Salary? Earning more. Property? Buying less.

I think some may say that the following situation looks familiar here in Malaysia? Please refer to an
article in theurbandeveloper.com “Gen-Y is earning more but buying property less’
  The article says that the inequality in Australia is the worst in the past two decades; rich are getting richer and the poor struggles to keep up with inflation. The one bright spot may be the Gen-Y in Australia. They are earning better incomes compared to other Gen-Y outside Australia. Despite this growth in income however, Gen-Y’s capacity to enter the property market remains is uncertain because the property price increases were benefitting the older generations.
 (In brief, this meant that property prices may be rising faster than their income and the earlier buyers were all benefitting from the super increases in property prices for some cities)

Professor Peter Whiteford from the Australian National University says that younger households aged 25 to 29 experienced household income growth 27 per cent higher than the national average. (27 percent is huge! Actually, there are many Gen-Y friends here in Malaysia who is already earning much higher income than most other older working population, usually the Gen-X. One key reason would be the skill gap; IT related skills for example. In fact the Gen-Ys are also very fast in capturing opportunities and even taking calculated risks. Gen-X are well, slower and may not be exposed to all the latest trends of today, not even online shopping for example)  However, this higher household income may not be enough to translate into home purchases. Whiteford shared, “Younger households have seen both declining rates of home purchasing and higher overall indebtedness associated with housing.”

Professor Alison Sheridan shared that in Australia, where gender is concerned, the female workers are paid 15 percent lesser and this has remained unchanged for the past 2 decades. (Dear Malaysian female professionals, do you agree? Frankly, I have never paid any of my female staffs lower salary. To me, everything comes down to ability and not the gender)  The AustraliaHousing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) shared a few suggestions on how to improve Australia’s housing affordability. For example, mandating the development of affordable housing when land is rezoned, offering developers voluntary planning incentives and providing density bonuses. (Sounds familiar right. Ever higher density for some areas, especially within the city centre and those with access to public transportation. Incentives are also given in the form of cheaper land prices for example. Plus there are now a lot of affordable units being built and offered.)

The Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) Chief policy officer Rolf Fenner said that the government must be aware that the housing affordability crisis stemmed in large part from demand-side factors. He said, “Wholesale adoption of inclusionary zoning provisions may lead to perverse outcomes if they’re implemented without due regard to local market conditions and specific city-wide, or regional plans.  A surer bet would be affordable housing targets developed in consultation with the community and based on quality urban design and architectural foundations.”
Here’s that full article for reference.

Remember that property prices are up because of
transactions. The cause may be us.

When there are more demand than there are supply for some hotspots, the prices automatically go up and will reflect the new prices for that particular area. Then, the other
secondary areas next to these hotspots also rise in-tandem.
 It is thus important to ensure demand is spread wider instead of just buying in the same hotspots every time! Anyway, tough to do which is why even the Australian government could not control the prices in cities such as Sydney or Melbourne for which the median property prices versus the household income is already higher than Kuala Lumpur. Happy following and learning.

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written on 30 April 2018

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When salary packages for CEOs become way too high

According to prospects.ac.uk, the typical starting pay for a drilling engineer is £25,000 to £35,000 and with experience, it can grow to between £40,000 and £80,000. There’s no need to convert to RM because the average property price in London is £500,000 anyway. In other words, even for an extremely experienced drilling engineer who is already earning more than majority of his peers in the engineering field, he will still find it tough to buy a unit if he intends to stay in London. How’s this compared to a CEO’s pay in BP? Well, for the year ending 2015, its chief executive Bob Dudley should receiving
US$20 million (£13.72 million). This is around 172 times more than a very experienced drilling engineer who would most probably
face much higher work hazards than him.

First, CEOs should earn much higher pay, that’s for sure. That’s because he is using his brain extensively and the number of people who could do a CEO’s work is really not as many as a drilling engineer. Then, how much should the “higher” be? Before we jump at BP’s CEO, there are CEOs earning by far higher than him. Let’s look at some stats by Glassdoor which was published in Huffingtonpost.com   It revealed that the average pay gap for the CEOs of major U.S. firms versus the median worker’s pay is 204 to 1. Note, MEDIAN pay is definitely higher than the salary of the lowest paid worker. Well, this is not all, there were four CEOs earning more than 1,000 times the salary of their median worker. The full article is
here
.

Coming back to BP’s CEO. He will be receiving 20 percent more in 2015 compared to 2014. Due to the low oil price, 5,000 workers lost their jobs in BP last year. BP also reported a US$6.5 billion loss in 2015. Well, the shareholders voted against the pay package and it will be considered seriously by the company’s board. In the U.S., one of its President hopefuls, Bernie Sanders said, “The decision to require companies to disclose how much more CEOs are paid than workers is an important step in the fight against income inequality.” I think this is necessary because once all these information are transparent to all, companies would behave better. I still believe CEOs deserve much higher pay but between £13.72 million vs £7 million, the CEO would still be enjoying majority of whatever he intends to do….. Okay, now let’s try our best to become a CEO with a multinational organisation in our career. Majority would be ecstatic with just RM2 million pay per year…..

written on 28 Apr 2016

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Of low salary, lots of OT and poverty and well, property.

According to World Bank’s ‘Poverty-at-a-Glance, anyone living with US$1.90 (RM8) per day in the world is considered to be living in poverty. In 2013, an estimated 10.7 percent of the world’s population live on less than US$1.90 per day. Here’s that
link from World Bank to read more.
 I just came back from Sydney and Melbourne trip last week. In many train stations that I was at, there were homeless people sleeping along the corridor. There were not many of them but there were always a couple of them nearby train stations.

The Australian Council of Council of Social Service says that 13.3 percent of Australians are living below the poverty line, after taking into account their housing costs. It does not follow the US$1.90 per day. The poverty line for Australians would be AUD426 per week (AUD60 / RM182 per day) for a single adult. One report says that less than 1 percent of Malaysians live in extreme poverty.
Here’s that article.
 I think when they meant extreme poverty, it meant US$1.90 per adult per day. This is Malaysia where the Tabung Harapan could tip RM90 million in a few weeks. I think we MUST ensure there are NONE living under the extreme poverty level.

There are many places where properties are making everyone poor. In fact, there are jobs which pays a salary which is not enough to even ensure the worker gets a decent roof over their heads! These workers are so poor that the jobs they hold are categorised as ‘poverty-level’ jobs.
This is the article in TheStar: “These are poverty-level jobs in Facebook.’
 It gave a few examples. One guy was making about US$2,400 (RM9,611) per month after taxes as a security guard but he could not even rent a one-bedroom apartment in San Jose, which averages about US$2,460 (RM9,851) monthly. He is currently sharing a garage-turned-bedroom which he splits with a roommate for US$825 (RM3,303) a month.  This guy routinely works up to 80 hours a week. (That’s 11 hours per day 7 days a week).

Another lady, a 58-year old security officer says she sleeps three to four hours a day in her 1997 Mercury Tracer in industrial parks in Santa Clara and San Jose to avoid police who may impound her car or carjackers who may steal her car and the few remaining belongings she has. The money which she’s earning as a guard is spent on her brother. She says she pays for his room and for caretakers while she is at work. She regularly works 16 hours a day every day.
There are many other examples in the article. Please read it here.

One wonders why the government did not step in to provide cheaper housing; affordable homes and allows their people to continue to suffer under such situations? I have no answer but I can safely say that from all these real life examples, it is so important to ensure everyone have access to a roof over their heads. Living in a car park space, shared by two strangers simply because of exorbitant rental is really sad. These situations are already happening in advanced nations with far more advanced property markets than ours.

Perhaps what they did not do right, we must do soonest. By the way, those getting much higher pay continue to get every higher pay even in San Jose. The CEOs are earning salaries which could and should actually be lowered… Earlier article here.
When salary packages for CEOs become way too high

 By the way, the ONLY reason why companies could continue to function is NOT because of one CEO but because of everyone in the organisation. Fairer salaries please for the majority. Happy working and yes, get a property to ensure one does not live in poverty due to high rentals…

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written on 26 June 2018

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Why our salary seldom rise as fast as property price?

I agree that the salary increase is slower than the property price increase in Malaysia. Actually, it’s the same for any other country. Why do I say so? Well, majority of everyone would get an increment of between 5 to 8 percent. This is above the official inflation rate. This increase in pay is based on our current  pay. In other words, if we are earning RM5,000, then 5 percent meant we have extra RM250 per month. Minus the inflation of say 2 percent, then the 5 percent becomes only 3 percent or only RM150 per month. On a yearly basis, Rm150 x 12 = RM1,800.

Assuming we save every cent of our increment, that’s just RM1,800. A typical apartment, one car park in a secondary area within Selangor would be around RM300,000 or lower. STOP looking only at places where everyone wants to buy. A walk-up apartment should cheaper. Assuming the property price increase is only 3 percent, as per inflation, this would already be RM9,000. Hmm. RM1,800 versus RM9,000. Does it mean everyone would not be able to afford a property then? Not really. We do not normally pay for a property over a period of 1 year but it may be over a period of 30 years. Once we stretch that RM9,000 increase in property price over 30 years, it becomes bearable, for at least a few years until this property price increase starts to race ahead while your increment remains small.

As soon as we start delaying our decision to buy and instead spending the increments on other unnecessary stuffs, the term ‘unaffordable’ starts to creep in. It must be said however that over-stretching just to buy something we think fits our current ‘standard’ does not make sense either. Besides, the loan application is likely to be rejected today. Read here:
Jan 2016:Whopping 62 percent loan rejection

Buying a home, good enough for us to stay in so that we do not pay rental which is total loss meant that we can then hedge against inflation as well as continuous property price increase. Once we do that, we can then focus on our career, earn a little bit more and upgrade to a better home few years down the road.

Of course, we can try to take up a second job but do not earn more and then we spend more. We should realise that we are getting older all the time and the value of money is getting smaller? Yes, there’s also the argument that Ringgit’s value is dropping over time. In 1998, I think Ringgit dropped to as low as RM4.80 to US$1. Fast forward 18 years later, Ringgit is at RM4.10 to US$1. The point is not whether Ringgit loses its value over time. The really important question would be if we believe the value of money is getting smaller all the time, what are we really doing about it? What have we done and what will we do? The answer may involve some concrete steps. Happy investing.

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Income level is more important than the property price. True?

Here’s a long article in NST which I think gives a very good idea about the property market versus the salary. Many prominent property people were also quoted. Read it here:
‘It’s more about income level, not pricing’
  Let’s look at what Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia (Rehda) council member Datuk N. K. Tong shared about the state of the household income versus the pricing of properties. He said, “The overall market is soft basically because incomes are not high enough. We have that vision of a high-income nation but we just haven’t executed it. There are many issues but these are a legacy from many years of the property industry being somewhat dysfunctional. In the current market where there are many affordably-priced properties and you still see slow take-ups, that’s got to do with the economy.”

Rehda patron and immediate past-president Datuk Ng Seing Liong gave some advice to the banks. He said, “If banks just look at their salary, then getting a loan to be approved with a 90 per cent margin is out of the question as their income level has either maintained or increased by only a small percentage in the last few years, while cost of living has gone up. A lot of people these days are doing second or third jobs, so they have more income to support their family. Banks should look at that when approving loan margin.”  Rehda president Datuk Soam Heng Choon shared a similar idea as Ng. He said, “I am not saying that banks are out rightly rejecting housing loans. First-time house buyers are just not getting 90 per cent margin. Banks are only offering them 70 per cent margin because of their income level. This is why the loan rejection rate is high because buyers cannot afford 30 per cent downpayment.”
Here’s that article in NST for reading pleasure.

Perhaps I just explain my personal situation then. When I bought my first property, my household income (My wife and I) was around RM5,000. If we take the usual 35%, my wife and I could afford to pay up to RM1,750 per month on mortgage. Using a mortgage calculator with the usual 30 year loan and 10 percent downpayment, it meant that both of us could afford a property of up to RM380,000. She was driving a Perodua Kelisa (eventually for 10 years) and I was still driving my father’s Sunny 1.3 (eventually for 15 years). The first property we bought was RM123,000. A 730 sq ft apartment.  Of course, due to this, we managed to save enough to get our second property 4 years later. The property investment journey has since started in 2004. (Only 2nd property onwards that qualifies as property investment. First one is not, for me.) Perhaps the solution is about the right mindset coupled with right actions and not just focused on the income level or the property price.
Perhaps Think Big, Start Small?

Cheers.

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written on 18th Oct 2018

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Sales target cut last year, Overachieving target this year.

UEM-Sunrise’s branding advertisements are running on radio every day. I hear them every morning on Melody FM. For those who know the age group that listens to Melody FM, it’s ok. I admit. I am no longer as young as I was. Haha. Last year, due to the gloomy outlook, UEM-Sunrise slashes its sales target for 2014 from RM3.2 Billion down to RM2 Billion. This year however, the RM2 Billion would be on the low side as the company is expected to exceed its RM2 Billion sales target. One chief reason mentioned was their Melbourne project which was very well received. The massive 92-floor skyscraper with 941 serviced apartments will have a GDV of A$770 million (RM2.23 Billion). As of last Friday, a total of 403 units have been sold and that is worth RM1.16 Billion. The second reason for this would be disposal of land banks in Iskandar too. Melbourne project would contribute 25 percent, 60 percent by Nusajaya projects and the remaining from Klang Valley.

Is this considered a turnaround sign for Iskandar? UEM-Sunrise does own the largest landbank in Iskandar. Since they are now on the path towards overachieving their earlier set sales target, it should be seen in a positive light for Iskandar? I think, not yet. The current potential result is mostly because of the much lower sales targets set earlier. Imagine if they did not review their earlier sales target, then 2014 would have been a year of underperformance for them. During this slowdown, many developers have changed their plans. This included UEM-Sunrise too. They are slowing down new launches and will also be contributing to the affordable units in Iskandar. This is via their Denai Nusantara project with a GDV of RM118 million in Nusajaya. Denai Nusantara is a project consisting of five 12-storey blocks of three-bedroom apartments with a built-up area of 1,000 square feet each. This is a good size in my opinion instead of the usual 850 – 950sf which I have seen for the affordable homes launched by other developers. The total units are 1,109 and each unit is priced at RM150,000. RM150 psf? If the land cost is extremely low, I think it’s still doable. Either that or there’s some form of subsidy from the government.

UEM-Sunrise is a very important barometer of Iskandar. During the boom periods, UEM-Sunrise was in the limelight every week. In fact if we look at their launches, we can more or less see what’s happening in Iskandar. Of course, with the entrance of the China developers, a lot has changed, especially the condo units being launched which are in the thousands. Total units thus far? Largest would be Country Garden’s 9,500 units, followed by Country Garden’s 32,000 units which may take 10 – 15 years to complete followed by The Greenland Group’s 2,200 units. Others include additional 80,000 units in Danga Bay, Senibong, Medini as well as some around the Johor Bahru city area. Yeah, I do agree, just looking at the numbers alone would get many worried. However, be reminded again, Iskandar is 3 times the size of Singapore and currently, you can still say majority of the growth has just started. Let’s wait for UEM-Sunrise’s next move then.

written on 14 Nov 2014

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RM4 billion sales target lowered to RM3.5 billion, market uncertainty

On the way to Singapore yesterday (24 Aug), I happened to read the business section of The Star and there were the financial results of at least 9 companies. All the companies were reporting a better Q2 2016 versus Q2 2015. All have positive results and none sunk into huge losses too. I think this has shown some resiliency and that not everything is as bad as what many believe. Before boarding the plane, I was at a pharmaceutical company which told me that they will be launching new products and that it would take the market by storm. Well, positive news are good.

Then I read about SP Setia which has continuously been launching many new projects. SP Setia has revised its sales target for FY16 downwards. Formats earlier targeted RM4 billion, it is now lowered to RM3.5 billion. It shared in int interim report to Bursa Malaysia.“In view of the global uncertainty, especially post-Brexit and the continued weak sentiment in the Malaysian property market, the group sales target for FY16 has been lowered from RM4bil to RM3.5bil.” Its CEO Khor shared some positive results of its launches recently including the 100% take-up rate of
Setia Eco Templer, Selayang, in May
 and an encouraging 72% take-up rate of Everna cluster semi-detached homes, Setia EcoHill 2 at Semenyih.

Moving on, SP Setia would also be launching other projects such as Maison Carnegie, Melbourne, ViiA Residence at KL Eco City, Setia Sky Ville at Jelutong, Penang,
Setia Sky Seputeh (Tower A) at Taman Seputeh
 and Trio by Setia (Tower 1) at Bukit Tinggi, Klang. For the first half of 2016, S P Setia earned RM249.17mil on revenue of RM1.92bil. This is a profit margin of 13 percent. Not the highest this year but is certainly still within double digits under current circumstances.

When big names are lowering their sales targets, it does give a slightly
negative perception of the property market
. Let’s see what happens to all their upcoming launches to gauge the market further. As for those needing a home, the advice remains the same. Find a good one before buying. Happy following.

written on 24 Aug 2016

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It’s not just about cars. It is also about people.

During the
KopiTalk #1 with Sr. Michael Geh (click here to view)
for the just announced Economic Recovery Plan (ERP), I asked him this question. “With the sales exemption for car prices, do you think more Malaysians would be buying cars instead of property?” He laughed and responded that he hopes people could understand the differences between buying a car and a property.

Then on Facebook, we start to have debates about whether the sales exemption was a correct move since if people needs a car, they could just buy a secondhand one instead. Plus the fact that during this time when everyone is without a job, why the need for sales exemptions for the cars? Perhaps the news below can provide some clue as to why protecting all industries are important and many times what appears on the surface is just the tip of the ice-berg. Even luxury car makers could not run away from being affected

Article in nst.com.my
  Luxury car brand, Bentley has announced that it will be letting go around 1,000 people in the UK because of COVID-19 which has caused a downturn. Bentley is a Volkswagen division and it employs 4,200 workers in Britain. Bentley Motors chairman and chief executive Adrian Hallmark said, “Losing colleagues is not something we are treating lightly but this is a necessary step that we have to take to safeguard the jobs of the vast majority who will remain, and deliver a sustainable business model for the future.”

Car dealership group Lookers would be cutting about 1,500 jobs and shut 12 showrooms. James Bond’s favourite carmaker Aston Martin will be cutting around 500 jobs due to tumbling demand and ballooning losses even before COVID-19 started. Car sales in Britain has stopped after Britain’s lockdown which started on March 23. Please do read the article in full here.
Article in nst.com.my

People should be objective enough whether they need a new car or a second hand car. People who wanted and could afford to buy a new car will definitely want some sweeteners to buy a car. Without the sweetener, they will choose not to buy.  This will affect the sales people and in turn would reduce the number of orders to the manufacturing plant and if we look at the example from Britain for Bentley, this may mean a huge number of people becoming unemployed.

When people gets retrenched, they automatically loses the ability to buy goods and services. This will affect many other sectors which used to sell to them as well. This is why from Prihatin all the way to Penjana, all these measures seeks to protect the potential demand for goods and services. Once the market stabilises (or recover) and the demand for goods and services could continue moving by itself, then the government may no longer need to push too many fiscal injections.

So, that exemption for car sales tax is not just to make people buy more cars. It’s to prevent car companies including manufacturing, sales, servicing from having to let go people because of the lack of demand. Happy understanding.

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Same rules for hotels and AirBnB by end 2020. Happy news for both?

I think the hotels love to have the same rules for hotels and AirBnB. They felt disadvantaged. I also think competition should be a fair one whether or not AirBnB is considered to be helping home owners to get some income for their homes or in some instances, getting even more income versus long-term rental.

For many months, whether it’s the hotels or the AirBnB operators, both were suffering because no one could travel. So, would the same rules for hotels and AirbnB become a reality then?  According to Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin, we should expect this to happen by the end of the year. Yes, I believe she meant 2020.

Article in freemalaysiatoday.com
  By end of 2020, the standardisation of several issues, including regulations, licensing and taxes involving the hotel sector and global online accommodation service provider Airbnb, will be finalised.

Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin said, “The matter is still under discussion as to how we want to classify Airbnb and it takes into account the agreement to allow private homes to be involved in the sector as well as discussions with the management bodies in housing estates.”

The issue will involve working together with the housing and local government ministry together with the tourism, arts and culture ministry, the state government and the Malaysian Productivity Corporation. Please do refer to the full article here:
Article in freemalaysiatoday.com

In my last trip to Melaka, I booked an AirBnB condo with super nice facilities. My kids love the facilities. I do not really like the condo BECAUSE in the whole corridor of 16 units, only one unit was occupied and it was my unit. Yes, of course it should be safe enough since there were security downstairs and we need access card to enter BUT whole corridor of 16 units and only one was occupied? Haha.

In my trip this time, I booked a hotel. The image above showed me enjoying by the pool side as my kids were enjoying their pool time. Yes, I think this hotel is pretty good for family with kids. It’s IBIS Melaka and it’s a 4-star rated city hotel. A year ago, I booked Novotel Melaka but this time it was fully booked. So, you can see that I support both hotels and AirBnB too. I do hope both continue to compete so that we the consumers get the best deal too. The same rules for hotels and AirBnB is thus a must in my opinion. What about you?  Which one would you book most of the time? Why?

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THE LINE Sukhumvit 101 – Global Launch (12,13 Nov in KL)

This is a Press Release by Sansiri-BTS for
“THE LINE Sukhumvit 101” Global Launch: Freedom-inspired Condominium in Bangkok’s new commercial district

5-Mins Walk to BTS Punnawithi, Comprehensive Co-Living Spaces and High Ceiling to Serve Freedom Lifestyles

– Presales in Kuala Lumpur this 12-13 November –

Caption: THE LINE Sukhumvit 101, a freehold condominium located next to Punnawithi BTS station is set for completion in 2020 with the highlight of co-living space and functional design.

(
Kuala Lumpur, 3 November 2016) –

Sansiri Public Limited Company (PLC)
, Thailand’s leading and only fully-integrated property developer simultaneously unveils the global launch of
‘THE LINE Sukhumvit 101’
 in six Asian countries including: Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai, Taipei, Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok. Located in Bangkok’s most desirable residential and commercial corridor, Sukhumvit Road, Sansiri’s latest freehold condominium project aims to deliver freedom of lifestyle, space and active-leisure with high-ceilings, state-of-the-art facilities and convenience of location. The project is valued at MYR 502 million

(USD 120 million) and is in joint venture with the BTS Group – the top mass transit service provider in Thailand. Overseas presale events will be available in Kuala Lumpur on 12-13

November, Taipei and Singapore on 19 November and Shanghai and Hong Kong on 19-20 November.

Mr. Uthai Uthaisangsuk, Senior Executive Vice President – Business Development and Project Development Division (High Rise), Sansiri PLC
, said “We are delighted to introduce our latest and most-anticipated project to date, which offers large communal facilities to fulfill the demand of full-circle, comprehensive lifestyles of the modern youth. In addition, we are confident that the Thai property market will continue to grow due to the extension of infrastructure and BTS development to some of Bangkok’s emerging and up-and-coming neighborhoods, particularly along the ever-popular Sukhumvit Road. We expect a large number of Thai and foreign visitors during this global launch in which generate sales of at least MYR 251 million (USD 60 million) comprises of MYR 120 million (USD 29 million) from overseas markets and RMB 132 million (USD 31 million) from Thai market. We also anticipate receiving positive feedback from customers as we have with all of previous new launches.”

Conveniently located in one of Bangkok’s preferred neighborhood zones,
THE LINE Sukhumvit 101
 is a 5-minute walk to BTS Punnawithi station. It also provides easy access to other parts of the city via Sukhumvit Road with nearby expressways and several established restaurants, specialty shops, convenience stores and International schools.

‘This stunning high-rise development offers the utmost ease and convenience to meet the demands of all modern lifestyles. The combination of unique co-living spaces like meeting rooms complete with around-the-clock Wi-Fi access and office-working equipment, multiple recreation rooms and communal lifestyle areas such as a central, communal kitchen and library are some of the perks that give
THE LINE Sukhumvit 101
 a distinct advantage in today’s highly competitive property market.’’ he added.

The 37-storey residential building comprises 778 units ranging from a 1 bedroom/1 Bathroom (287.93 sq.ft) units to spacious 2 bedroom/ 2 bathroom duplexes (680.82sq.ft). All units are designed with exceptionally high ceilings extending from 3.4 to 5.5 meters granting overly-liberal vertical spaces to accommodate storage and the option to design a customized furniture package for added freedom and functionality.

An outlay of shared space and facilities embellish the complex’s stunning living spaces providing residents with the ultimate sense of spatial independence and freedom whilst instilling the beneficial values of communal interaction. These co-living spaces include working rooms that respond perfectly to both independent work and group-driven meetings equipped with free, all-day Wi-Fi connectivity, LED TV’s and other special services designed for hassle-free operations necessary for the demands of today’s entrepreneurs.

The fifth-floor is home to a wealth of social areas including an Olympic-size swimming pool offering panoramic views of Bangkok’s skyline with an adjacent kid’s pool, Jacuzzi, as well as, a lavish spa bed. The aqua-blue of the pool connects with the greenery of the Garden Pavilion which enables residents to relax amidst lush greenery or make use of the neighboring co-kitchen space for a variety of creative functions and food gatherings.

 THE LINE Sukhumvit 101
 also features Southeast Asia’s first LED Multi-Sports court made from a patented glass floor that transforms itself to suit the sport you wish to play, be it from basketball, football or tennis. This stunning sports feature is located on the spacious rooftop, offering spectacular views and an open-air, athletically motivating space.

THE LINE Sukhumvit 101
 is scheduled for a global launch in six Asian Countries.

The price starts from MYR 478,000 (USD 115,000). The project is due for completion in January 2020.

The property roadshow in Kuala Lumpur will be arranged at The Westin Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 12-13 November. Visitors those require more information about the roadshow, please directly contact: William at T: +6016-337-6664 E:
william.yuen@cbre-wtw.com.my
 or Anna at T: +6019-227-5317 E:
anna.wong@cbre-wtw.com.my

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Press Release: Saujana Duta Hilltop Residence: The Ambassador to Luxury Living

Perched on a prime hilltop of S2 Heights, Saujana Duta is a freehold luxury residential development and a  low-density enclave offering elite semi-detached homes and bungalows. Amongst its surrounding communities, S2 Heights is known for its panoramic view of the surrounding breezy landscape, making it a hotspot for residents to bask under the clouds in the city skyline of Seremban 2, overlooking all 3,800 acres of the township.

At a natural elevation of 400 feet above sea level, the 38-acre Saujana Duta comprises 199 residential units. The first phase constitutes 166 units of 3-storey semi-detached homes (3,938 – 4,108 sqft) and 8 units of 3-storey signature bungalows (7,060 sqft), while the second phase features 75 units of majestic bungalows (5,066 – 6,095 sqft).

Designed for modern living

Every home comes with premium finishes such as the stainless steel water tank, extravagant bathroom fittings like the vanity tops for all bathrooms, shower screen for master bathroom and powder coated window frames with tinted glass. They are also installed with high-speed fibre-optic communication delivery which allows homeowners to set up any internet service from a provider of their preference.

More than premium quality finishing and fixtures, Saujana Duta homes are designed to meet the needs of a modernistic lifestyle while also adhering to practicality. The availability of space allows for an open concept design visible throughout the living and dining areas where families can interact freely and with ease. There is also a spacious walk-in wardrobe in the master bedrooms, and a wide store room underneath the staircase for extra utility.

With a modern, technology-driven and innovative layout, Saujana Duta homes are built to be future-ready especially through its host of green features, such as the environmentally-friendly solar water heating system that saves energy by using solar power, and the rainwater harvesting system that conserves water by collecting and reusing rainwater. Homeowners can also enjoy the convenience of a smart home feature that can control selected electronic appliances from a distance with their smart devices.

The Hilltop Recreational Villa

With the advent of healthy and balanced living, facilities and amenities such as gyms are aspects that homebuyers are looking forward to in a modern home. Luckily for Saujana Duta homebuyers, the Hilltop Recreational Villa is an exclusive clubhouse offering club-like facilities within the development accessible only to residents.

An architectural landmark of Saujana Duta, the clubhouse is identifiable by its majestic infinity pool that is strategically built for swimmers to soak in the stunning view on the hilltop. Other available facilities in the top-tier clubhouse include gym room, function rooms, lookout points and a cosy lounge for intimate gathering or private parties.

Right Next to S2 Hill Park

Amplifying the peaceful, serene and spectacular living environment, Saujana Duta is situated right beside the 30-acre Hill Park. As an avenue for not only Saujana Duta residents but also the whole Seremban 2 township to cultivate a healthy lifestyle through stimulating activities, the park features a jogging track, playground and gazebos. On top of its panoramic view of the entire Seremban 2 township, S2 Hill Park has long been an enjoyable hang-out spot for families.

For Saujana Duta residents who prefer to workout closer to home, one can freely utilize the 1.7km cycling and jogging track encircling the development. The wide track is also beautifully complemented by the lush streetscape for a luxurious and elegant environment.

Maintaining a top-notch security

Private security is one of the main priorities for landed homes, and even more so for a luxurious neighborhood. In safeguarding the well-being of its residents, Saujana Duta is built in a gated and guarded community. The single entry and exit point, as well as the surrounding perimeter fencing, are placed under the watchful eyes of 24-hour security with CCTV.

The walkway along the perimeter fencing, while meant as a jogging track for residents, allows for guards to patrol at the edge of the neighbourhood without intruding on the privacy of residents.

Completed and ready-to-move-in, homebuyers can own a luxury hilltop home in Saujana Duta starting from RM 1.8 million, and wake up to the refreshing morning breeze, as well as starting the day with a breathtaking view of the peaceful township.

To arrange for a private viewing or for further inquiries, call 1800-222-456.

For more information on Saujana Duta, please visit
here
.

— End of Press Release —

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Saujana Intan by IJM Land: Nurturing Families In Nature’s Sanctuary

Press Release: Saujana Intan: Nurturing Families In Nature’s Sanctuary

Imagine returning home to a green landscape, where the soft breeze carries chilled air across the fresh atmosphere. Your home presides upon an elevated plane, overlooking the sprawling meadows and a backdrop of clear blue skies of Seremban 2.

The abundance of flora is testimony to the vernacular spaces carefully planned to reflect human’s desire to live harmoniously alongside nature. Here is a restful place where peace and serenity reign and the stress of everyday life is but a distant memory.

This special address is known as Saujana Intan by IJM Land, and it is the newest addition to the stellar lineup of property developments in Seremban 2.

Nature lovers can rejoice as green features make a huge presence in Saujana Intan, weaving in and out of the development to create a holistically sustainable system.

The rainwater harvesting system has been incorporated into the housing units to encourage recycling, while the solar water heating system reduces electrical consumption. Recreational parks serve as bastions for nature, their presence beckoning residents to an active lifestyle replete with community activities and leisure.

A story of homes, leisure and fine living

Over to the units, Saujana Intan comprises 40 units of 2-storey semi-detached houses and 2 bungalows, with a gross development value of RM86mil. The low density, meticulous care towards design and quality construction are all part of an elaborate plan to sow luxury into every fabric of the development.

For the semi-ds, these have a built-up of 3,365 sq ft, with four bedrooms and four bathrooms. Practical layout comes alongside contemporary design to enhance living space utilisation, and the generous built-up ensures that there is ample room for family interaction to occur.

Unsurprisingly, these semi-d units are an excellent match for large families of such a size. On the other hand, the exclusive bungalows have a built-up of 4,434 sq ft, five bedrooms and five bathrooms, one maid room, one toilet and one powder room.

To promote a healthy lifestyle among the residents, jogging tracks have been strategically placed across the length of the development, allowing a seamless passage through and around the neighbourhood.

But this does not convey that Saujana Intan is easily accessible by outsiders, for the development is gated and closely guarded. Speaking of safety, digital locks have been designated for each unit for better protection as well as to minimise surface contacts.

Away from the residential component, a lush landscape stretches into the horizon. The 30-acres Hill Park plays host to the playground, meandering jogging and the gazebos in quaint spots.

Crowning it is a mini dinosaur-themed playing area that is ideal for families with children. Towards the centre of the self-sustained township is a 15 acre City Park, just the idyllic place to take a stroll as one appreciates the joys of a community encapsulated by nature.

Then there is the silhouette of the Kepayang Hill, looming a stone’s throw distance away to hint at all the natural wonders it holds for hiking enthusiasts and adventurers alike.

Superlative conveniences within arm’s reach

Being a well-planned township, Seremban 2 holds a wealth of amenities within its bounds, from schools, shopping centres, medical facilities and other conveniences to fulfil one’s daily needs.

The Tung Hua Primary School is just a walking distance away, and there are other governmental schools within driving distance. As for shopping, residents do not need to venture far as AEON Mall, Mydin Mall, NSK Trade City and Lotus’s Hypermarket  are just closeby.

Should the need arise, one will have no difficulty accessing medical facilities like Sehat Healthcare,  Columbia Asia Hospital and KPJ Seremban Specialist Hospital, which is less than 10 mins away.

Accessibility is another value that home buyers will appreciate since the development is conveniently linked to the PLUS, SPDH highway, and the Seremban and Bandar Ainsdale Tol Plaza.

Saujana Intan further benefits from the Seremban 2 township with the six-lane dual carriageway that branches out into a network of roads. These connections ease the flow of movement as they link to all the sectors within the township.

The convergence of all these living elements creates the epitome of sustainable living that Saujana Intan proudly represents.

For more information on Saujana Intan, please visit
here
 or call 1800 222 456.

-End-

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Saujana Rawang: Contemporary homes next to lakes and with lots of greens and still within our budget?

Saujana Rawang: Contemporary Homes next to lakes and with lots of greens and still within our budget?

[Sponsored Post] Rawang as a home choice?
Did you know that Rawang was one of the top 10 most searched areas when it comes to property? In fact in the most recent property demand based on how visitors search for properties on iProperty.com, these were the top 20 most in-demand areas in Selangor. This is demand for rental properties.

Image source: iProperty.com

Based on data a year ago, this was what iProperty.com said about Rawang.

“Rawang may not have been on the top of the list in the eyes of homebuyers years ago, but it seems times have changed. Rawang has now become a hotspot with new projects seen all over and selling at good prices. It started as a township offering a place to work and live. Rawang now offers more job opportunities with entertainment elements, transforming itself into a self-sustained township. This had led to buyers becoming less hesitant to the idea of moving to Rawang.”
Click here to read the full article.

My personal experience with Rawang?

I love visiting sales galleries and I visited many of them in Rawang. Just before COVID-19, many of these developments launched their latest phases. Then COVID-19 arrived and I did not get to visit them again until July 2020. While I was expecting these homes, mostly landed, to sell well but what I found out was that nearly all the sales galleries were reporting very positive numbers. I do not believe people are speculating on Rawang, thus these purchases are mostly for a home sweet home

Greater Kuala Lumpur’s growth and expected growth in future

Before we proceed further, let’s look at how Greater Kuala Lumpur has been growing over the years. This is a slide I used in one my recent presentations. From 1990 – 2019, the average population growth is around 200,000 per year. If everyone thinks that this is because of new babies, it’s actually more because of continuous urbanisation.

Most of these were due to the continuous urbanisation in Malaysia. People from smaller towns will move to bigger cities for tertiary education and work. This is why population in smaller towns may get smaller but population in Klang Valley will be growing bigger with every passing year.

Demand and Supply due to urbanization

What this number also tells us is that if we intend to buy a property and we want it to be an investment, then it’s good to buy into areas which are still growing in both demand and supply. Let’s understand that it’s always demand and supply that will drive demand and supply.

A totally new township may not have many residents, yet. When residents start moving in, then that row of shophouses within the neighbourhood starts to open. Whether it’s the 24-hour convenience stores or a self-serve laundry shop or even that friendly kopitiam or mamak restaurant, these would open.

Due to property prices being more affordable in these newer areas / townships, more would come and take a look. When these prospective buyers came, they could see these shops are already open and they think it’s convenient enough. More residents would soon move in.

When the economies of scale is reached, a neighbourhood supermarket will open its doors. Beyond just the population in that new township, there are also population from a few nearby ones which will now sustain demand for a supermarket. Then even more residents would move in.

When it’s now a mature neighbourhood

Of course, once all these continue to happen, the prices would also slowly inch upwards or the size of the home would become smaller for the same price. This is why when we need a home, quickly save up for it and proceed to buy it. That same price cannot last forever and assuming it lasts much longer, that means the size of the property starts getting smaller. There’s a term for it in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) world.
It’s called shrinkflation. Read about it here, interesting.

Saujana Rawang: Contemporary Homes next to lakes and with lots of greens and still within our budget?

There’s one potential home sweet home in Rawang which you may like to know more. Just 4 very basic reasons for consideration to drop by and drive around and get to know more.

#1 – It’s already a growing township and within the top 10 most searched areas in Klang Valley.

#2 – It’s being built by a profitable listed property developer which has been building homes for over 33 years.
Read about Glomac here. It was founded in 1988.

#3
–
 It offers choices of affordable and well-designed landed homes

#4 – It is for the generations; couples, growing families and even suitable for the grandparents who wants a stroll every morning.

Image: Acadian @ Saujana Rawang

Glomac’s township project in Rawang is known as Saujana Rawang.
 This is a growing township which has seen its population growing steadily since 2006. It has been a home to many families and has provided an affordable and comfortable option to many growing families over the years.

This project is about contemporary homes within the tranquility and peacefulness from the nature. It is a 345-acre self-contained development next to a pristine tropical forest which meant that right next to your modern home would be nature itself.

Within Saujana Rawang are 10 acres of scenic recreational lake with gardens, palm trees, flowery shrubs, pavilions, jogging tracks and meandering walkways too. This is not all, another 20 acres of recreational lake will be ready for the township too, a very good sign that the township continue to mature with every passing year.

Choices range from terrace homes, semi-detached homes, apartments and even zero lot bungalows which will cater to everyone’s different needs. For those who are inclined towards commercial units, please do drop by or contact us so that we could show you the commercial hub catering to a growing population here in Saujana Rawang and adjacent areas too.

Our Sales Gallery and contact details as below:

Address
: Jalan SR 8/1 Persiaran Tasik Saujana Rawang, 48000, Rawang, Selangor

Phone:

03 -6093 5160

For an overview of the whole Saujana Rawang, this is us. (Google Map image below) As you can see, Rawang is an area where you can already find many existing townships and this is an important fact for home buyers when they consider Saujana Rawang here within Rawang. Buy a good property and continue to enjoy the capital appreciation.

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Personal Finance: I can save RM200 per month until I become a millionaire lah

When I was in the 30s, an insurance agent told me this piece of advice

We cannot just rely on savings. (savings alone cannot hedge against inflation) We must protect what we save too. (That’s why we need to buy insurance) Please remember that value of money is getting smaller. (No one can run away from inflation). So, if we just save but do not invest it, there’s no way we can keep up with inflation.

Our quality of life will drop as soon as we stop working. We have to save on this, that and stop going for holidays and may now have to limit ourselves to something simple instead. Perhaps a 3-star hotel instead of a 5-star one too. Wow, someone told me this at least 15 years ago!

Okay, can we save RM200 per month until we become a millionaire?

Hands up, who is on the Yes answer. Who’s on the No answer?  Please do not laugh at anyone who told you that they could become a millionaire by just saving RM200 per month yeah. It can actually really happen. Just note the finer details of how it could happen, okay? We assume the FD rates would average 3.5 percent for the whole duration. Below is the actual calculation of what could happen and how long before it happens.

Save RM200 per month UNTIL one has RM1 million in the bank account. Note – not a single cent could be spent before then, okay? It will take roughly 79 years. 🙂  Before anyone says, that’s impossible, let me remind everyone that as at today, the life expectancy of Malaysians are already 76 years old. We just need to remind all the parents of new babies to start saving RM200 for their baby starting from the baby’s first month celebration.

RM1 million is possible but 79 years may not be desirable

Correct me if I am wrong but how many of us would prefer to have RM1 million only when we are 79 years old? Perhaps some would say RM1 million by 49 is a much better goal. Some may even say RM1 million is really not a lot of money these days. This is especially true when we look at many of the young working professionals who are already senior managers when they are in their 30s and could already be earning RM15,000 or more per month. In other words, they could save much more than RM200, if they wanted to.

Bigger amount and shorter years please. RM200 over 79 years is just too slow.

We can do things a little different too. Increase the savings to RM500 per month and this whole calculation suddenly becomes much more realistic and desirable actually. We will hit the number when we are 55 years old. We just treat this RM1 million as a reward for retiring at 55 years old.

What other savings do we have when we are 55 years old?

At 55, we would have EPF savings too and that’s separate from this RM1 million which we saved over 49 or 79 years yeah. By then, if you have been reading kopiandproperty.com, then you should also own at least one property which you are staying and you can totally stop thinking about monthly rental too. Now, that’s a more desirable life, right? Aim for it. We certainly could do it too. Cheers.

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How to save a lot of money? Over RM200,000 every 21 years without much effort?

One word. Car.
How to save RM200,000 every 20 years?

Need that first car for the first 7 years
?

We have just started working not too long ago and now we need a car just to drive to office because we do not want to take the public transport. Well, a Proton Persona 1.6 (RM45,000) can do that quite well. Drives better than the next car after this too.
Below image is from Proton
and true as at 5th June 2021.

If Proton is not your cup of tea and Perodua is, then this car can save more on fuel cost every month. Perodua Axia 1.0 (RM32,000) will enable you to drive 15km per litre of fuel.
 Below image is from Perodua
 and true as at 5th June 2021.

If we do not mind a second-hand car, a second hand Proton Persona Elegance of 8 years could be that choice. I drive the same model and mine is 11th year this year. By the way, my power-window is still an original set. Image is from
Mudah.my and is true as at 5th June 2021.

Not everyone likes national brands or even a secondhand car model. They may prefer a Japanese branded one because this gives that extra feeling of success especially versus the peers who were still driving a national brand or even a secondhand model.  The two most successful and popular new car models include Toyota Vios (base model is RM75,000) and Honda City (RM74,000) and to a lesser extent, the new
Turbo engined Nissan Almera (RM80,000).
(This is the model I like most out of the three)

What happened after 7 years? What was the savings in the first 7 years?

Assuming we bought a RM75,000 car versus a RM33,000 one, we have saved RM42,000 just from the price alone.  We skip all the interest we need to pay even if we know this will be higher for a higher priced car. If we decided to buy a secondhand car instead, then the savings could have been RM55,000.  The secondhand car can be even cheaper than the Persona which was RM19,800 but if we just use this as a guide, then RM75,000 minus RM19,800 is around RM55,000.

What happens if we change our car after 7 years?

After working for 7 years, surely our income would have grown and surely we would prefer to get a Segment C car instead. Segment C cars would be cars like Toyota Altis 1.8 (RM129,000) or Honda Civic 1.8 (RM109,000). There are no longer any Segment C cars from Proton and Perodua does not offer any Segment C car. We could of course also opt for a Segment B SUV such as Proton X50 1.5 turbo (RM79,000) or a Segment B SUV such as Perodua Aruz 1.5 litre (RM68,000). No rewards for guessing which of these two SUVs are more powerful yeah.

For someone who did not change their car and continued to drive, they would have saved RM68,000 for a new Aruz all the way to RM109,000 for a Japanese Segment C car. However, if they prefer to buy a new Perodua Aruz and not a Toyota Altis, then they have saved RM61,000 just for the car price alone. New cheaper car versus new more expensive car.

What happens after the second set of 7 years?

We have now worked for 14 years and we are now thinking about our 3rd car. Surely we are now at the Segment D / Luxury car level? For example, Honda Accord 1.5 Turbo (RM189,000) or a Toyota Camry 2.5 (RM189,000). Alternatively, a Segment C SUV such as Proton X70 (RM90,000) or a Honda CRV 2.0 (RM139,000).

If at this point, instead of national brands, we decided to buy a Segment B Japanese model (Vios / City) instead, then the price is around RM75,000. Compared to a Honda Accord or a Toyota Camry, one has just saved RM114,000. If compared to a Honda CRV 2.0, then the savings is smaller, RM64,000.

What has really happened after 21 years?

If we bought 2 national cars; cheapest Axia first and then a slightly better Persona followed by Nissan Almera we would have spent the following:  RM32,000 + RM45,000 + RM79,000 = RM156,000.

If we had bought a Japanese Segment B car, followed by Segment C car and then followed by Segment D car, we have spent RM75,000 + RM109,000 + RM189,000 =  RM373,000.

Total savings with these three cars over a period of 21 years? RM373,000 – RM156,000 = RM217,000.

If we purchased just 2 national cars over this period of 21 years and drove both cars for 11 years instead, then the savings would have exceeded RM300,000.

What’s so significant about the savings anyway?

The savings could have been invested into other investments. This would have given us even more returns. It could have been down-payment for properties. Perhaps we could have upgraded the place we stay and then rent out the first property. It could have been capital for starting a business. In fact it could have been many other things and even include expenses such as travelling… or buy gifts for your loved ones and more. This is why just looking at what car to drive would have allowed us to decide what could have happened in the future. To be exact, 21 years later.

How much did I actually save from my own car experience?

I am a very lucky man. If we look at the first 21 years of my working life, for the first 10 years, I drove the Nissan Sunny from my father. I drove it until 450,000 km. After this Nissan Sunny was sold, for the next 11 years (including this year and until currently), I have been driving that Proton Persona Elegance 1.6 MANUAL which I can safely tell you I like it very much versus any automatic car. Was I tempted to buy a quieter, more comfortable, bigger and more powerful car? Of course! I am a man who loves cars. However, I do not have the funds to do so as I have invested all those into something else… including 31 pairs of shoes too.

So, in total, I have just spent RM50,000 for one car for 21 years. In other words, I have saved even more than all the numbers mentioned above. This was how I could accumulate the necessary downpayment for properties.  This also helped me to travel to countries such as Japan (many cities beyond just Tokyo), Australia (many cities beyond just Perth), Hong Kong and many more many times. The downside is that I am still driving an old car. Sigh…. and Smile.  🙂    Happy deciding.  This is not to tell you to follow me. This is just to show you the numbers.   Cheers.

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Saving, budgeting and investing by a 10-year old

A colleague enlightened me a few weeks ago when we met for a cup of coffee. She said, she told her son that he must move out after he has finished his secondary school. He has to somehow finish his university on this own with loans or working part-time. She told him that by then, anyone without a degree is going to live a very poor life. Her kid is ONLY 10 years old. Before she told him about this, his son has never thought about money or
money management.
 After she has told him this, he asked more questions like how much would the university degree be, how much would be the rental for a room be and many more questions.

Beginning that day, whenever they go out for meals any leftover change (coins) from the bill would be kept by the son. He would ask politely, ‘mummy / daddy may I keep the small change?’ He is also very careful with his pocket money and would always seek to maximize its value. He used to take his piano lessons lightly but ever since his mother told him that if he is good in piano, he can teach other kids for tuition fees, he took the lessons very seriously! A 10-year old could understand the value of money and tries to save whatever he could. He does not know exactly how much he may need but he knows he needs a lot; this is still budgeting conservatively. He invests in his future by learning his piano lessons attentively.

A 10-year old who does not know much about the world understood enough about money to be able to learn about
saving, budgeting and investing
 with the mother’s guidance. Many of us do not save enough, some of us do not even save. Without this habit, it is very hard for us to do any budgeting. Without the ability to do budgeting, it is even tougher for us to invest. In the end, when we look back we suddenly realised that time has passed very quickly. My friend’s son is definitely on the right track. A better question for anyone who’s earning below RM5,000 per month but holding the latest Samsung or iPhone model should be, ‘Is this luxury worth more than my future.’ Whatever the answer may be, all the best for your future. What you do today determines what you achieve in future.

written on 27 Nov 2015

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Do you save enough to retire? Better save enough to invest.

They say a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. Very true. However, it’s hard to keep our motivation and attention if we have just walked 1 mile and there’s still 999 miles to go. 1 mile is 1.61km. 999 miles remaining is another 1608km away! How about aiming at 10 mile as our first target? How about
aiming at saving enough
 to buy a donkey which can carry us when we are tired? After a while, saving enough to get a horse and suddenly the journey of a thousand mile does not seem that crazily far anymore.

This is true in everything we do. Remember many property experts telling us to buy an affordable unit first. After a few years, sell that unit and upgrade to a bigger one. This is true and doable and I did just that for the place I stay. From renting a room of 150 sq ft, I went on to rent a room of 350 sq ft followed by 700 sq ft, 730 sq ft, 1,258 sq ft before downgrading a bit to 1,053 sq ft and currently 1,743 sq ft. The earlier ones were rented. Of course, during the same period, I went from single to becoming a married man and today with 2 kids.

Oh yeah, a good friend of mine always have this to say, ‘Aiya, I should have bought earlier.’ When I asked if he had saved enough to buy, he replied that he was thinking that it was best to save for retirement. As for property, having just one is enough. Well, these days I no longer hear him complaining because we have not met for years. I am very sure his retirement funds is now huge because
he is same age as me, 40.

Speaking of saving for retirement, every now and then we will see an article talking about saving enough so that we can retire.

Actually we live in a time when saving for retirement may be a myth in future. Look at the inflation rate and then the Fixed Deposit rate. Look at the interest rates in many advanced nations and understand that the double digit interest rates or even remotely close to 10 percent is really a thing of the past. If we take the current fixed deposit rate minus the inflation rate, our savings should only be increasing by around 1 percent per year. Is 1 percent enough to hedge against everything that people are worried about?

I think a better question to answer for all of us may be, ‘what’s the type of investment that I am comfortable with.’ Most of my friends do not buy stocks. I think they are scared.
Fundamentally, they did not read enough about stocks.
Oh
 course, there’s PROPERTY which as long as we did not buy the wrong one, on a longer term basis, everything should be fine. Yes, very true that the property bubble may burst, sometime…
Read here on what are the signs
we can watch out for by ourselves.

Therefore, the question is therefore not whether we have saved enough for retirement but have we saved enough for investments which should help us build that pile of retirement funds faster. Essentially, if we have just bought the latest handphone when our current one is STILL usable meant, we did not. If we spent over RM1,000 per month only for food and refuses to cut it down, we did not.
Yes, eating cheaper is possible.

My new friend, Suraya who blogs at
ringgitohringgit
keeps track of her expenses because when we do just that, we can immediately see how much we actually spent the month before which was totally unnecessary in the first place. Be clear of what we REALLY need. Saving for retirement is way too far ahead, I think. Saving enough to start investing? That’s what’s really possible within a shorter time frame. Happy saving for investing.

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written on 6 Mar 2017

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Save on cigarettes and afford a new car! There’s more yeah.

How much is one pack of cigarette today? RM17. (or around this number) How many packs do two of my friends; Mr. Gu and Mr. Ha smoke per day? ONE pack. That’s RM17 per day. In a month, that’s roughly RM510. Mr. Gu quit smoking cigarettes last year though and has been successful as at today but he is on vape. The cost of one month refill for the vape? RM120. Okay, it’s way cheaper than cigarettes but should everyone switch to vaping then? When asked why Mr. Ha does not switch to vape, he says the ‘feeling’ is different and the ‘kick’ is different too.

Okay, I rest my case when it comes to convincing Mr. Ha to stop smoking. In financial numbers, that RM510 per month equals to RM6,120 per year. Over 5 years, it will become RM30,600 which is enough for downpayment for a new affordable home! Or even buy a new Proton Saga 1.3 litre. Mr. Ha is still driving his 12 year-old Vios which has started to show its age. Haha. As for property, here’s what happens after you buy
an affordable home and pay for it for 30 years.

I do not smoke but I think beyond just cigarettes, there are also many other ‘bad financial habits’ too. Keeping up with the latest smartphone models for example. Another one would be to chase the latest luxury handbag model. Anything below RM500 for a simple wallet is NOT considered luxury yeah. To qualify under the luxury category, please buy something higher priced instead. For handbags, it’s at least RM5,000 or higher…

Okay, our feet deserves a comfortable shoe but there’s already minimal difference between a RM300 shoe versus a RM800 one. The major difference would be the design and the brand which is not categorised as a need yeah. Last but not least may be the food we eat daily.  Earlier article here:
Eating cheaper is possible. Depends on us, actually.
 So, we can see that it’s not even just cigarettes which will take a away a lot of what we earn every month.

Before we start to think that savings is the key, well, my friend Mr. Gu has reduced his smoking expenses BUT what he does is beyond that. He has just enough working clothes for a week and does not buy new ones unless it is totally necessary. (I could not follow this as I buy clothes on a monthly basis when I see a nice design at a good price) Whenever opportunity presents itself, Mr. Gu would buy another property. He says that appreciation from money alone is slower than that of a buying a good property.

What could I do currently? I will advise my friend Mr. Ha to reconsider again. Quitting smoking is going to be a good decision for him and his family.  Happy stopping smoking and all the unnecessary spendings too.

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Save one-third to have two-third when we retire

In an article in The Star recently, Datuk Steve Ong, the CEO of Private Pension Administrator (PPA) Malaysia said that everyone should set aside another 10 percent of one’s salary on top of the 23 percent that is being deducted automatically from one’s salary into their EPF accounts. By doing this, a retiree should have around two-third of replacement income when he or she stops working. Ong further stressed that most people have not prepared for their retirement because of the many “dangerous assumptions.” These are some of the major reasons why senior citizens could not afford to retire. Some of these assumptions include:

My EPF savings will be enough.

My children will take care of me.

I’ll start tomorrow.

It’s too early to start.

I find it too hard to save.

I want to enjoy now.

I have loans and bills to pay.

Actually, there are no countries in the world today where the majority can rely on any form of employee provident fund for their retirement. Thus, it’s best to use this as one of the few sources we can fall back on.

I can safely say that I will take care of my parents and fortunately for me, they have sound financial planning too which meant that they are well equipped for their retirement. Both retired many years ago.

The worst thing in this world is procrastination. Actually, time is the one asset all of us have. The only issue is how well we actually use the time we have to save more of what we can for our future of what we need.

I just told a friend who said he prefers equity over property the other day. Truth is, starting early is much better than just preference. If you started very early, even having just FD savings should be ok enough. Not awesome, but still ok.

Too hard to save? Haha. If you think so, then you can choose to earn more. Actually, when we earn more and we change our lifestyle to suit our new earning, it’s back to square one. SAVE even if you think you do not have enough.

Monthly salary lesser than the mobile phone you are about to buy? Think again, seriously. Life’s really tough in the future as you are getting older and not younger.

To anyone who has no loans and bills to pay, you are safe. To those who have loans and bills to pay, I think your future should be brighter as long as your loan is for ASSETS and not liabilities like a car.

I will be very sad if I have to work beyond my retirement age. I always feels with senior citizens who have to work as cleaners or other odd-jobs. In case anyone wants to say that working is good as it keeps us mentally alert etc, let me remind you that I will be much more alert with exercises, enjoying coffee and playing chess with my friends versus sitting in the back alley washing plates or cleaning tables in restaurants. Unfortunately, we need enough money so that we can live comfortably after retiring. Fortunately, it’s not that hard. Just save another additional 10 percent. Better still, invest it. Read, learn and take action. Your life tomorrow depends on what you do today. Happy retiring.

written on 3 Dec 2015

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Property price will increase in H2 2019? Why is that so?

Anyone here wants to speculate on when will the property prices be rising again? By the way, property prices did NOT go down for the past few quarters even with lower transactions, slower market, negative sentiments and that political uncertainty which has at least passed by peacefully.
Here’s that earlier article right after the GE.

As for property prices, do refer to the chart from
housingwatch.my with data from  National Property Information Centre (NAPIC).
 Yes, this is just an average number, so perhaps the house prices in your area has gone down while prices in some other areas have gone up. Now that we understand that property prices did not actually went down despite the property market slowing down since 2013, then do we want to know when will prices REALLY rise? I think this meant that the property prices should be increasing faster than current percentage? Personally, I am okay with 5 percent every year. 😛

According to global property consultancy firm Savills (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, it expects domestic property prices to increase in the second half of next year. Its chief executive officer Datuk Christopher Boyd said that they expected this because of the growth in Malaysia’s socio-economic standing. He said, “There is still an issue of oversupply, especially within the domestic property market. The uncertainties brought on by trade tensions between the United States and China also play a role for investors’ shying away from Malaysia now.” As for the uncertainties from the wait-and-see approach before the GE14, he said that when all these factors go away, property prices will increase again. He added, “We are expecting that prices will rise again in the second half of 2019 after all the uncertainties have died down.” He then said something which many have recently shared. “The reintroduction of the Sales and Services Tax in September will also play a part in the price increase as raw materials will again be taxed and, therefore, will become more expensive.”
Please do refer to the full article in NST here.

Actually, what Datuk Christopher is sharing can also be explained in that as long as everyone has a job which pays them increments every year, they will have the confidence to make that decision to buy or to upgrade. Usually the upgrading part meant that they are buying a higher priced property and thus increasing the average property prices being transacted. He had also reconfirmed that when costs go up, the property prices would also inch upwards. Anyway, everyone working in the real estate industry will also need increments, bonuses and incentives yeah. This is why property prices cannot be decreasing every year, unless all the workers are replaced by robots for example. Since he is from Savills (Malaysia), it meant that he has the information from all the other Savills offices around the world, especially those from the advanced markets. The trend is not hard to see because the property market in Malaysia is lagging behind all these far more advanced markets.  Oh yeah, property price increase does not mean we have become rich. It remains a natural hedge against inflation, keeping us from becoming poorer, perhaps. Happy believing.

written on 16th July 2018

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Saving continuously and you will be rich in the future. (quite rich…)

Unfortunately for us, the Fixed Deposit (FD) rate has gone down so much that we no longer get even a 2%…unless we save for 6 months or higher. By the way, even if we save RM1,000 for 365 days, we will only get RM21. Erm… not enough for even one Starbucks latte and one slice of cheesecake! That’s after one whole year of NOT touching the money at all. Else, we may just get nothing. Take a look at Maybank’s rates then.

Okay, good news about low interest rate is that if you own a home, you will also be having to pay a lower instalment per month and that’s a lot of savings! In fact, it will usually be more than what we earn from FD. The reason is simple. How many of us have RM500,000 in FD in the bank? I could think of a few friends who may have that. However, if we are thinking about a home loan of RM500,000 or higher… wow, that one I have many friends who have that!

Now, how about if we dream a bit but still be pretty conservative in what we could still be able to do?  RM500 savings per month, can?  For the next 30 years… can? Here’s what you will be having at the end. More than enough for a vacation right after retirement and then use the remaining amount and not needing to touch the EPF savings until much later. If you agree, than start saving lah. Time waits for no men and money grows slowly over time… I use 3% because I think over the long term, this is a more reliable number versus 2% or even 4%. Just my thought okay, everyone has their own thoughts!

Some may want to say but… RM300,000 is not a lot. Very true actually. However, our very own Employee Provident Fund says that Malaysians should at the very least have about RM228,000 in their account when they retire at 55. So, assuming you really do have RM228,000 when you retire and you have this extra RM292,000 in the bank. You have just become HALF-millionaire. Happy saving lah.  Just remember that all these are just savings. Learn a bit and invest too. That’s how we will have more.  Want more tips?  Read kopiandproperty.com lah.

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Saving money will never be outdated. Please remember this.

I wrote this article NOT as an expert yeah. Not someone working in the financial industry. Not someone selling any financial plans.
Financial Health: Are we healthy? How do we measure it?
 I am still just a blogger yeah.  🙂

After reading this article, a reader commented,
“Was this article written by the so call “guru” Charles or just relegated to some junior writer? ,who just graduated n following the text book concept if bygone times…so fxxking typical of misleading the current young generation to aspire a middle class style of life..Yooe, “guru”, you can do better than that”

My response is this.
“In my blog, I am always a blogger. A “guru’ would be those who are in the industry leading one huge real estate organisation (many are my friends) or maybe someone who has bought so many properties they have forgotten how many. (many are my friends too):) I am very far away from them at the moment. Cheers.”

Today, I need to reiterate. Saving money will never be outdated. Here are 5 reasons why.

#1 – Higher saving means lower unnecessary expenses

Most people have limited funds every month. So, if they could force themselves to save an extra RM200, that’s RM200 which could have been used to buy some stuffs which they do not need or enjoying some expensive meals which they should not. People say money is evil. Actually money is not evil. it’s just that when people have a few extra RM50 notes in their wallet, they tend to finish spending it before the salary day… They did not want to waste the extra money.

#2 – Higher saving means more money for investment

Some say they do not know how to invest. Some say they do not know what to invest into. Some say investment could be risky. Well, if we did not save enough money, we could not even start talking about investment. Imagine just saving RM200 per month, that’s RM2,400 which we could invest into a dividend stock for example. Or even some investment into gold? Or even investment into a unit trust?

#3 – Higher saving means we may have enough money when we retire

Most of the time, relying on just EPF savings alone for our retirement is likely to be a regret; why did I not save more? Well, if we worked for 35 years and we saved consistently every month, even a small amount will become big when we retire. Let’s do a simple calculation okay?

RM500 (savings) x 12 months x 35 years = RM210,000.  We have yet to calculate the interest earnings from just leaving the amount inside the Fixed Deposit continuously.  RM210,000 is close to the amount that EPF is recommending that all members should have. In other words, if we saved, we would now have a similar amount in EPF and a similar amount saved. We can feel more relaxed versus having just EPF savings.

#4 – Savings could become deposit for a property

Many say buying a property is impossible because they do not have the 10% downpayment needed. Frankly, without savings, of course it is impossible. With some savings every month, the downpayment is not too far away yeah. Example, if we need a RM300,000 home, then we will need RM30,000.  If we save just RM300 per month, we will have the necessary RM30,000 in 8 years.

This is a very conservative number because we could actually save more when our salary increases. If we save RM400 instead, it will be just 6 years. If we average RM500 as our salary grows, then it would take us just 5 years. Happy getting a property!

#5 – Savings will help during unforeseen circumstances

Unforeseen circumstances do happen. Company closed down and employees lost their job. Covid-19 lockdowns and the company could not keep all employees and needed to retrench some of them. The car broke down suddenly and some expenditure is needed to buy the required parts. There are many more unforeseen circumstances and it is important to have some savings so that we are not overly stressed due to these unforeseen circumstances.

Conclusion

There are a lot more benefits from regular savings but I will leave you with these 5 so that we know that saving money will never be outdated. Saving money may not make us become super-rich but when we save regularly, our life will be more secured and we will not fall into the financially distressed group category.

Not everyone would be happy and ready to become an entrepreneur and have the chance to become super wealthy. Not many would become a proficient investor and become rich because the person was able to earn a lot higher just from investments alone.

Many may just to rely on saving. Happy saving and there’s nothing wrong with being strong in the middle class. Many could not even pay all their credit card debts on time as you are reading this article.

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Here are my thoughts about saving money via electric vehicle (EV)

Many years ago, a secondary school classmate who’s a very successful senior manager in an electronics company bought a Toyota Prius.
Image shows that car. Image source is paultan.org
 He bought it for something like RM150,000 and when asked about his main reason to buy the car, he said, did you know that every km, I spend less than 10 sen? Maybe even lower? My answer, ‘Oh….’

Let’s do some calculations

I assume my fuel consumption is 25 sen per litre, ok? (it’s lower by the way). This means that for every km, I will be spending extra 15 sen versus my classmate. I think on average we drive 20,000km per year? 10 years = 200,000 km seems about right. So, I will spend an extra 200,000 x 15 sen = RM30,000 EXTRA. This is AFTER 10 years. I repeat, the price of his car is RM150,000.

There are by far more cars where the interior can be bigger and the outlook can be better and the price can be cheaper by more than RM30,000 and this saving is RIGHT at the beginning, not at the end of 10 years.

Yes, Toyota Prius is NOT an Electric Vehicle (EV)

Electricity is 21.8 sen for the first 200 kWh in Malaysia. Typical battery for a Tesla S60 is 60kWH and it could then travel for around 400km. Thus, total cost to charge the car to full capacity is 60kWH x 21.8 sen = RM13.08   It can then travel 400km, thus cost per km is 1308 sen / 400km = 3.27 sen per km   WOW… so cheap!

Again, assuming my cost per km remains at 25 sen per km, a Tesla driver will save 22 sen per km. WOW. Again, 200,000 km after 10 years (if the battery does not degrade at all) and that’s 22 sen x 200,000 km = total of RM44,000. From Mudah.my the price of a Tesla S is RM550,000. Even in the US, Tesla S starts from US$85,000 (RM352,000). In other words, even assuming we are able to buy it at RM352,000 it is still NOT talking about saving money when it comes to EV.

We could have bought a Volvo S60 (0-100 in 4.4 seconds…) instead and still save more money instead. Take a look at Volvo S60 then… It’s starting from RM296,000. The price savings is immediate and NOT at the end of 10 years.

What’s wrong with saying, I love the brand?

Dear all, if you love the brand, just say you love the brand. No one would argue with you because it’s a preference. if you love the design, just say you love the design. Again, looks are very subjective so everyone can have their opinion. If you just want to save the world by not using fossil fuel, then say I want to save the world by not using the fossil fuel. (It’s not true by the way but at least it has nothing to do with saving money)

If you said any of these three reasons, you have won the right to buy that hybrid or that EV and I would respect you for being so real.  However… if you say you want to save money as the cost per km is much lower… please read this article.  Happy buying whatever car you like.

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Doing nothing versus getting ready, the signs may be almost the same

Are you saving more of your salary (if you still have them) since you are at home and could not use much of it anyway? Are you liquidating some of your illiquid assets and keep them into liquid ones like cash in bank so that at any point in time, you could draw upon them to invest into opportunities?

Actually, for both of these different actions, the number in the bank will show an increase in savings into the bank. It may even be Fixed Deposit but it may be the 1 month kind versus the 12 months kind. No idea which is more true but what’s healthy for Malaysia is that Malaysians are now saving a lot more money into the bank! In both the current accounts and savings accounts. We have this very interesting news about Malaysians who are suddenly saving a lot of funds into the bank.

Article in themalaysianreserve.com
  Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) data has shown that bank deposits in current account and savings account (CASA) surged 10.3% and 12.6% in March and April 2020 respectively. Meanwhile the currency in circulation (M1) stood at RM466.2 billion in April 2020 compared to RM425.3 billion in the same month last year, reflecting a year-on-year (YoY) growth rate of 9.6%.

Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said, “People just want to hold on to cash. That’s it. There was too much uncertainty during the early days of the Movement Control Order (MCO). We do not think businesses and households are putting a complete stop to their spending plans. It’s just that they may want to conserve more cash in the event of calamity in the economy.”  It’s a long and comprehensive article. Do read it here:
Article in themalaysianreserve.com

In recent few weeks, I have researched more stocks than I did for the past 12 months. Just wanted to be sure that I am investing into some sound companies which are now undervalued based on its potential and even assets. Did you know that today, there are already many companies where if you were to buy them based on their current price, the total value of the company (book value) is already higher than the price you pay?

Briefly, if this company you bought into suddenly decided to delist and sells all their assets, the money you will get is more than the money you paid. Just google for the many articles in google. Just remember to do your own due diligence and not just simply trust whatever that person says. Even in property, two persons buying the same property may have a totally different result. Key is ‘holding power.’ Happy understanding that investing is a continuous effort. It does not not stop just because of COVID-19. If it did, then we are going to have to wait for a very long time for it to restart. No COVID-19 vaccines are expected anytime soon…

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Saving on holiday, paying for property, my way.

Many have commented about low fares being advertised are fake. Recently, in Facebook I read a few more of such comments. Allow me to share my actual experience. Do you believe in saving up for a part of property downpayment by skipping on holidays? I don’t. I promised my wife before we got married that we would go for two vacations every year, of which one would be overseas. Fortunately, have always exceeded my promise. Okay, that overseas would include Singapore, Brunei, Phuket, Koh Samui, Bali, Jakarta etc and not just Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau etc. The former cheaper, the latter more expensive. I have visited all of these, sometimes a few times. When I first ‘captured’ my wife and we had to travel to her hometown in Sandakan, the flight tickets were always giving me headaches. They were so expensive. To and fro would cost me RM2,000. Yes!! Then, came ‘Now Everyone Can Fly’. After that, I have suddenly been able to save up quite a lot of money for…. more vacations and property downpayments.

My wife and I have taken the free flights 4-5 times, paying just the airport tax. Penang – KL. KL – Singapore. KL – Kuching. My best achievement? RM156 in total, for a trip for two, return flights of Penang – Kuching and staying 3 days and 2 nights in Tune Hotel. Yes, this is true. If you think this was previously and it’s no longer true today, well, I am going for a family trip next month to Perth. An average of RM650 / person for a return flight including meals on both ways and luggages both ways. This fare is for 5 of us. In fact, my baby daughter’s fares were the highest because there was no special price for infants. Total savings based on the usual flight ticket for 5 pax would be RM2,000 or higher.

I agree, some of us prefer to stay in 5-Star Hotels, indulge a bit and that’s totally fine. Especially if you are already earning so much that spending or not spending does not make a huge difference at all. My vision in life? Well, retire slightly earlier than the majority and do the following. Wake up one morning, remembered that it was our 4th day in our condo in Langkawi and my wife said shall we have dinner with my family in Sandakan? My answer is, sure. Let me book the flights online and we arrive in Sandakan in time for a tea break, followed by a dinner and we stay a few days in Sandakan before travelling back to Ipoh to be with my family. The week after I may be in Kuching and so on and so on…. Haha.

Savings here and there, after some time adds up to quite a bit. That’s partially how I save anyway. Will tell you about my Calvin Klein, Dockers, Raoul savings next time.

written on 11 Oct 2014

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