, these two countries needed to use another currency. Currency is for trade! It’s not for other country to use so that they could trade with another country which has got nothing to do with that intermediate currency! (yes… kept printing money too. sigh…)

Coming back to this good news. Please do read the following:

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Let’s dump property investment lah

Let’s dump property investment lah

When someone whom I look up to (a real medical doctor who’s also an investment guru) says that it’s time to forget property and focus on some other investments, I do think that everyone needs to understand this from the right context. If we refer to that one line and we assume his message as “everyone jump out now!” it’s not true yeah.

What he is trying to say is that if we could find another investment which could provide faster and better returns, it’s okay to skip property investment. Today is not like long time ago where property investment is one major choice out of few investment choices. Here are 5 things we can do and well, property investment is not needed at all.

If I could stay in more places, I would prefer too

Frankly speaking, if your question to me is this. “Would you prefer to stay at the same place, with the same swimming pool, with the same view everyday for the next 30 years OR would I prefer to stay at a different resort with a different swimming pool, different view every week?,” my answer will be as follows, “Of course I prefer to stay in a different resort every week!”  So, why own the same property if I have enough money to keep moving from resort to resort?

Here are 5 other reasons why one really does not need property investment at all.

#1 Earn way above the cost of renting / owning a property and living expenses

An investment is needed because it is supposed to be something we fall back on after our income has stopped. Usually this is after our retirement. However, if someone is earning way above the cost of renting / owning a place and can cover the living expenses easily, this someone should not waste time on property investment because it’s just time consuming and may also require lots of due diligence since we cannot simply believe anyone who tells us to buy that property… So, if one is earning way above the cost of renting, skipping property investment is a great choice as this someone could rent anywhere he / she likes easily.

#2 Already have at least a home / place to stay

I can safely say that most parents would love their children to stay with them. Many could even do so harmoniously. However, not all have this opportunity and if one does not, then one just need to buy ONE, just ONE property which one could stay for a long time to come. If we already own a place to stay, we do not need to keep investing into more properties lah. Use our money and invest into something else. Just not speculative ones unless we are ready to win big or lose big.

#3 We are expert in other types of investment

I have so many friends who continue to tell the world about their expertise with stock investments. How they were able to earn double digit returns just within a night or two. By the way, one engineer friend whom I know is today semi-retired just from stock investments yeah. At least 10 years younger than me. So, if we are expert in other types of investment, please skip property investment yeah. Stay focused. Learn from masters in the industry and go for these investments.

#4 We have a rich family who could provide a lot more opportunities

Yes, I do envy many friends whose parents could provide them with unlimited opportunities. At a time when I was working hard to earn a few thousand ringgit salary per month, I already have school mates who own businesses! I am not very sure if all of them do well in their businesses but frankly, with a wealthy family, property investment is not needed at all. It’s too slow, too cumbersome and the fact that banks will only approve those with fixed income will only look at salaried people yeah.

#5 We still have no idea at all about property investment

If we are buying because our friends say so, then better not proceed. If we are buying because we read about people earning big money from property investment, better not proceed. There are many other cases where the people struggle to pay their monthly repayments and every interest rate increase is like a another cut on their body… Property investment is long term and is just too expensive to try and see what happens. We can buy stock and see what happens. We could afford to lose. However buying a property of a few hundred thousand and then something bad happens? That’s a sad case. Skip property investment yeah.

Conclusion

I continue to think of property investment as awesome. At the same time, I continue my investments into unit trust and have no stopped for the past 20 years. I have also continue to own shares in companies and I do not think I will ever focus on just property investment. So, please invest wisely and as long as it is an investment with good returns, it can be anything. Does not need to be property investment at all. Happy deciding.

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Latest study: Expansionary zone for Q1 2016

Working in KL and looking at Klang Valley properties? I know these days, comments from all your KLite friends are negative and media reports are  RED. I can safely say that I remain optimistic and will continue to view properties. Buying or not depends on the attractiveness of the said property versus the price that the seller is willing to consider. Sometimes, it’s just not easy when the seller is still not desperate or does not have any special circumstances. An old friend told me that his Korean friend who’s moving back to Korea has agreed to sell him a Vios and Innova at ‘super low price.’ So sometimes, luck plays an important part too. My old friend has been driving his Wira for the past 15 years. (Yes, Wira can last that long apparently…)  Let’s skip negative news for a while. Now, for a dose of positive news.

According to Dun & Bradstreet (D & B) Business Optimism Index (BOI) study which is their 12th by the way, the business optimism of Malaysian firms has rebounded into the expansionary zone in Q1 2016. This is a rebound from a negative feedback Q4 of 2015. In fact, all six indicators including volume of sales, net profits, selling price, inventory level, employees and new orders are all in the positive territory. One major reason may be due to the festive season where firms are expecting good sales and greater profit margins. Of course, despite this piece of good news, D & B Malaysia said that the current weakness would continue in 2016.

I think I am considered among those who buy conservatively for Chinese New Year. This year, I have already completed my shopping for new clothes for myself. Two Padini branded polo shirts for RM59. Yes, TWO for RM59 as well as another Dapper branded polo shirt for RM29.90. The original total price for these three pieces? Close to RM160. The Dapper one, left just one colour and one size. Somehow, my body matched both. Haha. Well, if a conservative person like me is still buying new shirts, I think the expectations of a better quarter holds water. For my family, I usually spend much more and I do not set any crazy budgets like how I set for me. If I am doing this, I think many fathers are doing the same too.

When businesses are good, does it have to translate into better property transactions or prices? Actually, housing is a huge purchase and it’s a sticky one. If I have a business, even if I earn more profits but the whole world is singing a sad song continuously, I would definitely be keeping my profits in the bank instead. Demand from all those who is renting, who just got married or even looking for an upgrade is by far higher than the transaction numbers of today. They do not act in concert and under current circumstances, majority may choose not to act at all. Come on, I would not die just because I am renting a home after getting married or choosing to delay my upgrade until later. Thus, this optimism should be looked at objectively. As usual, if we found any undervalued properties, anytime is a good time to buy. Overvalued and in hotspots? Better beware bro. (BBB).

written on 5 Jan 2016

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Duration, key consideration and choices expansion

My next home will be even further away than my current home. I am quite sure of it. Give me a few more years. A working professional can’t be moving every 4-5 years. I have little choice because I hope to spend less and not more and the only way to spend less is to buy further. Fortunately, the term ‘further’ means huge choices. On one end, there’s Sungai Buloh and the other end perhaps the areas after Puchong. Personally, I rate anywhere within 15km from KL city centre (Jalan Ampang) as nearby. My current office is at Jalan Yap Kwan Seng, right next to Jalan Ampang. Yes, I have walked to KLCC a few times thus far. Coming back to distance, I would personally rate anywhere within 15-25km from the KL city centre as the still nearby. Beyond 25km would be the future nearby. I say future because we are supposed to put the MRT SBK (Line 1) into the equation and by 2021, the MRT SSP (Line 2) into the calculation as well.

As we can see however, the ridership for MRT Line 1 is far from awesome. Perhaps there’s still not enough people staying further away yet? Plus a host of other reasons lah.
Here’s an earlier article.
Speaking about distance, it’s not that objective if we were to ask our friends in Cheras versus our friends in Sungai Buloh. As long as both of them love their respective areas, they would be biased. Haha. Google Map to the rescue. Take a look. Cheras Leisure Mall may be less than half of the distance to KLCC Jalan Ampang versus Sungai Buloh but the distance may vary as little as 10 minutes or as much as 25 minutes. Images as attached.
What this tells us is that the choices we make does not need to rely on just distance because the whole Greater KL is growing. By the way, it is the same as
Greater London or even the most liveable cities

like
 Sydney or Melbourne.

The middle income professionals in all these cities definitely cannot afford a nearby area anymore. That’s why terms like suburbs come about. As for all the other reasons such as food choices, property choices, school choices and even mall choices, that’s a huge chapter all by itself. Distance versus duration wise, it’s time we really drive a bit to understand more. Else, google map gives us a good indicator too.

This is not all. How about going home? Assuming we leave office on time, 530pm. Worklife balance, right? Driving home to Sungai Buloh takes between 13 minutes to 35 minutes extra.
Yea, there are now integrated developments being built by many top developers which are over 40km away. The bonus for these integrated developments?
Well, wider roads, bigger homes and cheaper lah. P
lus I think you have seen how many of these newer developments would have parks which are the envy of many as well because the older neighbourhoods would usually have just a plain grass field and nothing else.
Perhaps 5 years back, our choices have been more limited
.
 5 years later, the number of potential choices would be much wider. Happy buying your home sweet home. We must love the place we stay anyway.

written on 18 Nov 2017

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Durian? Ang Bak Kia (ABK) and more from a small family orchard (70 years+ trees).

I am a durian lover. To those who are not, skip this yeah. For the durian lovers in Penang, do read on yeah. Buy your favourite King of Fruits and have it delivered to you. This is a small orchard, so while fruits last okay. Daily limited supply. Only for Penang island yeah. Have it delivered to you with a purchase of RM80++. The price is between RM15- 45 per kg. They have many varieties including Ang Bak Kia (ABK), Red Prawn etc. All these trees are 70 years or older.
Message him here.

This is my good friend’s family orchard in Penang.
As natural and as organic as it could get yeah. (click here for the fb page)
 Every year, my family would definitely order without any fail and this year, with the COVID-19, they offer delivery too. My sister just ordered today and I think good things should be shared.

Here’s the link to Ang Bak Kia (ABK) yeah.
Contact him to buy and get it delivered to you yeah. Don’t ask for discount lah.  This is a family orchard and now is already a tough period.  Happy buying and eating.

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