Early 2019 it shall be for IKEA Penang in Batu Kawan

Source:
http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_MY/ikea-collections/come-on-in/index.html

I have never failed to drop by IKEA in Mutiara Damansara at least once per quarter.
Yes, I have been to the IKEA in Cheras.

Sometimes more than once per quarter because my friends and relatives from out of state come visiting and they mentioned IKEA. I used to live in Penang for around 15 years before moving to KL and now based here permanently for the past 4 years. When I was buying furniture for my first home in Penang, I realised that there were a lot of great choices in the mainland side. The shops have larger spaces to showcase their furnitures too. Usually, delivery is free even if it is into the island since we are buying quite a lot. I am not sure if these furniture shops feel the heat but there will be another choice, a giant no less in the form of IKEA. It’s Penang store will open early 2019. Here’s that full article in
theindependent.sg
 IKEA will not just have a huge showroom of ideas. It will be encouraging potential buyers to try them too, even for the mattresses and the sofa chairs.

Its Managing Director of IKEA Southeast Asia, Christian Rojkjaer said, “We have seen people from Penang driving more than 350 kilometres to shop at IKEA in Kuala Lumpur. This store in Batu Kawan will make it easy for them to come for a great day out”. He was not joking because my wife’s ex-company’s HR Manager really did that. Driving the company’s truck all the way to KL from the Bayan Lepas Industrial area to buy IKEA furnishings for their new plant. IKEA Penang will be based in Aspen Vision City in Batu Kawan. Aspen Vision City is a mixed-use development that wants to transform Batu Kawan into a vibrant community with condominiums, a financial hub, a school and parkland among others. On a longer term, IKEA Penang will be integrated into a large shopping centre. I think this is a good move even though it does not mean that the mall would thrive unless Batu Kawan’s own population goes up too.

The article concluded by saying that IKEA Batu Kawan with over 433,000 sq ft will provide a great day out for millions of visitors each year. I think they are right. Shopping in IKEA is not just for stuffs. It is also for ideas. It is also a form of entertainment too. On a yearly basis, I definitely spend hundreds of ringgit there. Probably a thousand if we include the meals as well. Haha. As for the question of whether we should buy Batu Kawan because of IKEA ALONE, let me be very honest, ‘no.’ We should buy in Batu Kawan if we are prepared to move there and work in the island. We should buy Batu Kawan if the developments of all the other key components are also proceeding asper planned. We should buy Batu Kawan when we see many of our friends moving there instead of staying in the island. Peer pressure is a big thing. Not many people wants to stay at places where none of his friends are staying. No one would call you for supper at the local mamak if your local mamak and his local mamak is 30km away. Happy loving it.

written on 25 Sept 2017

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IKEA was packed to the brim, still

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2019 should have “cheap rental” for office space in KL?

If there is an oversupply, prices should drop. It does not apply only for residential but also for offices. Businesses may be spoilt for great choices if there are oversupply of office space. In fact, one major reason why Singapore is one of the most expensive cities in the world is due to its property market, both residential and office rental rates. So, should we be happy if there are office space oversupply? If I am thinking of starting a business, I would hate it if my rental every month eats into majority of all my profits. I sell my products like crazy and the owner of the building gets to get high rental and dreams of vacations in Italy? Of course, I know if I happen to be the owner of such offices, I would be sad if I needed to reduce my rental because of oversupply.

For businesses, perhaps there going to be happiness all around. Reported in themalaymailonline, property expert Y.Y. Lau the country manager of JLL Property Services (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd said that when PNB118 is completed, it will cause an oversupply of office space in the Kuala Lumpur central business district (CBD). She said besides the 118-storey tower, there are also the 1MDB’s Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) and Bandar Malaysia. All these would be completed at a time when supply will outstrip demand. Asper data from JLL’s research team, new offices totalling 4.8 million sq ft will flood the CBD. From now till then, an average of 1 million sq ft would be added every year.

Not all offices would face a bleak future. She said that those near train stations would have an additional advantage because if given a choice, Malaysians may choose not to drive due to lack of carparks, toll hikes, traffic jasmine time wasted on the road.

I think she is right. I could already see more and more of my colleagues taking the public transport including even my general manager) I recently calculated that Imay save up to RM250 per month if I were to take the LRT followed by Monorail to reach my office. The only issue still holding me back is flexibility. Without jam, I can reach home within 25 minutes via my car. With the LRT and then the Monorail, it would still take me at least 40-45 minutes for one way. Perhaps later, if it gets way too bad. Maximise your rented space before opting for a bigger one. Perhaps in 2019, Malaysia can be in the top10 cheapest rental for CBD in the world. We shall see.

written on 23 Mar 2016

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KL Office rental under threat due to oversupply

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2019 no more. Deferred….. BPO Prime and PITP for Penang.

It’s not such an awesome news for Penang’s property market. Reported in South China Morning Post (SCMP). Full article
 here.
   RM11.3 billion worth of project involving the Penang Development Corp (PDC) and Singapore’s Temasek Holdings Private Ltd, have been deferred due to current property market conditions. They are the Business Processing Outsourcing Prime (BPO Prime) and Penang International Technology Park (PITP). It was supposed to have been completed in 2019. The projects are postponed indefinitely. The MOU was signed on May 23, 2014. At the time, the Penang state government announced that the PITP and BPO Prime will be completed over the next five to 10 years. It was an ambitious plan to propel Penang into one of the 31 BPO hubs of the future.

In an interview with
 The Edge Financial Daily
, according to investPenang general manager Loo Lee Lian, there is no time frame for the construction of BPO Prime. A review of the design is in progress due to the current market condition. She shared, “I think they have asked valuers to look at the property market again, especially the residential segment in Penang and [other parts of] Malaysia.” She added, “Penang remains a very attractive site for BPO and investors want to go to a second-tier city (first-tier being Cyberjaya and Kuala Lumpur) because it is cheaper and smaller-sized.” It was the first collaboration between Temasek and PDC. Based on an estimate by Global tech researcher Technavio-Infiniti Research Ltd, the global market share for shared services will grow at a compound annual growth rate of more than 14 per cent by 2020.

The piece of land that the project would be built on is considered a prime one. In fact, it’s right smack in the middle of Bayan Baru and Bayan Lepas. Without jams, it is only 10 minutes to reach the Penang International airport and to the second bridge as well as the first bridge. Thus, this deferment should hopefully be temporary. I am very sure there are many other options to consider should this joint-venture really does not take off as per plan. Let’s see what would be announced by investPenang in their next communication. As for choices to invest, there are many other mainland new developments too, not necessarily only within the island itself. Happy following.

written on 23 Jan 2017

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2019 is THE year when home prices strengthen. KL and Penang ‘best buy’

‘It’s not easy to get a good price for a 1,000 sq ft condo in Penang currently,’ says my close friend, Mr. VS who’s a real estate negotiator in Penang. (If you want to buy properties in Penang, let me know and I will connect you to him) He added that he based his views on the fact that there’s too many of them (condos with 1,000 sq ft) and the demand is not strong like a few years ago. (before 2013). What about in KL? In KL, no real estate industry friends are telling me that the market is strong. I met
Alan Poon, Founder and CEO of SuperiorWealth
 for coffee break yesterday. He was telling me about a similar situation here in KL. Demand is not strong and the market is really slow. This ‘slow’ situation in both Penang and KL may be turning around next year? After the euphoria since 10th May 2018, more good news shall we? Here’s an article in
theedgemarkets.com “Savills Malaysia: Housing prices to firm up in 2019”

According to Property consultancy Savills Malaysia, there are two property markets under the ‘never been a better time to buy; best buy.’ The two markets are Greater KL and Penang. No further explanation on reasons why but they did say that home prices will firm up in 2019 because of supply issue. It said that estate developers are able to increase supply by early 2020. Note this statement though, “However, there will be a period of adjustment and consolidation required to clear existing stock before we see much evidence of price increases.”
(I think what they are saying is that the current unsold stock has to reduce first and because developers have lots of unsold units, they are not going to aggresively build new ones. Since it will take some time to clear the stocks, by the time they (developers) clear the units and launch new ones, the supply would have slowed tremendously. Actually makes sense. No sell, no build. No build, no supply. No supply, demand exceeds it and well, prices firm up)

Moving on, Savills Malaysia deputy executive chairman Allan Soo said, “We see the likelihood that retail turnover will pick up in areas where GST is lifted from merchandise, and not replaced by a sales tax. We hope that luxury goods will fall into that category, making Malaysia a major tourist shopping destination.”
(Here, I think what he says is that with the removal of GST, it should help in improving the sentiment and thus this should make people more willing to buy. 6 percent is not likely to be the game-changer when we are talking about luxury goods. Sometimes, I do wonder why are there so many rich working professionals because I could see majority carrying luxury handbags while at the same time, so many working professionals say they could not afford any property above RM500,000.)
Savills Malaysia managing director Datuk Paul Khong shared that there is the prospect of an appreciation in the ringgit as well as strong economic growth and this will now make Malaysia an outstanding regional investment opportunity.
Here’s that full article for reference.

I hope everyone is now more positive with all these predictions from Savills Malaysia? There’s no need to ask me. Just read my views on a daily basis yeah. 🙂  Oh yeah, there are usually three kind of buyers. One who buys because he knows what he should buy, regardless of what people say. One buys because everyone buys because majority should be right? Another one keeps talking, asking and waiting. Happy following and deciding.

written on 16 May 2018

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2021 Predictions for the world! (by VisualCapitalist.com)

I love predictions. Especially 2021 predictions for the world. I mean, everyone could be looking at the same world and have totally different predictions! Haha. Today, let’s look at one from
visualcapitalist.com

Frankly, this is a great site and everyone should take a look at least occasionally. I have referred to their contents a few times and I will continue to reference them too. Click here to visit them today.
visualcapitalist.com
 The below image is one of their latest publications and it is about all the readings they have done and they have come up with this 2021 Predictions Chart. They said they have analysed over 200+ articles, whitepapers, podcasts and interviews in order to come up with the below. I say, THANK YOU!

Let’s just talk about a few things. Perhaps predictions which are more relevant to kopiandproperty.com as well as my interest too.

#1 China has a strong 2021.
 I personally think this will be happening. The reason is because they did not do too well in 2020. In fact because the world did not do too well, they could not be doing too well. Well, what has happened is that all the things which should have happened in 2020 will now be happening in 2021. The things they wanted to buy, the trips they wanted to take, the property they wanted to upgrade and even the fact that they could export more since many other countries are also recovering. Let’s hope for a strong Chinese economy. Definitely a good thing for the world and ASEAN too.

#2 Inequality continues to worsen.
 When we look at how valuation for companies have changed from the need for profit numbers to a show of potential (even if that potential was because of never ending subsidies), the money flows into speculative elements. This meant that the owners of these companies will take the lions share of all investments while many traditional companies will struggle to find funds to stay afloat and when they did not, many would lose their jobs too. So, few people will get ever richer while many more will lose their job.

#3 Most companies will embrace a hybrid work model.
 I am someone who does not believe everyone will and would work from home moving forward. One day, when things get back to normal, the office will be back to normal too. However, companies will definitely formalise that process where hybrid working model is now a policy versus an unforeseen circumstance. So, this hybrid work model will be happening all over the world.

#4 Low and stable mortgage rates
 Looking at the economic growth numbers will tell us that low interest rates are here to stay. In fact the options are really narrowing for many economies which seek ways to spark that new economic growth without any monetary policy interventions. This will benefit the ones who are investing and is benefiting from these low and stable mortgage rates. Rental rises slowly over the years. So as long as there’s no sudden huge changes, the rental yield will turn positive once again.

For all the rest, do read what they say here okay.
visualcapitalist.com
.
 There are definitely lots of new opportunities in 2021. Be aware of them and grab them if it fits what we were looking for in terms of wealth creation. Stay safe and all the best. Keep reading kopiandproperty.com too. Thank you for reading for the last 7 years plus. (You know who you are)

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Property market depends on the economy. Agree?

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2022 as per feng shui? Brighter Year. Teamwork is key. Good year indeed.

2022? Brighter Year. Teamwork is key. Good year indeed.

I think when it comes to the economy, it’s more common to look for forecast from some international rating agencies. For example, an earlier article here:
Economy Malaysia: “Outlook is looking bright”
 However, there are also many who think that feng shui masters would also be able to predict the outlook for the economy in 2022. Here is an article quoting two feng shui masters, Kenny Hoo and Yap Boh Chu.

Article in malaymail.com

Kenny Hoo said,
“2022 will be a great year of volatility but will inspire countless new opportunities and business opportunities.” He also said, “Medicine and healthcare, electronics, telecommunications and high-tech products will have a more prosperous year in 2022.”

Hoo also mentioned that good relationship between Malaysia and China will help Malaysia to continue to prosper in the region, causing higher demand for many home-grown products.

Meanwhile Yap Boh Chu said that the road to success in 2022 is for those who pay attention to teamwork and cooperation. He said, “World tensions will ease and obstacles will be over through joint efforts.” Yap also said that the education sector will prosper in 2022, while the oil and gas industry will see better days ahead when compared to the previous years. Do read their full predictions in the article:
Article in malaymail.com

“If You Want to Go Fast, Go Alone. If You Want to Go Far, Go Together”

Just need to remember, teamwork will always be key. Meanwhile high tech will always be something which present never ending opportunities. As for Malaysia as a trading nation (top 25 in the whole world of 195 countries), it’s better to have good relationships with all our trading partners. Somehow though despite trade surplus, ringgit is not appreciating and yet some of those nations with high deficits are the ones where the currency strengthens. Now you know… Happy learning and all the best for 2022.

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Stop believing price predictions yeah

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2027 is the year HSR KL – Singapore commences

I think this should be the latest update on High Speed Rail (HSR). Well, at least until the Leaders’ Retreat in May for Malaysian and Singaporean ministers. It’s clear that it’s hard to speed up any negotiation when it involves two countries. This is especially when the immigration is involved. These days, safety from potential terror attacks is another element too. Well, the High Speed Rail project which has been bandied about since late 1990s and was projected to complete by 2020 has a new timeline. This is as per what was reported in New Straits Times Online on 25 April 2016. It will only commence in 2027. Ahem… that’s 10 years plus away.

In Facebook, there were some cynical comments laughing at investors who bought properties in Iskandar waiting for the HSR. Seriously, Iskandar investment should be about Singapore’s progress instead of HSR. Read here:
Iskandar as Singapore’s output hub, seriously

Anyone can laugh at me but I personally believe that for Singapore to keep growing in both the services and manufacturing sectors, Iskandar is vital. The growth potential would come from more links instead of the HSR. Read here:
RTS makes more sense, HSR can wait

It should also be based on all the new promised FDIs from manufacturing plants to education parks and even oil and gas developments. Yes,
theme parks
 would help too, in theorem of increased number of tourists.

I read somewhere before a few months back where the Chinese (China) officials said that the earlier deadlines could still be met if they are the winner to the HSR tender. Well, I think no one would expect anyone from outside ASIA to win but there are definitely interests too besides
China and Japan
 which would be my choice too. Do note that even the part of who pays more has yet to be decided. If Malaysia is to bear majority of the construction costs, I think we should not proceed with HSR. It may stop in more Malaysian cities and towns but the cost should not be based on the actual distance. Some other cost-benefit calculations should be used instead.
NST full article here
. Happy waiting for more details soon.

written on 25 Apr 2016

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2050: 24% of Malaysians are 65 and above. (Including me!)

When I am retired, I hope to travel more often. Not so much of travelling the world because it may be too expensive for me but perhaps travelling between some cities or towns which I like, within Malaysia. Taking my own sweet time in visiting places I have never been and continue to be active even as I indulge in all the food I love. Hopefully, I will be healthy enough to do so too. Well, by the year 2050, 24 percent of all Malaysians would be 65 years old and above. That includes me. There was an
article in TheStar
which talks a bit about retirement homes. By 2020, Malaysians 65 years old and above would already comprise 10 percent of the total population. It would rise to 15.3 percent by 2030. That’s 4.9 million people and that’s when
Malaysia becomes an ageing nation.

What will happen is that between now and then, there would be new focus on providing for the needs of these senior citizens. One of the thing they need? Company, as in friends and people to talk to and even people to care for them. Not many people love to live alone. Okay, perhaps some people love to be left alone but even these people needs care. When they are old for example, having some people to check on them. When they are sick, having medical attention nearby. When they want to do some cooking for example, a small mini-market nearby perhaps. In fact perhaps one facility for these seniors could also include a movie cinema. It does not need to be the most advanced lah.

According to an announcement by the Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Ministry, it is now drafting a Physical Planning Guidelines for the Elderly. The guidelines include the
focus on site planning, building design and provision of facilities in three types of settlements for the elderly, namely, new housing construction and retrofitting of existing homes, senior care centres and

retirement villages.

This will include elderly friendly elements such as height levels of electrical switches and windows for wheelchair users, as well as pedestrian crossings with sufficient walking time. Actually, there are already some developers which are moving into retirement villages. However, I think more would be going into it on a larger scale as part of its integrated development.
Real Estate And Housing Developers’ Association patron and immediate former president Datuk Seri Michael Yam said many big developers have been planning to include retirement homes as one of the components in their large mixed developments.
Full article in TheStar here.

I always wonder how fit would I be when I reach 65 years old. Hopefully I could still join those fun runs even if I could not complete marathons like I could today. As for retirement homes, at this moment I do not think I would need one but the market for these would be huge. It would definitely be clever for developers to mix this into their mixed developments instead of building just the retirement homes. Perhaps a bit more promotion is needed for Malaysians to understand why a retirement village is different from just another typical residential project. Happy focusing on opportunities that would come with an ageing population.

written on 14 July 2017

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21% discount for properties in Iskandar? Or higher?

While I have heard of discounts by some developers, especially those who priced their properties way too high but this is the first time I read about a 21% discount reported in The Star today (30th Aug). It read, ‘Country Garden hasn’t raised its maximum discounts beyond 21% since launch day’. It said that if the slowdown in Iskandar continues, the discount may have to be wider. UEM Sunrise Bhd is slashing its sales targets from RM3.2 Billion to RM2 Billion.  This is a huge drop of 62.5%. It said that this huge reduction is due to the weakness in the market. I think they needed to be reminded again, the right product mix sells better. Demand must not always be aimed at just the richer buyers of the foreigners. There are many older secondary landed properties in JB which is still below Rm300,000. The locals just may not stomach anything which is more than twice their usual understanding of property prices.

Another reason why I think the slowdown is happening is because way too many developers are launching way too many units at the same time. Besides that, Singapore’s own market is also slowing down. Read it here:
Increasing stock, Increasing vacant units and HDB prices dropped 6 months consecutively
. Be reminded, if Singapore’s own property market is under pressure, Singaporeans may think there’s a better opportunity at home instead of across the causeway which they have to face a 2 hour jam during holidays. Besides that, with better prices for the private homes in Singapore, many are also upgrading and thus had to sell off their HDB ad this will also give pressure to the prices for the HBD units. Besides that, for Malaysia, some investors are seeing more opportunities in  Greater KL too. Last year, I told my wife that I would like to buy in Iskandar before I buy another secondary property in KL. I now tell her that I would buy that secondary unit in KL first before Iskandar. Yes, I am still serious about Iskandar but I think there’s still time due to current ‘slow-pace’ situation.

The sentiment should recover slowly when the High Speed Rail has more concrete announcements. I asked my friend working in Singapore the other day. Tell me frankly, if the journey from Iskandar to Singapore is less than 45 minutes and the price of the condo with full facilities are cheaper than the typical HDB flats in Singapore, would he choose Iskandar instead. He said, he believe some of the middle income ones may be tempted if that’s really happening. I told him, when there are no choices, everyone would stick to what they think is good enough. However, with the right links, things will be different. When there are choices where the father can bring the baby daughter for a dip in the pool anytime he wants. A choice where those who are renting can now choose to use their S$900 rental for a RM500,000 condo instead and just need to wake up half an hour earlier. A choice where instead of the smallest room, they can now get married, have a family and stay in a full facility 1,000 sf condo, then it would be clear. Demand is there but perhaps currently we are looking at a breather.

Not everyone would agree, definitely. However, always remember that for the first few years of Iskandar, majority of everyone did not believe.  Today, just look at the number of visitors to LEGO world. Look at the cars parked at JPO during the weekends. Try finding a car park space in JB city during holidays. Oh yeah, someone said VEP will cause everything to stop. No comments, I will stop here. if you think VEP will stop everything, that’s your opinion and you are entitled to it. 🙂

written on 30 Aug 2014

Next suggested article:
Linking KL, Iskandar, Malaysia – Singapore by High Speed Rail (HSR) and Rail Transit System (RTS)

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22,500 affordable units to be built in Penang over 10 years

According to Penang’s Housing, Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo, a total of 22,500 affordable units will be built in Penang over the next 10 years. Thus, private developers should grab this opportunity to be part of the ventures. This is especially if the partnerships can be built between Penang Development Corporation (PDC) even if majority of the projects would be undertaken by PDC. He said that PDC has already started to build 540 units in Batu Kawan and more would be built over the next few years.

In another report online, the Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan said that Penang’s commitment to affordable housing is not there because the available state-owned land had been sold at high prices to private developers. He also claimed that over 10,000 units of affordable homes in Penang were held back because the state government has not approved them due to politics. This is detrimental to the residents of Penang. He also said that Penang was the only state which did not provide lands to the federal government for the purpose of affordable housing.

Personally, I have heard about affordable housing for a very long time in Penang and I think the units are starting to be built now. In fact I think the Penang state government has also accumulated nearly
52,000 applications
 and if 50% of these are qualified and approved, it meant that the units available are simply not enough. Both the state government and the federal government should be working together when it involved affordable units and not be fighting each other over this. I also think that all the approved applications should be published online so that everything is transparent and if there are really more qualified applicants than there are homes, a better and faster plan may be needed instead of the 10 year plan. Of course, in the mean time, the applicants can also consider some of the secondary ones which I think is still affordable. Just that for some reasons these units are not favoured by them including too far and not well maintained.

written on 9th Sept 2014

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Affordable homes just got cheaper, if this comes true.

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Just 24 already a property tycoon. HOW?

When I was 24, I had just worked for 3 years after my first degree. Was still struggling to pay for flight tickets to visit my ‘potential’ in-laws then in Sabah. Fortunately, the potential is now a real one and my wife and I have been married for 12 years. 🙂   Well, for a 24-year old lady in Australia, she’s already a
multi-millionaire
. Stephanie Brennan today has 6 properties worth more than AUD2.3 million. (RM6.5 million). The portfolio was built in just 3 years. Yes, if you want to know, she is a drop out and he aim is only to retire by the age of 30. I think if she doubles her portfolio, she can already have enough to retire, as long as she does not gamble it all away.

Her major advice is this, “I think the reason why people think they cannot buy property is because they want a multi-million dollar house now. You’ve got to
start somewhere and build it up.
 Start small, buy a unit so you have got something behind you. I would definitely try and save, and you can pay 5% on a deposit and pay mortgage insurance if you want to get into the market.” Yes, for those who still disagreed and still think the market is too high and that the current generation would all be homeless, fine, please continue to change your smartphone every 9 months. there is no need to listen to her. She’s just an Australian and her advice may not be applicable here.

I think sometimes, what we really needed would be some calculated risks. In this case, add that to a bit of luck and we can then aim to be 50% as successful as her? Haha. Yes, even 50% meant we would already have properties worth AUD1.15 million. I am much older than 30, thus I could not aim to retire at 30 like her. However, perhaps I can aim to retire 10 years earlier than 55? As they say, aim for the sky, at least you ay hit the clouds. Happy aiming and buying.

written on 20 June 2015

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Are you going to be a millionaire?

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Up 25 basis point, low interest rate days over?

In case you did not yet know, our Bank Negara has hiked the overnight policy rate (OPR) by 25 basis point. In number term, this is 0.25 percent. A quarter of 1 percent. Assuming the banks use the exact same rate for the mortgage loan adjustments, then the difference in mortgage payment for a RM500,000 loan at 4.25 percent versus a 4.5 percent is RM69. (With both having a downpayment of 10%) For a RM300,000 loan, the difference would be RM41.50  (With a downpayment of 10 percent for both).  Of course, it is quite a huge thing if the owner have fifty units of RM500,000 properties. Anyway, based on an article in TheStar,
the title says “low interest rate days are over.”
  Personally, I do not think this hike means anything significant yet. It basically tells us that just like some other central banks around the world (including Federal Reserve and Bank of Korea), our BNM feels that the economy is now strong enough for a rate increase. (plus to control inflation etc etc).

According to the article, for retirees with more savings and no loans, this hike is a good news. Anyway, this is what AllianceDBS Research chief economist Manokaran Mottain said, “For the banking industry, the rate hike means higher margins from variable rate products.” (I think this is the reason why banking stocks went up in tandem with the announcement too. By the way, there also news about the continuous strengthening of the ringgit too due to this hike. Seriously, any appreciation of the ringgit must be due to good trade numbers; surplus as well as good export numbers and NOT due to a simple 25 basis point up yeah)  other predictions in the article include that of Citigroup Inc economist Kit Wei Zheng which says that their target is for ringgit to move to 3.80 due to supportive fundamentals and broad US dollar weakness.

This is what BNM says in a statement. “Looking ahead, the strong growth momentum is expected to continue in 2018, sustained by the stronger global growth and positive spillovers from the external sector to the domestic economy.”  Last but not least, Manokaran said, “Overall, we do not see this to be the start of a monetary tightening process. In other words, we do not expect any more hikes for the next 12 months, at least.”
Full article in TheStar here again.
Another article in
TheEdge here.

(Pretty good reading)

I think I agree with him (Manokaran) totally. I think this is just a pent-up one off hike which so many analysts have been expecting and no further changes are warranted unless the economy continues to show strong set of numbers. Perhaps we should just let Federal Reserve to take the lead, since they are the largest economy in the world? With so many CHANGES there including a BOLD new President in Trump, I am sure U.S. would take firm steps to strengthen their economy further. Till then, just note that an interest rate hike is always double-edged. Rushing to do anything simply because of some surveys of bankers showing they favour a hike in the near future is not a wise decision. Nope, a survey of Malaysians in general is also not a good idea. Just let BNM people do their job based on their access to big date yeah. Cheers.

written on 26 Jan 2018

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25th in global competitiveness, congrats Malaysia.

Before good news, let’s also look at bad news too. Else later people say kopiandproperty.com only published good news but never bad news. 🙂

Someone posted this recently; Malaysia’s ranked 51st out of 53 countries for Covid-19. Nearly last. This was for Covid-19 Resilience. Means we are not good lah.  Anyway, within the same article, Bloomberg said this: “Bloomberg noted that some parts of the developed world have stockpiled their vaccines, supplies are tight and in some cases non-existent in swathes of Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia.” It also said, “Despite Malaysia’s poor showing, it has the second highest vaccination rate in the region at 10.8%, behind Singapore (44.1%) but ahead of other nations such as Thailand (6.4%), Vietnam (1.6%), Indonesia (7.4%) and the Philippines (3.2%).” Read here for the
full article about this bad news. Article in therakyatpost.com

Now, for a much more important news because if we are behind in this competitiveness ranking, then we are really going to take like forever to recover economically. Globally, Malaysia is ranked 25th. In a separate note too, World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business, Malaysia held 2nd ranking among 190 economies! Yes…2nd. As for the rest based on IMD’s Competitive Landscape, the numbers do look positive too. Take a look yeah since no other media has published this and I have no idea why.
Source of all charts in this article: IMD.org

Best 2 and Worst 2?

Our best is Prices under Economic Performance. I am very sure this means the cost of doing business is on the lower side which is good. Our second best is Tax Policy under Government Efficiency. I wonder if we could score higher if we have GST instead of SST.  Of course scoring so high for this also meant that we have a structured tax system lah.

We are worst in these two; Business Legislation and Societal Framework. Both of these are related to government efficiency. So… ahem… government, if you want this to improve, all of it depends on you yeah. We cannot do much to improve on these two. As for the rest, we are generally in 20s to 30s. Not that bad but can be better lah.

Key Attractiveness Indicators

Would you do business in Malaysia if you are a foreign company?

I think it’s a definite Yes lah. The ranking should also take into account the fact that most Malaysians could converse in multiple languages too yeah. Malaysia provides you access to a 660 million market; ASEAN. It’s easy to set up the business and access to good talents too. Yes, I consider myself as part of the good talent pool here and many of my friends too. Malaysia is also the only country where a government of nearly 60 years could be changed without much fanfare and I could still do my shopping the very next day without any worry of unrest. This is my Malaysia okay.

Oh yeah, if you are a foreign company and you like to know more about Malaysia, feel free to send in your questions too. I will do best to answer them for you.

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27 years. RM600.87 billion in wealth. A divorce.

I hope it’s happily ever after for as many couples as possible because a divorce is not something to be taken lightly. However, it is also not up to us to judge what really happened to a couple before they decided to get a divorce. Especially one where both sides were of the same opinion; that the marriage could no longer continue. We have seen a number of these high profiled divorce cases and some of them, we actually know one side was not doing the right thing.

Now, we have another super high profile couple getting a divorce. They are Bill and Melinda Gates. They have been married for 27 years and together they have 3 kids. The youngest is 18.

Article in thestar.com.my
   Brief statement from both of them in twitter reads, “After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage,” the two said in a brief statement posted on Twitter. “We have raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive lives.”

The couple runs Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It’s already given away more than US$50bil (RM205.78bil). Both will remain co-chairs and trustees of the foundation. Separating the assets due to the divorce will pose a bigger challenge. Janet George, a family lawyer in Washington with the firm McKinley Irvin said, “It is not a mandatory 50-50. The courts can award more or less, depending on what is just and equitable.” To read the full and long and comprehensive article, it’s here:
Article in thestar.com.my

It’s hard to be equal, sometimes. Still, please try.

To all the young couples, always note that the things do change after marriage and when we get older and wiser. Just needed to remember that when we get married, the romance and all those lovey-dovey feeling we feel can still be around or may start to disappear BUT the next phase starts. This is the responsibility and commitment phase. For example, it is NOT about she disallowing me to go out for happy hours but it should also be, ‘I think I should not be going out for happy hour as frequently as previously because I do not wish my partner to be alone at home.’

Love goes beyond just words. Action matters too. Remember to also ensure the other half has enough protection if something happened to us. If we are sad when we lose a good friend, think how would our other half felt when they lose us. Do not add into their sadness the need to fend for themselves financially too. Yes, I still do think a marriage is a wonderful thing. This is the thought after 18 years of marriage. I am very sure Bill and Melinda Gates have decided that this is the next phase. I wish them all the best and I am very sure they would continue to do more for the people with their wealth.

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28BLVD – first 500 units, 80% sold. Affordable Small Units.

After my article on
shoe box unit by Oxley Holdings
, a friend from the industry sent me additional information about another affordable development in Pandan Perdana. Personally, I am not an advocate of small units but if they are affordable and it meets your requirements for a roof over your head instead of renting all the time, then it may be worth considering. If however you are looking at low density of say 200 units per development, then you may stop reading here. Just prepare more money for those kind of development instead. If you are like me, needing a good internal space development and do not mind the high density, then you may read further. Note: I do not own a unit in the below project and at this moment has no plans to buy one.

Below is a sharing from Kevin Lim.

The development is called 28BLVD. The developer was the one who developed Marc Residence and for this development it is in collaboration with Mapletree of Temasek Singapore. It consists of 4 blocks as follows: 2 Studio at 450sf, and another 2 offering 2-5 bedrooms sized between 678 -1744 sq ft. There will be some retail component at the Ground Floor, with alfresco F&B outlets fronting the lake, for obvious reasons. The developer has taken pains to ensure a good product, within the relevant cost constraints, so we are confident buyers will receive good value for their ringgit.

It measures 11 acres of which 5 acres are land and the rest being the lake. It has good connectivity on account of the recently opened Besraya Eastern Extension leading to the old Istana and KL Sentral in less than 10 minutes. Needless to say, getting to KLCC is also reasonably easy when you are familiar with the inner roads of the residential areas. The developer will also donate shuttle bus to the MC to manage to provide transportation to the nearby LRT station. The nearest LRT station is Pandan Jaya. There would be an integrated station with the MRT at Maluri Station which is one station away from Pandan Jaya station.

In total, there will be 1,920 units. Some think this is too high densed but when you spread that out over the 11 acres, it is not that daunting. Further, with the number of units there, it translates into a self-sufficient community that stands alone without needing any additional commercial input from the vicinity. Having said that, the retail component is designed to embrace the surroundings and welcome them too. These retail units will be retained by developer to ensure the right tenant mix with the right business offerings. The developer is also replicating the success story of the spacious look and feel of the common areas, especially the main lobby, of Marc Residence in 28BLVD. Besides that, there will be very interesting facilities on offer that clearly set this project apart from the rest.

The Studios, single and two bedroom units will get one car park bay while the three and four will have two and the five will receive three car park bays. There will be 500 car park bays that are surrendered to the MC for operation with option to rent out to tenants, if there is a need.

There is no comparison for this project in the vicinity, with the lake frontage and the integrated approach. The developer is introducing a new way of life there which will certainly be a game changer for the entire Pandan area. The nearest comparison is Shamelin Star which is already charging RM750++ and does not have the same control or concept and specifications that 28BLVD offers. We believe this will significantly impact the market and are very excited about it.

Latest update: The developer released 500 units for the previews, of which 80% has been sold. They displayed the project model for the first time in Marc Residences Tower B Lobby over the past weekend but this is a temporary arrangement while waiting for the Sales Gallery and Show Suites to be completed. This arrangement is only up till this weekend, 17 August 2014.

Kevin Lim
 – Head, Marketing & Sales, Hartamas Real Estate Sdn Bhd  (
kevinlim@hartamas.com
)

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When a 29 year old can own two properties (RM2.6 million)… how did he do it?

Are you 29 this year and yet to own a property? There’s a 29-year old investor in Singapore who has been
featured by StraitsTimes.
He owns two properties today. One in Singapore and another in Melaka. Yes, MELAKA and not Kuala Lumpur. Anyway, every weekend, Melaka is full of Singaporeans and it is not so strange for a Singaporean investor to buy Melaka properties. Here’s an earlier humour about Melaka properties.
8 reasons why buying a property in Melaka is not for you
 The investor’s name is Jay Tay. His preparations before buying. He looks at location, rental yields and unit’s rentability. His advantage? He is still staying with his parents and his first property which is a condominium unit is rented out with a positive rental yield. His second property is in Melaka and it has also provided him with a positive rental yield. Last but not least he believes in buying and holding for the long term. (Yes, he is doing this for high-rise units. I have no idea how long he intends to hold though)

There are 3 important things we should learn from Jay. His definition of location is NOT within the hottest spots but is somewhere near enough to hotspots. He said he bought in Potong Pasir which is near enough to the central of Singapore. Potong Pasir is known as a small town with a huge potential. It meant that this is not your usual Orchard or CBD areas. He also bought in a location that he was very familiar with and this is important to reduce the potential mistakes we may make if we have bought in locations we have no idea about.

He was also focusing on rental yields and thus he bought into a property in Melaka which was built to be rented out. He was not buying a landed property for example and then struggle to rent out. His focus was simple. He wanted to get a unit which is easy to rent out, that’s it. Every time someone asked me where to buy in order to rent out, my question is always, have you researched some areas familiar to you? Seriously, there is NO NEED to look through even 10 areas before deciding which area to buy. Select a few areas you are familiar with, understand what’s available and choose one which is easily rentable…

Last but not least, he has shown that millennials should still be looking at owning some assets for investment purpose. He has chosen property. To some experts out there, stop telling everyone that everything is already too expensive or that there are no longer any opportunity.
Young people will stop buying cars and houses? Noted
 Seriously, when everyone can and is buying, that’s when there is no longer any opportunity. Today, majority are saying that it’s expensive or whatever reasons. This meant that they are not buying… How to choose a good ones? Here’s some tips:
Buy what others did not think, see, view yet
I wish him success in his property investment journey. Are you 29 today? Actually, even if you are 39, it’s not too late. There’s another 21 years more before you need to retire fully and can enjoy kopi-O everyday….

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written on 5 June 2017

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294 units launched and sold out in 2 hours?

Many friends love to ask me this question.Project A can buy or not. Project B can buy or not. Honestly, I have no idea because I do not follow every project being launched in the market. Perhaps one day when I am retired, I would have the time. For now, I work 5-day week and on the weekends, I hope to have family time. Occasionally I would attend some talks or view one or two units but that’s about it.  My answer would usually be, ‘what’s the price like?’ ‘
How many car parks provided with that price
?’ You can see most of my friends could only buy high-rise units. Once they answered, I would more or less guess that it’s a new launch or a secondary unit. The latter is always cheaper, usually lower than RM450 per sq ft. Newer launches are usually higher because it is a ‘future’ price that we are buying. So, what happens when there is a new launching for 800 sq ft units at RM300,000 or RM375 per unit? Plus full condo facilities?

As per an article in
Iproperty
, Skyworld’s SkyAwani 2 Residences (Tower B) launched last Saturday was fully taken up within 2 hours. You can see a happy buyer inside their article. Probably feeling lucky as he was one of those who got a unit. The article said that SkyAwani 2 Residences Tower A was also fully taken up during its launching. COO of Skyworld Mr Lee Chee Seng shared that there are 3 reasons for them to celebrate.

1. SkyAwani 2 won the Best CSR Excellence project in Malaysia at the Sin Chew Business Excellence Awards 2016.

2. On 3 December 2016, Tower A of SkyAwani 2 recorded an overwhelming 100% take-up within 3 hours!

3. On 25 February 2017, Tower B of SkyAwani 2 recorded a remarkable 100% take-up in just 2 hours!

He shared that this development is in compliance with RUMAWIP (affordable homes for Wilayah Persekutuan). I think one of the plus point is also because the location is in Sentul which is really near to the city centre. SkyAwani 2 Residences is a CSR project of SkyWorld and this affordable home series comes with an impressive full condominium facilities. SkyAwani 2 features 2 towers of 39 & 44 storey serviced apartments with 9 levels of podium parking and 3-storey stratified shop offices. Tower A & Tower B has 414 and 294 units respectively with built-up of 800 sq ft for each unit at a fixed price of RM300,000. Seated on a 2.78-acre of leasehold land, the total estimated GDV of SkyAwani 2 is over RM250 million. Future launches? This is their website
http://www.skyawani2.my

800 sq ft is not that big but I can safely say that with the right designs and clever use of space, it is still more comfortable than my 730 sq ft apartment in Penang for which I stayed with my wife, my sister and my brother-in-law happily for 4 years. Yes,
 I have since upgraded
 which is why it’s important for everyone to get an affordable first home first. Chasing after property price increase with our salary increments is likely to be impossible, especially when we do not want too far, do not want too small and do not want secondary units which may not look that great from the outside. There are many more of these affordable units. From RUMAWIP to Rumah Selangorku to PR1MA, choices are there. Secondary units too. The question is more of, have
you saved enough so that the bank will approve your loan
? That question is for potential buyers to answer. Cheers

written on 3 Mar 2017

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2nd Casino License and ‘A right of first refusal’

A few weeks ago, Tan Sri Vincent Tan said that he would like to apply again for a casino license and that he would want to spend RM3  Billion to build it what would include a casino complex, indoor and outdoor theme parks, food and retail outlets, hotels, a convention centre and holiday homes in the Berjaya Hills resort area. Personally, I have been there three times and I enjoyed only my first time there. The last time was last month and it was the worst.  The queue was so long everyone got checked in only at 430pm! My in-laws from Sandakan said that it was their worst ever experience and I agreed fully. Anyway, I am sure the RM3 billion would be spent wisely to improve everything that is not really working today at Berjaya Hills.

Today, in The Star, it was reported that Tan Sri Low Yow Chuan said that should there be a second license for casino, he would have the opportunity for ‘a right of first refusal’. In this case, it simply meant that if the second casino license was given, it would be given to the Low Yat Group first before it would be offered to others. It goes all the way back to 1970 when our first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman granted them a casino license on the condition that Low Yat group builds a hotel and country club in Langkawi. While the hotel was completed in 1973, the casino plan did not materialise because there were not enough infrastructure to support it then.

This grant was reaffirmed in 1993 when he wrote to the Treasury and got a reply two months later that while there are no plans for a second casino licence but should a reverse decision be made, Yow Chuan would be granted the opportunity for a ‘right of first refusal’. If an approval was given, an integrated resort with a casino complex would be built and the total investment would be between RM3 billion to RM4 billion. This would not just be a casino but would also include the latest lifestyle and entertainment trends like food, live shows, theatres and themed retail stores.

Personally, I do not think any decision would be made soon and if it should be made, I seriously do not think it would be in KL or Penang. Perhaps it may be Iskandar to target Singaporeans and PR who cannot visit their own casino? Perhaps it may be in a smaller town which may then become the next city of entertainment? A casino is not considered a good thing morally but in Malaysia, a casino is always complemented by a host of other entertainment potential and this would create more business job opportunities. Also, there are hard and fast rules on who can enter and who cannot. Would I support the decision for a new casino? The fact is, I would support any new development which is well though of and not a white elephant. So, answer is Yes. Please give it to a good developer and not just the lowest bidder.

written on 14 July 2014

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2nd dose of AZ? Here’s what to expect if you are going WTC, KL.

If you want to know what happens during your first shot, this was the earlier article:
My 1st AZ jab and what to expect

Today, 24th July 2021, I had my second jab for #cucukMYAZ (Yes, this is my favourite brand when it comes to vaccines).

PLEASE DO NOT GO TOO EARLY AND CLOG everyone!

My appointment time is 9am. I only arrive 847am and only walked out of the car park at 8:50am. It’s OKAY! If everyone can just listen and do accordingly, we will not have “concert” situation at the vaccination centres. By the way, if you arrive at 915am, you will STILL be JABBED on the day. However if everyone arrives late, then we would have “concert” situation too. So, please just be nearly on time and everyone can then leave on time too.

Parking was okay in the basement car park too

This time, I think because there are two groups; one for first jab and one for second jab, thus the car park will be more limited than usual. However, it took me just a few minutes to find a car parking space. My friend whose session was at noon also managed to find a parking space in minutes. Maybe both of us were lucky.

L
ots of signboards for 2nd Dose too

By the way, it’s not possible to go to the wrong place. Just look at how many 2nd Dose signboards are there for all of us to refer to. Plus we have many friendly personnels to guide us too. Getting into Station 3 was not just walk in yeah. You will need to open your MySejahtera and complete a survey first. Then, scan as usual to go inside your station.

Y
ou need that appointment card

Once you are inside, you will be asked to produce your appointment card (the one they gave you during your 1st dose) and asked to fill up a form with your name and your IC number. So, if you really do not want to use their pen, do bring your own pen yeah. I did not bring my own pen but I do remember to always use the sanitizer. So, it’s okay if you forgotten your pen.

R
egistration and the JAB!

Then, you are ushered into the next hall and within minutes, you will be at the registration table where they ask you a few questions and voila… you are now asked to wait at the place for the next phase which is the injection. Suddenly in a few minutes, you are in the jab area where the nurse shows you the vial and the syringe and the ml and then after jabbing you where I looked at it versus looking away, she showed me again that the syringe was now empty. I said thank you and that’s the end of that stage.

Observation stage

The Observation this time is pretty quick. It’s just 5 minutes, they call your name and you go to the table. After they have updated all your details, they will ask you to refresh your mySejahtera and you will see the Second Dose being updated. At first, it does not have details of the vaccine but as I was walking towards the “compulsory” area; photo taking, it was updated and the vaccine details were available too.

Photo Taking Stage

I suggest asking someone to take the photo for you and help them back yeah. It’s definitely possible to put some sanitizer after that as sanitizers are available everywhere you walk. Yes, there are a few boards, so there it not really need to wait more than a few minutes.

Thank you for protecting yourself so that everyone is protected yeah.

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If you buy the 2nd property, you are a property investor, agree?

One recent article got a lot of hits / clicks. This article:
Article in kopiandproperty.com
 “Investors Make Up 81% of Residential Property Purchases in Klang Valley in 2020; more than first time home buyer.”   Briefly, this was an article with charts showing that first-time home buyers (means buyers who were buying their first property) is down to less than 20% of all the total of all property buyers. In other words, over 80% of all the property buyers in the market were buying a second property or higher.

In fact, it seems that everyone was worried what would be happening next. So, who are these people who were buying their second property or more? Property investor? Some answers as below for all to ponder yeah.

Second property purchaser could have been an upgrade too

When I bought my second property in 2007, it was an upgrade. From a 730 sq ft apartment, I was moving to a 1,258 sq ft condo with full facilities and even a running track which runs through a small secondary forest. Okay, I only did manage to run a few times throughout my 4 years of staying there. Still, it’s available and that’s what matters. It’s the same with all the special features on your phone yeah. How many do we really use anyway? It’s also the same as a modern car too. However, we want it to have more… than others. So, if we could do without all these ‘extra’ then we could buy something cheaper. Think, decide. It’s an option anyway.

Second property is when property investment starts?

I always share with everyone that property investment really starts only from 2nd property onwards. First property we buy should preferably a home unless of course we were staying for FREE in our cozy parents’ home. If you are staying for free, then even the first property could be an investment property too. Usually when we buy the second property, we may have wanted to rent it out for rental income or we could have bought it as an upgrade and renting out our first home instead. Whether it’s renting out first home or the second property, we have stepped into the property investment journey.

First property always the hardest, especially when there’s uncertainty thrown in

Saving for the down-payment usually takes a very long time (sometimes like forever) because there’s just so many temptations of things to buy. When my parents were young, they did not have that many gadgets which they could buy and certainly not as easy as a few clicks. These days, there are those latest things which others have and we want to be seen as equal to them. There are items which we believe would make us more respected if we are seen to be holding one.

Furthermore, there’s too many ‘guru’ among our friends, especially those who have yet to buy but seems to know everything about the property market. (Heck, same as those who has yet to be jabbed but seems to know everything about the vaccine, especially all the unverified news or lopsided news about their favourite vaccine.) The most amazing thing is however not our ‘guru’ friends giving advice but the fact that we chose to believe them!

This is why most first-time home buyers may be the ones who would prefer to wait-and-see versus jumping in and fearing that they may drown. Not many have the courage to buy a RM500,000 home or even a RM400,000 home yeah. I remembered it took me 6 months just to decide on a RM123,000 apartment yeah. Of course, it has gotten way shorter ever since but since we are speaking about first time home buyer in a COVID-19 situation, it’s definitely very scary to them. This may be that reason why the number is small versus the ones who were buying 2nd property or more.

Just need to know how the number came about, that’s all

We can see the number of first time home buyer as very small versus the ones who are not or we could also realise that this number for first time home buyer is small because they are all waiting until situation gets better. Thus, it’s possible the number may suddenly grow in the near future when times get better.

There’s also the fact that many of them may also have been investing into other places instead of a home. We also have many of these “guru” of other types of investments who continue to tell them that property investment is slow and returns are low. By the way, this is TOTALLY NOT TRUE. Unless we are talking about quick returns of days, then they are right. If we are talking about returns within a few days, then just remember that the risk of losing money is also within days too yeah. Property investment meanwhile, no matter which country we look, if it’s for long term, the price is always up. Buying a property is a simple hedge against inflation everyone must have. Cheers.

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3-4 million visitors a year? Maybe more. IKEA Tebrau.

16th November 2017. That’s an auspicious Thursday, definitely. IKEA Tebrau will be opening to the public. “It’s about time,” some may say. My wife’s ex HR Manager drove the company’s lorry from Penang to IKEA Damansara to stock up and drove back. She was even pregnant then. Please do not ask me why people love IKEA. Seriously, I have no idea but I like IKEA too. Haha. Even if just for a stroll, it makes me happy. Perhaps this is a great place to relieve our stress as well, not just buying stuffs for our home. Coming back to IKEA Tebrau. It will be IKEA’s LARGEST store in South East Asia. Yes, perhaps even KLites would like to drop by to see what’s really so different about IKEA Tebrau. Across the causeway? Definitely suitable to drop by too. As for Penangites, can always drop by first while waiting for our own. (Yes, I am considered quite a Penangite too since I have stayed in Penang for 15 years)
Early 2019 it shall be for IKEA Penang in Batu Kawan

IKEA Tebrau is 46,713 sq m. That’s over 500,000 sq ft. This is over 500 units of 1,000 sq ft condos side by side and full of ideas and design for our reference in creating or enhancing our home sweet home. Okay, some parts of the store is where their restaurant is and that is another great place too. 🙂  IKEA says this about themselves. “Affordable and Functional furnitures.” I have to agree because that bed in my home has been with me for over 3 years and it is still comfortable to sleep on. The price I paid was something below RM600. According to some media reports, there would be 8,000 home furnishing products which means lots of furnishing ideas. Within the store, there would be 54 Swedish-inspired showrooms catered to local homes too. Do not worry lah, visit 27 of these first on your first visit and another 27 on your next visit. By your 3rd visit, there may already be changes to them!

After feasting for the brain (sight and touch), visitors could find a place within the 750-seat Ikea restaurant and enjoy a plate of IKEA’s signature Swedish meatballs. Plus a cup of coffee which is refillable again and again. (Not too many times lah, too much caffeine is also not good for us)  According to some other media reports, IKEA Tebrau would offer job opportunities for 250 people. This is definitely good and hopefully these people would then have the money to buy their own home sweet homes. It’s a cycle of continuous growth.

IKEA Tebrau is within a 20-minute drive from central Johor,. It is accessible via the Pasir Gudang Highway and Senai-Desaru Expressway. Happy visiting yeah my dear Johoreans and Singaporeans. Cheers. Oh yeah, here’s my earlier article about IKEA too.
My favourite store, IKEA. Whether or not I am renovating

written on 6 Nov 2017

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3 Critical Success Factors for Iskandar Malaysia INC

Should you invest in Iskandar Malaysia? Some say it’s the next big thing, and some say it’s going to be the next big… white elephant. Singapore’s elder statesman, and former Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew famously cautioned Singaporeans, “Let’s wait and see how Iskandar develops. This is an economic field of cooperation in which, you must remember, we are putting investments on Malaysian soil. And at the stroke of a pen, they can take it over.” White elephant or not, Iskandar Malaysia INC is dependent on 3 critical success factor.

I – International Buy-In

N – New Metropolis

C – Connectivity

INTERNATIONAL BUY-IN.
Iskandar Malaysia or also commonly referred to as Iskandar Johor, needs foreign investments and the participation of the international community. Without foreign participation, Iskandar Johor will merely be… well, Johor. For the longest time, properties in Johor have been lagging behind places such as Kuala Lumpur and Penang. For many Malaysians including myself, Johor (Bahru) is more of a stopover city before reaching Singapore.

All this started to change in 2012 with the completion of major catalytic projects such as Legoland Malaysia, Mall of Medini, Marlborough College Malaysia, and the coastal highway. The international community began to see the commitment of the government in carrying through various catalytic projects and infrastructure development.

Lured by incentives and lower cost of doing business, investments poured in from Singapore, Spain, USA, Japan, and many other countries. The bulk of these investments are in manufacturing and residential properties. Every now and then, we hear of new investments pouring in, and new projects being launched. This has increased the demand for properties in the Iskandar region.

While foreign investors are attracted by the various incentives in Iskandar, this alone is insufficient. To sustain the investment flow, apart from incentives and lower cost of doing business, corporate companies need a sufficient pool of talent in Iskandar Malaysia.

How do you attract a sufficient pool of talent?

NEW METROPOLIS.
In order to attract skilled talent, Iskandar Malaysia needs to be a metropolis of international standards. You do not want a scenario where there are impressive buildings all around but with no one living or working in it. Iskandar Malaysia needs to be sustainable and liveable.

Johor is traditionally a place with high crime rates. Issues of crime and safety needs to be tackled. Residents need to feel safe walking the streets of Iskandar Malaysia. Iskandar Malaysia needs to create not only jobs… but a diversity of job opportunities with competitive salaries. Modern amenities need to be abundant to cater to the diverse lifestyle of its residents. What attracts young urban professionals and retirees can be very different.

Iskandar Malaysia also needs to have its own unique flavour in attracting migrants. Malaysians in general are friendly and hospitable. This can be a unique advantage in itself (Hint: Some cities are known to be rude & unfriendly). Island resorts and beautiful beaches along the Desaru Coast can be another unique advantage. One clear advantage that Iskandar Malaysia has over other cities is its close proximity to the economic powerhouse – Singapore.

CONNECTIVITY.
In 2020, there will be a High Speed Rail (HSR) connecting Kuala Lumpur to Singapore with an estimated travelling time of 90 minutes. It will stop at Iskandar Malaysia before reaching Singapore. A Rapid Transit System (RTS) will also connect Iskandar Malaysia to Singapore’s Thompson Line MRT by 2019. Now imagine living in Iskandar and working in Singapore by taking the RTS-MRT (bypassing the busy traffic at Woodlands Causeway or Second Link Expressway) and arriving at work in 30 minutes. Or imagine working in your Singapore office in the morning, visiting your factory in Iskandar in the afternoon, having your evening meeting in Kuala Lumpur… and be back in Singapore on the same day. All this is possible with improved connectivity.

Once the HSR and RTS-MRT is completed, Iskandar Malaysia will very much be a convenient place to stay or work. The success of Iskandar Malaysia is very much dependent on these two projects proceeding as planned. Kuala Lumpur-Iskandar Malaysia-Singapore has the potential to be a mega region once the connectivity is in place.

CONCLUSION.
Lee Kuan Yew’s full quote is “And at the stroke of a pen, they can take it over. They are NOT LIKELY to because they want more investments“. Investments in Iskandar Malaysia have reached a total cumulative committed investment of RM131.64bil in 2013 with 64% contributed by domestic investors. It has reached a point where there is too much at stake for Iskandar Malaysia to fail. There is such a thing as “too big to fail.” Fuelled by domestic & foreign private sector, Iskandar Malaysia has created a momentum of its own.

Remember Iskandar Malaysia “INC” – the 3 critical success factor when making your investment decision. If you feel that Iskandar Malaysia is able to transform itself in these 3 major areas, then this represents a window of opportunity for Iskandar properties. Once Iskandar Malaysia has reached its maturity, you might have already missed the boat. Then you might be lamenting, “Why are properties in Iskandar Malaysia suddenly so expensive?”

written by
David Chong, a Property Infopreneur & founder of
InsideIskandar.my
  He helps property investors in understanding Iskandar Malaysia.

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3 days, RM130 million worth of properties to be sold, MAPEX Penang

According to the organising chairman of Malaysia Property Exhibition Penang (MAPEX), Mr. Ng Chin-U, he expects a total sales of over RM130 million within a 3 day MAPEX show in Penang. MAPEX Penang will be held on 26th September to 28th September at the SPICE (Subterranean Penang International Conference and Exhibition Centre). He said that the September one would be the second one. The reason why they are holding it for the second time is due to the huge demand for it. The one in February recorded property sales of RM130 million. He urged buyers still hunting for their dream homes to visit Mapex Penang because this is a fair featuring mostly residential properties with prices from RM200,000 to RM 15 million.

The participants list include Eco World Development Sdn Bhd, Asas Dunia Bhd, MTT Properties and Development Sdn Bhd, Setia Promenade Sdn Bhd, IJM Properties Sdn Bhd, Chong Co Sdn Bhd, Sunway Grand Sdn Bhd, Ivory Properties Group Bhd, Tambun Indah Land Bhd, Tropicana Macalister Avenue Sdn Bhd, Palmex Industries Sdn Bhd, Inspirasi Elit Sdn Bhd and Plenitude Bayu Sdn Bhd. Looking at the list, I think it covers many different types of projects and in many areas in Penang nonetheless. I know a few are in mainland and there’s one in Macalister road. 🙂  Of course, also the Penang World City, the Balik Pulau integrated development, Relau / Sg. Ara, The Light and many more.

I love property fairs. I always think this is a good place for me to have a feel of the actual demand in Penang. In the latest statistics from NAPIC. Despite KL, JB market transactions going down by double digit numbers for Q1 2014 versus Q4 of 2013, Penang property market transactions actually held steady! Something unexpected for me. You can read it here:
Every major property market dropped, Penang stayed steady?
 I seriously think I will drive down to Penang for a peek at what the market has to offer, especially when it is now just few months away from GST. Maybe I just drop by the booths which offers free lattes. Haha. Just joking. Personal encouragement, go take a look.

written on 2nd Sept 2014

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3% Levy on Penang Property

Personally, I agree to the additional 3% levy. The additional levy would allow the state government to have additional income and may use the surplus for affordable properties in Penang. It is not an easy task to build affordable properties. Land prices has shot up tremendously for many years and in the word of Dato Jerry Chan, chairman of REHDA Penang, ‘land prices has been moving very fast, thus the prices of Penang properties has to grow because the land cost has gone up.’

Why is affordable properties important in Penang? Without more affordable properties, the prices of the currently available ones would increase even more due to the shortage of supply. Shortage of supply in locations that the buyers want. That is why prices per sf in the Tanjung Tokong area has been higher than prices in Gertak Sanggul or even Balik Pulau. Location is one main consideration.

Thus, where can these affordable properties be built? I understand that mainland Penang is where bulk of these affordable properties is to be built. Again, I like this idea, especially if the development is a integrated one. It’s not just the actual units. It’s also the overall. Is it easily accessible? Are there public parks, primary schools, secondary schools, colleges, jobs nearby, a cosy family departmental stores within the development etc. If these are planned carefully, Penang’s affordable housing plans will bring huge benefits both for the poor and middle class as well as for the long term health of the property market in Penang.

Only one request, please speed up the affordable housing process since RM500 Million has been made available to build it. This has been announced for quite some time.

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Only 3 reasons for buying your home sweet home in Ipoh

A reader, Ms. A dropped me an email the other day asking for my opinion in buying a landed property in Ipoh. It was in Meru. She said she has viewed the place and likes it but still would want a second opinion. I think she was looking for third opinion because perhaps some of the friends she spoke to told her that that area is not the best. Actually, to many people, areas such as Ipoh Garden South, Canning Garden and even Bercham is considered better compared to the newer or inferior areas. I gave her 3 brief questions. If her answer is positive, she would have her answer already. They are as follows:

If you are buying for your own stay, there’s just three criterias that I would consider.

1) Do you and your family like it?

Have you seen the show house, does it look great? Have you imagined which room would be for which family member? How about the garden plot, have you imagined what will you be planting there? Perhaps a papaya tree, perhaps some vegetables? Are the ceilings tall enough? Higher ceiling means more spacious. What about the environment, do you feel comfortable with it even if it is not in a prime area with lots of shoplots etc? Are your family members liking it as much as you?

2) Is it near enough (<15 minutes) to majority of the places that you go to every week.

Example, if you need to send your kids to school everyday, are you able to send them there within 15 minutes? For Ipoh, I would say 15 minutes is the maximum time before the Ipohans tell you that it is FAR.  Of course for KLites, this would most probably be 20 minutes on the low end. If you just love a certain cafe and you must drink a cup of coffee day everyday, is it within 15 minutes away? 15 minutes, under a no jam condition would meant up to 10km away. So, do have a list ready of the places you would like to go daily. Not weekly. If weekly, put it as secondary.

3) Can you afford it.

Haha. Very important. Are you liking it so much that you are thinking to maximise the budget you allocated for a home?  Always remember, buy within your means.  If everyone stretched to their very maximum limit, it meant the whole market is in danger. Don’t contribute to the problem. Also, if everyone thinks objectively, I think the developers also would not dare to price it as high as the moon or the stars in the sky. I seriously do not think any landed property in Ipoh, except for bungalows should be priced higher than RM1 million. Come on, it may be better for you to buy a few secondary properties next to each other, renovate it, have a huge place and it is still less than RM1 million. Sorry to developers who are selling over RM1 million properties. Above is just my personal opinion.

The below ‘other’ reasons are so secondary that you should not be thinking about them.

1. My friends said that area is not good. (Are they buying or are you buying?)

2) My friends do not stay around there. (Unless you visit all your friends everyday, please do not even think about this)

3) My relative said that the area he is staying is much better. (If you agree with him, then please buy nearby. Do note that majority of everyone would tell you his / her area is the best. Including me. )

4) I buy this home to stay and I also want capital appreciation. (If you are buying for capital appreciation only, then I seriously don’t think Ipoh is matured enough. Come on, in my parent’s home in Ipoh Garden South, even on the same row, the prices can range from RM300,000 to RM450,000. Please, think objectively)

Hope this answers and happy staying. I hope one day I will go home to Ipoh too. Home Sweet Home.

written on 15th Sept 2014

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Understanding 3 property bubble bursting signs and more

There are many reasons why a property bubble may start building and later bursting. This was a recent view from an academician.
Property bubble close to bursting due to 3 reasons. Government must be ready.

 This view which was published in many media outlets were widely shared and I have received it from many friends. They were worried. One lady from Penang even told me that she will not buy a property she’s been eyeing for a couple of weeks. As long as we are not overstretched currently due to property mortgage payments, we have no worries. A more important question might be, will I be losing my job in the near future. If the answer my job should be safe, then there is no need for us to sell our home at a much lower price than what we paid for previously. Perhaps it’s better to understand the usual three reasons which are the signs before a property bubble bursting shall we?

#1 – Sharp and continuous house price increase

Property prices must be rising and rising and rising on a much faster pace than our salary growth. Remember the periods of 2009 – 2013 here in Malaysia? Yeah, generally every new launch by developers were all at a higher price. Then, the cooling measures from Bank Negara Malaysia came. The speculative activities were then minimised instead of being the norm. Banks only lend to qualified borrowers. The double digit house price growth were stopped in its tracks. When we ask our real estate negotiator friends these days, they will usually tell us of certain potential buys which are now ‘Below-Market-Value (BMV).’  Of course, we should still be aware that BMV here does not necessarily be a good buy unless the BMV was not due to the BMW-level price previously…  First reason for a property bubble bursting? Not happening currently. We may refer to the image to understand that those double digit years have passed.

#2 – Just no such thing as Affordable choices

This is extremely important. The B40 and the M40 households in Malaysia comprise of 80 percent of the total households.
Earlier article here about them.

They need affordably priced homes and not the RM500,000 or higher homes. This is the reason why there was PR1MA, Rumah Selangorku and even RUMAWIP programmes. There may be on its way. The government says that it intends to build 1 million new affordable homes within 10 years. Of course, we hope these affordable homes are in well connected areas, comfortable to stay and built as per the announced timelines. Once these happens, the pressure on the housing market is lessened because property transactions would continue to happen instead of only the rich having the money to buy and the poor struggling to get a place or having to rent forever.
There’s also the rent-to-own schemes too.
 Property bubble will burst when there are too little affordable choices in the market. Even if we do not look at these new affordable choices, there is also the secondary market which will provide choices under the sub-RM400,000 category.

#3. Non-Performing Loan numbers

Banks in Malaysia are listed in Bursa Malaysia. They publish their quarterly results without fail. (If they fail to publish them, problems have started…) Please take a look at their Non-Performing Loan numbers. If we see a spike in the number, we know that the borrowers of the banks are no longer able to serve their debts. What this tells us is that the potential for the properties to be auctioned off is high and this is usually the start of a loss of confidence and the herd mentality kicks in. More people will be looking to sell their properties at lower prices and the a crisis starts. The image shows the non-performing
loan numbers in Malaysia by CEICData.com
   In brief the only reason why people start to miss their payments may be because they have lost their jobs. This is why this number is extremely important to take note of and everyone could!

By the way, there’s no thing as since all these three signs are healthy, there’s no potential for a property bubble bursting yeah. Who knows if another world financial crisis would unfold in the near future which will pull all the rest of the world into a recession? Based on the current numbers, Malaysia is unlikely to be the starting point for the crisis. This is what our
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said, “Economy remains strong, fundamentals solid” (Click to read his full explanation)
 Beyond these three major signs, we can also look at the Unemployment Rate of Malaysia. Any sudden spike indicates problems ahead. The car sales numbers, usually when it shows a totally bad number, we know something bad is about to happen. The visitors to the popular malls. When people have no money, they do not go to places where they are tempted to buy… Happy watching and please report if you find anything huge happening.

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written on 27 July 2018

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3 Timing on Property Investment: Best Time, Worst Time, Sometime

Property Investment: Best Time, Worst Time, Some Time

1998: Best Time or Worst Time?

If someone were to invest during the worst time, say the 1998 ASEAN financial crisis, this person would have gained tremendously whether she bought into the stock market (some counter which is earning profits), property (prices in 1998 vs today?) or even the unit trust. 1998 till today is around 23 years. Her investment would have easily tripled or more. Was that the worst time then? To the one who invested, it was the best time.

2008 – 2013: Best Time or Worst Time?

If someone were to buy a property during the booming years and she happened to buy towards the end of the booming years, then this person may need to have the power to hold. This is because after 2013, the property prices have not been the same as the 5 years before 2013. This meant that investing during good times, does not necessarily give good returns. Okay, unless that someone managed to invest into some undervalued properties even during good times.

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3 Ways to Vaccinate Faster. One is up to us.

3 ways to vaccinate faster. The last one is really up to us.

This is why the focus must be three pronged. First one is to secure ENOUGH vaccines. This is not the time to wait… and do nothing. This is also NOT the time to play politics. If the vaccine is approved and it’s already being used by millions of people, then it’s a good vaccine. Period. Whether it’s from the US, from UK, from China, Russia or even in the future, Vietnam, wherever is okay. GET those stocks in as quickly as possible. Overbuy in this case is perfectly fine because late delivery is still a concern. Just look at how the European Union is in a court case with AztraZeneca because of late delivery.

Second is to ensure we are ready to jab, jab and jab. I think from all the stories thus far, the process to get that jab has been good thus far. Everyone has given thumbs up and even the ones who were taking the AstraZeneca vaccines too. As per what has been reported, if we have enough vaccines, the process of getting vaccination could also be ramped up to over 100,000 per day. That’s good to hear and even assuming we could do 50,000 per day, we could achieve the targeted 11 million people by end of 2021. Let’s do it!

Third is the MOST IMPORTANT yeah. As this is voluntary, we need the people to register, register and register. As for how far or how near are we from the targets, well, one picture tells everything. It’s not positive yeah.

Source:
https://www.vaksincovid.gov.my/

All of us need to do something about it

The first two steps; procuring the vaccines and getting the centres ready we may not be able to do much. However, the 3rd one which is to get more and more people to register, this is something all of us could do. If we are a community leader, encourage the community to register. This is not the time to ‘choose’ vaccines or ‘choose’ whether to follow the current government which is not your choice or ‘choose’ to make the effort to vaccinate fail because we have certain beliefs about certain country which the vaccine came from.

Dear all, NONE of the vaccines we are speaking about is used for the first time. All of them have been used by tens of millions of people. Period. Potential risks? Versus…. getting infected and die from Covid-19? Better get vaccinated yeah. Remember… no vaccinations, no recovery in economy. No recovery in economy.. stop talking about buying a property. Or any other investments too.

 Thanks for reading until there. Let’s do it within 2021.

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Huh? 30 percent sold by midnight before launch?

I had wanted to post a Facebook comment and picture here. However, on second thought, best not to show or else that person may suddenly become too famous. The news was about West Side III condominiums in Desa Parkcity for which 30 percent had been sold the midnight before the official  launch! A close friend and I were just speaking about this particular project a few days ago. She said she has interest to view but her husband was asking her if she is able to rent out after buying one unit. She said she prefer the Pantai Sentral Park which may become another ‘Desa Parkcity’ in future as it is another huge integrated development by another huge developer; IJM. She asked for my opinion. Perhaps it may not matter anymore since 30 percent sold on the midnight before the launch? 🙂

I have been to Desa Parkcity many times. In fact nearly weekly basis during my wife’s pregnancy. She has just delivered our second baby in Park City Medical Centre recently. I like the environment in Desa Parkcity. Everything seemed complete and rows of trees lined up along all the roads. It seemed safe too with the guards looking professional instead of the old and shabby clothed guards in some projects. Therefore, if one would like this kind of environment and has the ability to buy, West Side III is definitely a good buy. It may be too expensive to buy landed within Desa Parkcity but hey, condominium allows you to pay lower but get the same environment.

What about Pantai Sentral Park then? If Pantai Sentral Park (PSP) pans out as planned by the developer, I would prefer this over Desa Parkcity. Reason? PSP is only starting and the overall size of the land is more than twice that of Desa Parkcity. Thus, based on the money that one is able to pay today in Desa Parkcity versus that in PSP, I would like to reason that PSP will give a higher ROI with time. Desa Parkcity is already a matured and very popular neighbourhood. Under the usual stocks guide, it’s quite fully valued. PSP meanwhile is considered a new project and in terms of the usual stocks guide, this is like a manufacturing stock which has just started to hit 20 percent of its capacity.

For me, my mind is clear. If I am buying for staying today, PSP is not going to be even second in my consideration. However, if I already have a place to stay and I am buying with the anticipation of a higher ROI with time, I would personally choose PSP. Oh yeah, to answer my good friend’s husband on whether can it be rented out in future, well, would there be many who would be willing to stay around 15km away and yet paying RM2,500 or higher in rental? Please bear in mind that most of the time, the working location is in city centre and is definitely not anywhere nearby Desa Parkcity. For this, I will let readers answer by themselves. Happy buying.

written on 30 May 2015

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30 years, 11,636 acres and RM290 billion of investments. (plus 1.38 Million of jobs)

Economic growth is essential to our property investment. Please be reminded that if we have no confidence with the Malaysian economy, it’s best not to start our property investment journey. Seriously. We have access to so many other countries’ property markets. Without more investments creating more jobs paying higher salaries, there will be no growth in demand for properties. Beyond just Iskandar in Johor or even the famous Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER), there’s also a lesser known name closer to Greater Kuala Lumpur. It’s called Malaysia Vision Valley. (MVV)

MVV has been mentioned numerous times but nothing too serious has happened yet. This is the Malaysia Vision Valley which is being developed by Sime Darby Property (SD Property) covering towns such as Nilai, Seremban and Port Dickson.
In an article in NST,
 SD Property says that it is in talks with several investors to develop the Malaysia Vision Valley (MVV) with the immediate development being a high-tech industrial park. It had engaged with the Negri Sembilan government and it says that the next step is to engage the federal government to discuss matters relating to economic affairs and transportation infrastructure. In May 2017, SD Property, Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan) and Brunsfield Development Sdn Bhd signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to lead the development of MVV, encompassing the districts of Seremban and Port Dickson.

Currently, MVV is in its first phase and this will cover an area of 11,636 acres over a period of 30 years. SD Property currently owns 2,838 acres of land within MVV and has the option to acquire another 8,796 acres from Sime Darby Bhd within five years from the date of its listing. MVV is actually an extension of Greater Kuala Lumpur and will capitalise on its organic growth to the south as well as existing and planned world class infrastructure and talent. It aims to attract investments from all over the world. The 30-year project is expected to attract RM290 billion of investments and create almost 1.38 million new jobs. The total proposed area is 130,000 acres and this is about 75 percent the size of Singapore. There are five strategic clausters including Edu-Tech Valley, Tourism and Wellness, New Livable township, Central Business District and Nature City.
Do refer to more details in the article in NST.

I know, that question of ‘will MVV be a property hotspot then?’ Haha. Let’s keep following for more details and always keep out ears and eyes open. Remember, opportunities should not only be that few usual hotspots that everyone is talking about everyday. When those hotspots become way too expensive, the only way is to move further away, not to borrow and keep buying ever smaller. This is Malaysia yeah. We are not an island and we are still an emerging market and NOT a developed one. Be very happy with this fact. Cheers.

written on 16 July 2018

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