Real estate buy? Better be legal, else suffer consequences.

This has been mentioned a few times and it’s now being more strictly enforced. Foreign buyers of Australian properties MUST get the Australian government’s permission. It is a requirement that all foreigners must seek approval from the government’s Foreign Investment Review Board before they could purchase properties in Australia. There are also restrictions to the type of properties that foreigners could buy which I think is one key reason why some chose to ‘skip this process.’ Those who did not get formal approval would be punished through forced sale of the properties they bought.

Reported in
The Malay Mail,
a forced sale of 16 properties bought by foreigners without government approval has been conducted. Majority of the buyers were Chinese nationals but it includes a few Malaysian interests as well. Of course, it did not start recently. In fact, as at 2013, 46 properties worth a total A$93 million (RM290 million) has been sold and most of these belonged to Chinese interests. One major reason for this is political. In fact foreign buyers are usually blamed as a major cause for property price increase causing locals to suffer from high property prices. Earlier, some Londoners were also blaming foreigners for pushing up the property prices in London. Read here:
Londoners homeless, Malaysian caused?

This is the actual comment of a famous personality in the Australian political circle. Far-right political leader Pauline Hanson last week said that “any foreign ownership is regrettable.” She further singled out Chinese investment and land ownership as unwanted. Why is she a famous personality? Do google her name and read her stories throughout the years. How she rose to prominence and later lost in subsequent elections and is now a leader of ONE Nation.

Honestly, the vibrancy of the Australian property market is because of firm
interests from FOREIGNERS
 as well and not just sparked by the locals themselves. To those Australians who managed to sell their properties for a good price and the developers who continue to build because they have buyers from overseas, they need to also say a few words. If property investments from foreigners are also politicised too much and the foreigners feel that other places are more welcoming, rest assured they would go there instead. As of now, within the developed property markets alone, Australia is not the only choice available. Happy buying and please, follow the rules.

written on 19 Sept 2016

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Real estate industry lost an icon today. RIP Sr. Michael Geh.

Real estate industry icon Michael Geh passed away today because of Covid-19. My last conversation with him was a video zoom at the end of April 2021. I will miss him tremendously.

He is someone I respected tremendously. He taught me that one must always have the right principles and not be swayed easily due to greed. He gave me a lot of advice, guidance every time we meet up for coffee.  He also shared so many of his experience in the real estate industry with me and always encouraged me to do more, achieve more and aim higher. Thank you bro Mike for everything. May your soul rest in peace.

Miichael Yeoh was also saddened with this news. He said. “A person I respected so much has gone to heaven. You have never fail to support me and also always give me good advice. The last we met is on online on 22nd April where you were my guest of honor in my talk. I have known you for more than 20 years. This is a great loss to the property sector. I will remember you forever. A good hearted man.

News in freemalaysiatoday.com

Penang real estate expert Michael Geh dies of Covid-19

GEORGE TOWN: Prominent surveyor and real estate expert Michael Geh died this afternoon from complications arising from Covid-19. He was 57.

He leaves behind a wife, daughter and five siblings.

Geh died at the Penang Hospital at 1.45 pm, 10 days after he was admitted into intensive care after testing positive for Covid-19. A family member said he was intubated after his heart and kidneys weakened.

A surveyor with 25 years experience, Geh was a senior partner of Raine & Horne International Zaki + Partners, and had been active in the Malaysian and foreign property circuit. He was the immediate past president of the International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI) Malaysia and was awarded the FIREC designation in recognition of international real estate work and experience.

Geh had also actively weighed in on property issues on FMT, such as property overhang in the country and solutions in regards to 1Malaysia housing projects.

Penang chief minister Chow Kon Yeow said he was saddened by the loss of Geh and said the latter had contributed immensely to the state.

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said Geh’s passing would leave a “big void” in the property industry, as he was often used as a measure of professionalism in the sector. “He is a ready, calm, presence in the industry. Without Michael, the property sector would be missing a very important figure. Covid-19 has taken away one of our best,” he said.

Geh is the son of former Penang Utara MP Geh Chong Keat, who served under MCA during Tunku Abdul Rahman’s premiership in 1959.
https://c8bc3d116e6b06485a011287767d9665.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

Geh’s cortege for cremation will head to the Batu Gantung Crematorium at 2.45pm tomorrow. The funeral is limited to family members in accordance with movement restriction rules.

His family requested that condolences be expressed through donations to the Covid-19 fund.

— end of article —

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How big is the largest real estate investment trust (REIT)in the world?

How big is the largest real estate investment trust (REIT) in the world?

The largest is PROLOGIS and it’s an industrial property based Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT). The market capitalisation of the fund is a whopping US$116.4 Billion. (RM592 billion). The size of the economy of Malaysia is US$415 billion. In other words, PROLOGIS’s market capitalisation is equivalent to 28 percent of Malaysia’s GDP. Yeah, just one of the top 10 largest REITs. meanwhile if we add up all the top 10 largest REITs in the world, it’s market capitalisation is US$640 billion and just these 10 funds alone are already larger than the economy of Malaysia. So, it’s good to continue to invest into real estate just what these funds are also doing too.

Meanwhile if we look at just the returns alone from these top 10 largest REITs, then the REIT with the highest returns are the one invested into malls. It gives a return of over 5 percent. Haha. Yes, malls are also definitely not dying yeah. Here’s one latest article with numbers too.
Are malls dying all over the Klang Valley?
 The second highest would be one invested into commercial properties with a return of 4.4 percent. Please take a look at the image below from
www.virtualcapitalist.com

What about the REITs in Malaysia then?

Our REITs are definitely worth taking a closer look. Their returns are also considered very vibrant when compared to the  top 10 ones as above.
5 Advantages of REITs for first time investors
.

I do not currently own any REIT stocks but I guess this is just a preference since I love to buy a property directly versus having someone doing the investing for me. The one big thing I am unable to do is to buy into any malls. However, I could choose to participate in the mall’s growth by investing into REITs which are focused on malls yeah. As the top 10 image above showed, the one focused on malls have the highest returns yeah. All the best in your investment.

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Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) is also property investment too.

Property Investment takes too much effort, time and has high risks

This statement is real and will always be true yeah. We cannot simply buy a property suddenly and hope the price will go up years later. I repeat, YEARS later. So, first would be the effort to understand, to view, to evaluate or to do all the necessary due diligence. It may mean weekends spent viewing and comparing versus enjoying a cup of coffee with friends.

Since it will take YEARS for the price to move up, it will take YEARS to earn that ‘profit.’ Just need to remember also that if we bought just 2 years before Covid-19 came, for example, then we would even suffer the risks of having to pay for the mortgage but unable to rent the unit out for rental income. Say, RM2,000 mortgage per month is RM24,000 per year! Drains us financially, totally.

Now that everyone is clear that property investment takes too much effort, time and has high risks, let’s know about another way we could do property investment and this one requires much lesser effort, time and lower risks too. It’s the Real Estate investment Trust a.k.a REIT. Here’s one which announced a rosy set of results. This is not a recommendation to buy, go and read more if you like. I do not own any REIT stocks currently.

Article in themalaysianreserve.com
  AXIS Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) net income for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2021 (4Q21), jumped 102.9% to RM99.98 million from RM49.27 million it posted in the corresponding period the year earlier.

The property trust stated the increase in its property income compared to the preceding year’s corresponding period was mainly due to rental from newly acquired properties, the commencement of new tenancy at Axis Industrial Facility @ Rawang and the positive rental reversion recorded for the period.

It has proposed to distribute 99% of its realised income available for distribution, generated from operations for the period from Dec 16, 2021, to Dec 31, 2021, as of FY21 final income distribution. Please do read here for more details
Article in themalaysianreserve.com

Some other advantages of REITs?

#1 – Super affordable to start. We do not need 10% downpayment to buy. We just need to buy as much as we could afford.

#2 – Liquidity. We can buy today, sell today. We can buy today, sell 3 months later. Really up to us. Unlike buying a property which will take many months to complete the buy and another few months to sell.

#3 – Steady dividends. REITs usually declare as much dividend payout as they could unless they need the money for further acquisitions. So, every year, the investment will give returns.

#4 – You ‘OWN’ a commercial property you love to visit. How many of us could say we are owner of a famous and popular mall? Well, we could if we buy the REIT which manages the mall.

#5 – Professional management. I do think the professionals who are managing these REITs are experienced people. Usually with years and years of real estate industry experience too. So, their decision will be better than ours too.

Happy thinking and deciding.

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Press release by Juwai-IQI : Real Estate Market Stays Open Despite COVID

— Average Homebuyer Today Has Three Fewer in-Person Interactions Than One-Year Ago

KUALA LUMPUR (11 January 2021)
 — Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced new Coronavirus-related restrictions on Monday. Still, Malaysians have continued to buy and rent homes despite the rising number of COVID-19 cases, using new technologies to limit risks so that the typical buyer now has three fewer in-person interactions than one year ago.
Juwai IQI has transacted MYR 61 to MYR 101 million of property sales and rentals per week since May 2020, with no change in this aggregate weekly value over the past few months. Juwai IQI’s three key initiatives to reduce COVID risk during the purchase or rental process are “Manage My Deal,” digitizing rentals, and digital name cards.

Manage My Deal.
  Juwai IQI’s new “Manage My Deal” feature enables real estate buyers and renters to obtain real-time updates on the status of their purchase or rental, as well as request home loans from major banks such as CIMB.
“Manage My Deal” makes the real estate technology group’s IQI agent network the first to offer real-time booking status updates in Malaysia. Buyers and renters can track their deal as it moves through the stages from down payment or deposit to closing. The service has been growing quickly, with 250% more people using “Manage My Deal” in December than November.

Making Rentals Easier & Digital.
  Juwai IQI has made renting a home easier and faster for tenants by digitizing the contracts. The company has a standard template contract that agents can personalize online and distribute to the new tenant and property owner. Over the next few weeks, Juwai IQI will also make it possible to sign these contracts digitally, incorporating three-factor authentication for security.

Digital Name Cards.
  Juwai IQI has created digital name cards for all of its agents so clients will not have to handle a physical card to take down the agent’s contact information. The pandemic has made everyone more careful about hygiene. Digital contact cards eliminate one potential risk factor. Using the link or the QR code, one can easily add the agent to your address book and access the agent’s full bio, contact information, and listings. For a sample digital name card, please visit:
https://iqi.me/nicholas-tan

Juwai IQI Group Co-Founder and CEO Kashif Ansari said:
“Buyers can now handle contracts, request a loan, view property, and check the status of their transaction without ever having to meet anyone in person.

“Due to the pandemic, people want the real estate industry to use technology to replace old-fashioned ways of doing things. People would like to have both convenience and safety. Why go to an appointment somewhere for something they can easily do from home using technology
“
Buyers can do it all online. You can find, view, and negotiate a property. You can track your down payment or rental deposit. And you can handle your contracts and pay your stamp duty — all online, without the need for face-to-face contact.

“Renters will be able to do everything online, too, from inspecting properties to signing the contract. In the old way, renters had to have at least two in-person meetings to view property and sign contracts. Often, it was more. But that’s no longer necessary.

“The new pandemic restrictions are serious, and we want everyone to be safe. That’s why we’ve been working so hard to make it easier for people to buy and rent properties without having to put themselves at risk. Many of the investors purchasing new property today are using money they might otherwise have spent on travel or entertainment. As a result, they will end up with hard assets that can gain value and earn income over time.”

2021 Outlook
“The Government’s policies have played an important role in supporting property and the economy throughout the pandemic. The Home Ownership Campaign and other incentives have specifically helped first-time homebuyers get into the property market. At the same time, the low Overnight Policy Rates has also made loan repayments more affordable.

“This is evident in the latest data from NAPIC. Buyers have been responding to market changes and the number of transactions in Q3 2020 climbed 7.4% to 89,245.

“The Juwai IQI Property Survey and Index Malaysia Q3 2020 found that the real estate industry expects average home prices to rebound in 2022 by 10.6%. The growth will be the economic recovery and rebound in trade and investment.

“Real estate is generally viewed as a safe investment as a house or a piece of land will never be worth nothing. At the same time, it also provides a source of income that be generated from rental. We believe this is probably a good time to buy residential real estate if one has the financial wherewithal to do so. The recovery from the pandemic is coming and it is likely to be sustained and rapid once it begins. Anyone holding real assets is likely to benefit from significant appreciation.”

— end of press release —

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Real Estate Negotiator fined S$27,000 for sending unsolicited telemarketing.

How many of us have been called on a weekly basis by some sales persons asking us to take up personal loans? What about insurance? I receive these calls on a weekly basis and most of the time I just say no thanks. Well in Singapore, it does not end with a ‘no thanks’. Due to complaints, a real estate agent has been fined S$27,000 after he pleaded guilty to none of 27 charges for breaching the Do not Call (DNC) Registry under the Personal Data Protection Act. Under the PDPA, no one is allowed to send any marketing messages listed under the DNC registry without first getting the owner’s consent. Singapore’s Personal Data Protection Commission said that it has received 235 complaints of unsolicited telemarketing messages from Kuan. Thats a lot of complaints. The S$27,000 fine may seem high but under the PDPA, an offender could be fined up to S$10,000 for each text message sent. The first offender was not from the real estate industry. It was someone who operates a tuition agency.

According to Personal Data Protection Act 2010 (“PDPA”) in Malaysia, the Personal Data Department which has been set up will be enforcing the act which will be in force in 2013. In other words, the Act makes it a criminal offence for data users (organisations, entities, employers) to reveal personal data to third-parties without the data owner’s consent or notification. Compliance failure will make the data user liable to a fine up to RM300,000 and up to two years’ jail, or both, upon conviction. Sounds pretty serious. There has been some civil cases which I found online but I think there has been no cases under the newly gazetted PDPA Act 2010 yet. I always feel that privacy is not a matter taken seriously thus far. Will have to see how serious is the Personal Data Department in their duties then. 🙂

How can we do out part then? Well, if you know the companies which are specifically calling without your permission, you can complain to the Personal Data Department. Write to them here: aduanpdp@kpkk.gov.my  If anyone has any comments with experience writing to them, please do share yeah. I think if we also do our little part to push them to work harder, the unsolicited calls will be reduced and hopefully stopped in the future. Perhaps we should look forward to the first case of someone being fined for making all these unsolicited marketing calls.

written on 25 Oct 2014

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Real Estate or Property? Manage it well and it’s a never ending well.

I was in Singapore not too long ago and wanted a place to just have a cup of latte and spending time replying some emails. As soon as I sat down, to my right, there was an European with two Chinese ladies and one Chinese man. My instinct told me that the Chinese guy is well off (I saw his wrist watch) and the European looking guy is trying to sell him something. True enough, I started to understand that one of the lady is a translator for both the men. I was not listening but they were sitting just way too close to me. The business deal proposed was not going anywhere. The Chinese man wanted a partnership and the European guy just wanted him to invest a certain sum to buy some real estate related assets and then gets returns on a yearly basis. The Chinese guy told the translator, ‘Everyone knows buying real estates would earn money, I do not need him. If he wants, he should make me a partner and then we can discuss further’.

Everyone wanted returns from real estate and some may not have sufficient understanding and may just want to rely on some funds which can help him / her to manage his funds. One question, are all these funds really that amazingly good as they say? I would not answer that but I just wanted to say that unless you are rich like the Chinese guy who wanted the European guy to accept him as partner instead of just a customer, you are better off buying your own real estate related investments. Get to know what you buy and understand the risks you are undertaking. For example, buying in London should be very safe since the property market is so international? Yet, there are more risks when the whole market has more
international buyers
 than locals. Reason being, these internationals are not likely to persist if they see something wrong. Locals may not have that option but foreigners would leave faster than when they come.

I am not sure when I would have sufficient funds to buy into foreign markets. However, I do know that as an investment, real estate is something that everyone should pay attention to. Too worried, then buy unit trusts investing in
 emerging property markets
. Of course read a bit about those emerging markets, both the bad and the good. If you lose money, that’s your fault. 🙂  Very adventurous? Then, when you see any foreign property consultants during property fairs, spend an hour with them to understand more. I told my wife, in every country in this world, there are the majority and the minority. The majority thinks like the majority and that’s why statistically financially, they will always be the majority.

There has never been a country in this world where the majority are all rich people and only the minority are poor.
Majority would always be the middle

ground, depending on how big this middle ground is. Whether we are the minority on the ‘excellent’ side or not depends very much on the decisions we make today, tomorrow and years to come. I do not believe in speculation because no one can be lucky forever. However, I do not believe in the majority views either. I do not wish to be the majority when it deals with money. Happy learning and risk-taking.

written on 10th Sept 2014

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I love all these real estate quotes. What’s your favourite one?

Do you have a favourite real estate quote?

Yes, kopiandproperty.com already tells you that the founder loves both coffee and property too. However, as you can find here: Personal Finance, I do write a lot of non-property investment articles too. The reason is a simple one, beyond just property investment, I believe  investment diversification is super important. Let’s not have all eggs in the same basket yeah. One of the very first property quote I love the most since very long time ago is this one:
“Don’t wait to buy real estate, buy real estate and wait.”
 Was true then, still true today and will be true tomorrow too.

Don’t believe me? Who cares? Just remember to read more and believe the advanced property markets yeah. Malaysian property market is not leading everyone, we are just following the trend of advanced property markets. High-rise units did not become popular in Malaysia first. It became popular overseas, where people get to enjoy infinity swimming pools… then it got built here.

Townships in suburbs also did not start from Malaysia. It started in all those markets where the city centre has become too expensive and everyone started to stay further away. That’s how suburban centres start to happen. Hope everyone realise by now that being behind other advanced property markets is an advantage yeah. We get to learn what happens next before it happens here.

Today, I share another three real estate quotes I love a lot.

#1 – Home is an invention on which no one has yet improved – Ann Douglas

What Ann is saying is that even if we are to argue that rental is better than buying, we would  STILL need a home to rent!  Even if we are to argue that with the new norm people will prefer to stay in landed and not high-rise, both are still homes. Even if we argue that there are a lot of other investments which is better than real estate, both sides need a place to sleep every night. Thanks for understanding.

#2 – Some people look for a beautiful place, others make a beautiful place – Hazrat Inayat Khan

What Hazrat is saying is something all of us need to really understand. It’s really not whether the home is big or small. It’s not whether the home has lots of facilities or just a simple apartment. It’s not whether it’s next to a mall or next to the train station. A home becomes a home sweet home when we make it a home sweet home. Remember, that dream home will keep changing as we continue to earn more money but that comfortable feeling when you reach home? That stays the same thing we want, forever.

#3 Home is the nicest word there is – Laura Ingalls Wilder

This is a WOW quote. Every time I flew to some destinations out of Malaysia, I miss Malaysian food. As I take Malaysia Airlines as much as I could, this would be the words from the flight crew when we have touched down. “To all fellow Malaysians, welcome home.” WOW. This is home. It’s not just the country which is home. My family is also a home I could always go back to. No judgements, just love, just care and just acceptance. I repeat. Home is the nicest word there is.

For all other very nice quotes which are not among the top 3 for me, please do read them here:
All the quotes can be found here at medium.com
.
 Happy enjoying all of them.

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Media Release by Juwai IQI:
REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY SEES STRONG OUTLOOK FOR MALAYSIA DATA CENTER MARKET

Kuala Lumpur (16 May 2023) — Malaysia has emerged as an essential player in the global data centre market, attracting billions of dollars of investment from global tech companies. Kashif Ansari, Co-Founder and Group CEO of Juwai IQI, Asia’s largest real estate technology company, today released this forecast for the data centre market in the country.

Why Demand Is Soaring for Data Centres in Malaysia

Mr Ansari said, “The pandemic has made broadband connectivity and cloud-based productivity tools more important than ever in the daily lives of Malaysians. And the reshuffling of supply chains during reduced business travel has made cloud-based tools and services a more critical element of economic growth than before the pandemic. These two factors underlie the growing demand for data centres, which make cloud-based services possible.

Malaysia Submarine Cable Map

Source: Juwai IQI, Submarine Map by TeleGeography

There are already 33 data centres in Malaysia
i
, with at least a dozen more in the development pipeline. Cyberjaya, Kuala Lumpur and Selangor are by far the top locations for data centres, followed by Johor.

“Malaysia has emerged as a top Asia Pacific region (“APAC”) data centre market because of supportive government policy, high levels of connectivity, a large population, abundant cost competitive land, inexpensive sustainable energy, and its geographical position at the heart of ASEAN and next-door to Singapore.

Number of Co-Location Data Centres

Source: Juwai IQI, Data Center Map

“Malaysia has excellent connectivity to the rest of Asia and the world through 29 submarine cable networks with 14 landing stations. Three additional submarine cables may come online in the next few years.

“Our population is young, digitally savvy and upwardly mobile. Only about 8 per cent are of retirement age, while 23% are aged 14 and younger. Meanwhile, 89% of Malaysians are smartphone and internet users. That is one of the highest rates in Southeast Asia. This youthful and digital population drives the country’s booming e-commerce market. Most analysts expect the e-commerce market to grow at a 13.6% compound annual growth rate through 2027. By 2027, e-commerce could be worth US$17 billion to Malaysia.

“Malaysia is on the fast track towards further digitalization. For example, the JENDELA initiative will lead to the investment of RM21 billion in fast broadband services. It will also ensure that just about every Malaysian can at least access 4G broadband service.

“The business community is also fast embracing the benefits of digitalization. Three-quarters of Malaysian companies have already adopted some type of cloud service.

“Malaysia’s strong push towards deploying 5G benefits the data centre market and is already increasing demand. The announcementthat Malaysia may launch a second 5G network will likely increase uptake.

Land and Energy Costs Favour Malaysia

“You can’t build a data centre without a parcel of land, so it is more difficult to build data centres in markets with high land costs. Malaysia has a significant advantage over other markets when it comes to land costs. Malaysia’s Johor and Kuala Lumpur have the lowest land costs of top data markets in the APAC. Land in Johor and Kuala Lumpur can be acquired for data centres at about one-quarter the cost of comparable land in the world’s number 1 data centre market, which is Northern Virginia, in the USA. Malaysia has approximately 600 industrial estates with robust connectivity that might make them appealing as sites for data centres.

“Another significant cost in data centre operations is energy. Operators are very sensitive to their contribution to climate change and don’t want dirty energy. Data centres are tremendous consumers of energy. They consumed 190.8 terawatt-hours of energy usage worldwide in 2021. They also contribute approximately 1% of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions every year.

“Data centre operators are under constant pressure to reduce their energy usage costs and environmental impact. Malaysia has an advantage in both energy and land. Malaysia is attractive because green energy will account for approximately 40% of all power generation by 2035. Also, in other key data centre markets across the globe, utility costs are expected to rise by a median of 16% in the years ahead.

“Malaysia’s strategic location at a chokepoint along the routes of submarine cables and next door to Singapore is also an advantage. Singapore is one of APAC’s largest consumers of data and the world’s third-ranked data centre market. The challenge for Singapore is a scarcity of both land and affordable green energy.

“Singapore only recently removed a moratorium on new data centre construction but has retained some strict rules on what can be built. Therefore, Singapore’s data centre vacancy rate is just 2%, a worldwide low for major markets. This gives Malaysia an opportunity.

Billions in Economic Value for Malaysia

“A thriving data centre market in Malaysia directly and indirectly impacts economic growth. It leads to the direct investment of billions of dollars and the creation of tens of thousands of new jobs. Indirectly, data centres enable the digital transformation of the economy. Researchers believe the transformation could deliver up to RM257.2 billion in annual economic value by 2030.

“The data centre market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 9.4% to 12% in 2028, depending on the forecast. The market will attract new inbound investments worth US$2 billion to US$3.1 billion by 2028.

“Behind this growth are some of the biggest companies in the world. Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and Amazon Web Services are all establishing bigger and better infrastructure in the country.

“Amazon Web Services is a great case study because they are investing US$6 billion in Malaysia over the next 14 years to create data centres that will prevent potential disruptions and provide low latency to local businesses. Other players continue to pile into the sector. Just last week, Australian data center operator NEXTDC said it would accelerate its expansion plans in Malaysia, and is raising US$419.2 million in part to do so.

“An example of what growth in the data centre market will look like in the years to come can be found at the YTL Green Data Centre Park in Johor. Sea will be the anchor tenant for this RM1.5 billion project providing green energy and advanced facilities.

“This example shows that the data centre boom is bringing the most advanced construction techniques, sustainable practices, and innovative technology to Malaysia.

“Data centres mean more than billions of dollars of growth. They also mean high-quality jobs and a green economy.”

— end of media release —

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New taxes a worry or lacking of focus and direction?

There are definitely rumours that there will be new taxes in the upcoming Budget 2019 speech by our Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng. This was what he said on 9th Oct reported in TheStar.
“Finance minister Lim Guan Eng today said new tax measures will be announced during the tabling of the upcoming Budget 2019 on Nov 2.”
Within the same article, he also shared this, “Over the long term, our focus is to ensure we have sufficient and stable sources of revenue for the nation’s development.” (I guess it is fair enough to give room for the new government to tell us in full what are the focus and direction moving forward for many years in future.)

While waiting for that to happen, here’s a request from a developer.  EcoFirst Consolidated Bhd group chief executive officer Datuk Tiong Kwing Hee said the additional tax could weigh heavily on the current sluggish property market. He said, “We believe continued focus on housing affordability is still needed and hopes the government will allow provisions that will help Malaysians buy homes and secure housing loans.” Here’s that article in
NST: “Please, no extra real estate tax 2019 Budget: EcoFirst.
 EcoFirst had a good quarter. It posted a net profit of RM4.7 million despite a soft market. Tiong said its flagship development,
Liberty@Ampang
 Ukay Phase 1, was 95 per cent sold, contributing to the results. He added,
“This demonstrates EcoFirst’s ability to tap into underserved segments of the market, producing the right products to meet customers’ demand.”

Tax or no tax, I am more looking forward to how the current unsold units in the market could be cleared faster. Many analysts pointed out that there’s mismatch in terms of pricing and location and these have contributed to the units being unsold. Actually, if we look at it from the state by state basis, it’s not that disastrous looking for both Selangor and KL. Please do take a look at the image and the % of unsold units based on state versus the Malaysian average. Perhaps the policymakers should now really look at what’s needed by the market before approving any new developments? This will help tremendously in reducing the number of unsold units almost immediately. Current number of unsold units continue to spook the market. Imagine a first-timer looking at potential properties and they kept being bombarded by the number of unsold units… Happy understanding.

written on 28 Oct 2018

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Real pilot as actor and not real actor as pilot?

Will this happen? Real pilot as actor and the next airline based series may have all real people from the industry as actors?

Not a pretty sight in the airline industry

International borders are mostly closed. Everyone is afraid of the potential of COVID-19 being spread from outside the country into the country. Airlines are not flying. That’s a huge issue for everyone who’s working in the airline industry.
Earlier article here: Now everyone cannot fly. That’s a serious issue.
I have read how some pilots who lost their jobs are now venturing into the F&B industry here in Malaysia.

Well, in Hong Kong, the airline staffs have been given a chance to join TVB and become an actor instead.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on
Pexels.com

Article in thestar.com.my
  Hong Kong broadcaster TVB has recently held an audition which was live streamed on Youtube on Dec 7 and this audition is exclusively for those from the airline industry. In that episode, four male and three female showed their potential in front of a panel of celebrity judges.

These prospective actors were grilled on their motivations to join the showbiz scene as well as their personal lives. According to
8 Days
, the preliminary auditions, held a month ago, drew some 100 hopefuls. The grand prize winner will also be walking away with with HK$100,000 (RM52,470) besides acting opportunities. Do read the full article here:
Article in thestar.com.my

Future airline based TVB series

Remember that famous series,
“Triumph of the Skies,” (click to read more)
where actors became pilots and stewardesses? Well, in the future, the marketing and publicity for a new series may be touting the fact that all the main actors in that new airline series will be real pilots and stewardesses. These actors may even be telling the director at the time that what he asked of them does not happen in real life! Haha.

Change is essential

In life, changes are always essential. If the airline industry did not work out well, perhaps showbiz may be that new spark instead. All the best yeah dear people from the airline industry. One thing is for sure though. As soon as international borders are open, get ready for revenge travelling. It will be a V-shaped recovery and at that time, many of these airline people in other industries may resume their career in the airline industry.

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Real Property Gains Tax (RPGT) and the potential ‘push’ to the property market.

Nope, no one has announced anything yet about RPGT.
I recently gave my views to Focus Malaysia. (read here)
 Yeah, I think one major issue everyone has is with the 5% RPGT which is forever…   So, how?  Stop buying properties even for KL and Selangor where urbanisation is happening daily? Maybe slow down a bit with current COVID-19 but it will soon continue. People graduate and they will need to look for a job. Big cities are where most jobs are.

Speaking about RPGT, one recent suggestion to the government came from Federation of Malaysians Consumers Associations (FOMCA) President
DATUK DR MARIMUTHU NADASON
 at the end of April 2020.
His letter in full in nst.com.my here.
  He said, “Families forced to sell their homes have to pay real property gains tax (RPGT) ranging from 30 per cent for properties sold within the first year to 5 per cent for sale of properties after 5 years. This would be a tremendous burden to families. The 5 per cent RPGT for properties sold after 5 years was introduced by the previous government. It should be abolished.”

Let’s just say that I have no specific comments on his suggestion. However, following three things in my opinion are important for the property buyers and the property market. usually, when I share them during my talks, people would suddenly smile when they understood the ‘insignificance’ of the RPGT if their property really do have capital appreciation. They will get the 95% of the profits and just give away 5%….  Is that so bad?

First is that this RPGT should not be the deal-breaker to our decision. If the property we are buying is for our home sweet home, then current market as everyone has been saying is a buyers’ market. The interest rate is also at the lowest point in the last 10 years. Numbers wise, the savings from the interest rates for the next 5 years is more than enough to counter that potential 5% RPGT lah…

For example, the 5% RPGT is calculated based on profits from the sale yeah.  So, if the profit is from the property sale is RM100,000 the actual applicable RPGT is just RM5,000. This RM5,000 divided into 5 years and 12 months = RM83 per month.  Frankly, the savings from a reduction of 1% interest rate for a RM400,000 home is much higher than this RM83 yeah…

Second is that RPGT is not much BUT the sentiment it brings is pretty negative. The usual investors will know how to calculate lah but the new property buyers will be so worried since everyone says that no matter WHEN they sell the property, they will still get taxed.  If this is your first time buying a property, you will also be worried lah. Some more someone mentioned 30% and you get even more worried… This is why a decision on the RPGT will have an impact on the property market. Maybe just for a while… to help the market to recover faster? Let’s see what happens.

Third would be the purpose of the introduction of RPGT, I am a supporter of it yeah. Due to the high % in the first few years, the speculators have lost their interest to speculate in the property market many years back. Just look at the transaction numbers since 2013…  This is good for the market. Imagine if half of the market belonged to speculators, you think the property market will still be intact today?
 I know some say the property price may fall 70% mah… My views here.

Until we have some formal announcements, then only I will write lah. In the mean time, stay safe and stay at home unless you really have important things to do. With the current recovery rate, the next issue is the Malaysians who refuse to follow the CMCO rules… Especially those staying in Selangor. Come on….

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Do you really need to buy beside a MRT station?

These days, especially for those looking for a property within the Greater KL, one primary question asked would be how far
would it be from the nearest MRT station.

Let me share in brief that I have been using the MRT occasionally for the past few months to go to work. On every occasion, the MRT is not full of people and the number of passengers within the train is very far away from term ‘packed’. Among all my ex-colleagues, there are many times more people using the LRT versus the MRT. So, do you really do need to buy beside the MRT station then? I think it comes back to the actual need. Hope everyone gets the idea.
Think WHY buy that property and not WHERE the property is.

MRT is great to have but is not the key unless the WHY needs for the MRT to be the key. 🙂  I define nearby MRT as anywhere within walking distance. Personally, 1km to me is still okay. It takes around 10 minutes.

bicycle perhaps?

A family with kids where the father drives to work and the mother drives the two toddlers to the nursery may not need to pay a premium just to have a home nearby the MRT. (Yes, I am talking about me) Even if this family wants to invest in another property to rent out, it may not need to be nearby a MRT, unless their target market would be professionals needing the MRT on a daily basis. A couple, both professionals working in the KL city centre and needing a cheaper place to rent and hates the jam do need to buy near a MRT station but not the ones nearby hotspots which are already expensive. It would have to be MRT stations in areas further away. In brief, I do not think the issue is just as easy as buying next to the MRT. Just buy based on what you need. By the way, unless the cost of driving and parking is many times more than the cost of taking the MRT, the MRT will be hard to be very popular.  Stay nearer and cycle to work maybe? 🙂

Moving on with regards to the MRT, we can refer to an expert instead. This was mentioned by Savills Malaysia executive chairman Datuk Christopher Boyd in an article in
Edgeprop here.
He said, “Working together with ride shares, the MRT is providing a credible public transport network that is long overdue in this city. This will focus demand around stations and reshape the pattern of property values in Greater KL. In other countries such as the UK and Australia, you see many agencies advertising a property based on its distance from the transit lines. This is now happening in Kuala Lumpur. Not only will this apply for residential properties but also for commercial and retail properties.” With regards to the 2017 and 2018 property market, he shared, “At the end of 2016, many analysts predicted that 2017 will be the year that the residential market will pick up. However, demand remained subdued last year. Nevertheless, Malaysia is still a young country. Employment figures are still high. This year may see an increase in turnover in residential properties.”
Do refer to the full article here.

There are today plenty of choices next to, nearby and even MRT stations which are just within 10 minutes by driving away. MRT is also not yet extremely popular. I repeat, NOT YET. The advantage of buying next to MRT today is simple. Properties nearer to MRTs, especially when MRTs are very popular would fetch higher premiums. This is based on more advanced property markets. MRTs in Malaysia is still new. We just need to refer to those who had MRTs earlier to understand. However, buying next to MRT is definitely not compulsory. Happy buying and cheers.

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written on 3 Jan 2018

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Really need vacation overseas? Kimchi destination, perhaps?

Yesterday, there was that ‘travel bubble’ suggestion which our Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy) Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said the government has yet to finalise its decision on the
‘travel bubble’ proposal. Article here.
Travel Bubble meant that we have an arrangement for countries within this ‘bubble’ to allow travelling between overseas. The countries said to be in this proposal for travel bubble is Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Today, we have our Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah saying that Malaysia has begun discussions with six ‘green’ countries so that both countries could open its borders to one another. He revealed that the six countries were Singapore, Brunei, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea. This is because these countries have successfully controlled the COVID-19 situation and the total number of new infections are under control.

He said, “We need to discuss and finalise the SOP (standard operating procedure) between the countries. For example, do we need to quarantine the arrivals? Any SOP must be mutual and reciprocal. We are still in an early stage of discussion (with these countries). Both sides need to agree on the conditions. If we can do that, we can allow the business, education and tourism sectors to be opened up (between the countries).” Please do refer to the full
Article in thestar.com.my

Of course, we should also help the local economy by travelling within the country first. However, we need to understand as well that allowing foreign visitors (from COVID-19 safe countries) will really help in helping the badly hit tourism industry. I think we are already tired of reading news about hotels being closed down, right? Well, I do want to know how this discussion would go because Australia had just said that it intends to close its borders until end of the year. Happy following.

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If it’s really that negative, is it not time to be positive?

A few days ago, I was talking to two attractive ladies, both growing in their careers. One is renting and another just bought her first property and was surprised when her loan was approved because she heard that many loans were rejected. Both of them said that every conversation they had with anyone is always pointing towards a bleak time. Property market is entering into a very bad period. In fact everything is negative today, right? I laughed and explained that ‘if it is really that negative, is it not time to be positive?’ It is always in times of crisis that opportunities present themselves, if we can see through the ‘haze.’

Indeed, a reminder of the 1997 financial crisis has been mentioned nearly every evening by the newscasters in a local TV channel. Ringgit falling and whatever other bad news become great topics to get people glued to the show. Well, truth is even for kopiandproperty.com, whenever I write about negative stuffs, the click rates are more than double that of good news. No idea why, perhaps we love bad news. On a more serious note though, I think everyone in the media should start reporting a more objective view and if possible less MASSAGING of ‘what if’ negative scenarios which these newscasters have no solution to. It’s easy to just say, ‘How low will the ringgit falls to,’ but it requires a lot more reading and expertise to provide some of the reasons how Ringgit can recover and how negative sentiments can also be balanced by some positive happenings.

One very real example. When Ringgit falls, the report is something like, ‘Ringgit falls further due to uncertainty.’ Nothing wrong except that ‘uncertainty’ is not explained well. When Ringgit rises however, the title is something like this, ‘Ringgit rises in tandem with other regional currencies.’ If the Ringgit is falling because of itself; fundamental. Then why when it rises, it is because of others? Haha. Be reminded, economic fundamental does not change within a few days lah. In other words, when we fall, it’s because we are not doing well. When we rise, it’s because others are doing well. With this kind of report everything negative report, we expect the first-time-buyer to be brave enough to buy their first property? Be reminded, property is likely to e the most expensive purchase everyone would have in their lives.

Negative sentiment is already prevailing and I am not sure if anyone including the local media companies or property developers or even the SMEs would benefit from a continuity of such sentiments in the future. Perhaps negative news sell much better. Thus, more viewers and more readers meant more potential advertising revenues. I have to agree on this one. As for advertising revenues, one friend told me the other day that some billboard locations are now on 50 percent discount. I hope even the media companies understand that when everyone falls, it is highly unlikely that they can be the only one left standing in the end.

Yes, I am just a tiny little nobody in Malaysia. However, I refuse to subscribe to the “all doom, all gloom” reports and prefers to see all whether bad or good and the silver linings. Will do my tiny little part in being objective and hopefully influence one or two more people to understand too. Happy reading yeah.

written on 3 Oct 2015

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Really, REITs may just be your cup of tea

Occasionally, I browse this site.

reitsweek.com
 I think it’s informative and has lots of news for Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). It has more news from Singapore but when you browse through, you would notice Malaysian REIT news and occasionally Hong Kong ones too. REITs are for those who believes in
property as an investment
 but does not have enough funds to buy commercial properties for example. You can then buy REITs which are focused in the type of commercial properties that you like. No, I do not have any holding of REITs currently.

So, what’s up lately? Well, related to both Malaysia and Singapore, we learnt that
SIME Darby’s take over of Saizen REIT
 ran into a roadblock. For now, nothing has happened. MRCB-Quill REIT which has acquired Menara Shell has received approval to list 438 million new units due to the acquisition. If you fancy Menara Shell, you can now sort of buy a very small piece of it through
MRCB-Quill REIT.
An earlier REIT news about Hong Kong revealed just how different property prices are between this part of the world and them. A REIT called Prosperity REIT will be buying a 24-storey office tower for HKD1.875 Billion (RM1 billion). It has only a total of 144,780 sq ft. In other words, it’s around RM7,000 per sq ft. By the way, Kowloon is cheaper than Hong Kong island.
Some reports say up to 42 percent
 cheaper.

There, a few pieces of REIT news across Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong just for some reading pleasure. Yes, I also learnt some new things about REITs too. I would personally still prefer to
 buy property stocks
 instead of REITs. Oh yeah, current market meant that my property stocks are only providing me dividends instead of price appreciation. REITs would have given me higher dividends, well if only I had bought it which I did not. If you are not ready yet or need some cover from the many uncertainties, REITs do fit the bill. Just make sure you know what those REIT’s assets are before you buy. Cheers.

written on 7 Oct 2016

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Buying a new car. Just say you love it. Stop “lying” about fuel consumption savings.

I was lucky. My father gave me a great car

When I started working way back in 1998, I drove my father’s Nissan Sunny until it reached 400,000km. I drove it from 1998 until 2013.  My ex General Manager (Japanese) said this one day in year 2000 when he was in my Nissan Sunny. “In Japan, nearly everyone changes their car before it reaches 100,000km.” He was looking at my odometer showing 180,000 km and he was like, ‘what the ….” I sold the car in 2013.

My actual own car.

The first car I ever bought with my own money is a Proton Persona 1.6 (MANUAL gear). That was 11 years ago. Yes, I am still driving that same Proton Persona today. It has clocked 148,000km and would have hit 180,000 if not for the lockdowns. Yes, it was fully paid 5 years back. So, I have been driving the car for free every month.  Yes, I like this Proton Persona because until today, I take corners with confidence and it’s never like a sampan with wheels. (Aiya you know which car is that lah, I will not elaborate).

Fuel Consumption Story (likely from the salesman…)

Many months back, a friend was telling me about his car which could save him tons of money from the petrol cost alone. He told me that his car’s fuel consumption is even BETTER than my 11-year old Persona 1.6  I told him, I agree!  Then he said,
‘I can save more money.’

I told him to stop joking because there’s no way he can save more money. He was a little offended. He challenged me to tell him my fuel consumption. Well, as at today, it’s 8.3 litre per 100km. That’s about 1 litre of RON95 petrol to 12km. His awesome car could give him nearly 20km to 1 litre. I did not bother to ask if that’s solely on highway because if it’s just highway, my Persona could also do way better than 1 to 12km. Anyway, he laughed at me and I laughed at him and we remain friends.

However, let’s really do some calculation here since it involves PERSONAL FINANCE.  Assuming petrol price to be RM2.50 per litre for RON95 (higher than current to be conservative) That’s RM2.50 for 12km to me and RM2.50 for 20km to him. Assuming we drive 30,000km per year (very high number)

RM2.50 every 12km = 21 sen per km.

RM2.50 every 20km = 12.5 sen per km.

Whopping 8.5 sen difference per km. 8.5 sen x 30,000km per year = RM2,550 difference.

After 10 years and 300,000km later, (most drivers will never reach this), he would have saved RM2,550 x 10 = RM25,500.

That’s a LOT of money. There’s just one issue. His car is at least RM30,000 more expensive than mine. Calculations wise, I saved RM30,000 right at the beginning and he has to wait until the car has been driven for 10 years in order to save RM30,000.

What if the debate is on IMAGE of a non-national car versus an old national car?

When it’s just on image, My friend will win hands down lah. He’s not driving a national car. No one looks at someone driving a Persona 1.6 much yeah. Maybe in their mind, ‘Charles could not afford a new car?’ However, this is another story altogether and if the debate was on image alone, I would not need to write this article. In fact if the debate is about car brand, I would also not write this article. Ask me about my favourite car company, I will tell you it’s Volkswagen. (sorry, it’s not Toyota).

Ask me about favourite car over 3 years ago, it’s still Audi A6. Ask me about my favourite car today, it’s definitely Volvo XC60 yeah. Haha. Sorry, Audi A6, you were yesterday to me. if you noticed, there’s no Proton in all these choices, whether favourite car company or favourite car model.

Savings of RM100,000 over a period of 11 years

Proton Personal 1.6 was definitely a good choice for me 11 years ago because I have saved at RM100,000 just by driving the same car for over 10 years. RM75,000 for a Segment B car in the beginning and RM75,000 for a new Segment B car after 7 years. That’s RM150,000 in total and if we minus my car price of RM52,000 then the savings is roughly RM100,000. This RM100,000 I would gladly put into other investment. You can see this is by far higher than whatever fuel-savings…

Happy loving your car, whichever brand it may be. Diversity is great for everyone. Cheers.

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Why, why, why, THREE WHYs are better than ONE Why. (property buy)

A reader wrote in and asked if those buyers who bought properties nearby the cancelled 6 stations in LRT 3 will now face a big problem. Frankly, on a longer term, the answer is no. Knee-jerk reaction as of currently and perhaps for a while more, most probably. I believe it is extremely vital that everyone understands that property buying is an investment and not a speculation. In other words, there should not be ONE magical reason (in this case one particular LRT station) which will give us super-huge returns. In other words, if we rely on only ONE reason to buy a property, we are assuming the highest risk possible and yet the returns need not be huge and for this case, if it was due solely to the cancelled LRT stations, then the buyer is in real trouble. Remember that higher risks does not equate to higher returns.

Fortunately for most of the buyers, there are certainly some other complementary reasons to buy. This is why I say, on a longer term, the buyer should not face a big trouble. As long the area is within the coverage of the LRT Line 3, even if it’s another 5-8km away, it is STILL connected yeah. Question is whether the tenant wishes to ride his bike, drive his car, GRAB or even wait for the transit buses to take the LRT. (Hopefully the planners have this in their radar; transit buses). If the question is whether rental yield will be lower, then the answer is maybe because it depends very much on whom the property is targeted for. If it was solely targeted at single working professionals who wants ONLY to walk to the nearest station, then this group is out. However, why not make it more worthwhile for them to rent the place? Say, provide it fully furnished instead? If I am that single professional, I will not prefer to rent an empty home lah. I would prefer to pay a slight premium but I can move in or move out with just my suitcase…

Next very important point is that this is what the Transport Ministry said about the cancelled stations. “On the suspension of five stations due to a forecast ridership of below 1,500 passengers per day per in 2020, the ministry said they would be built progressively, according to increase in demand. The stations are Lien Hoe, Temasya, Persiaran Hishamuddin, SIRIM, Bukit Raja and Bandar Botanic.”
Full article in TheSunDaily.my here.
So, perhaps the buyers can now heave a sigh of relief because if the demand is proven to be there, those cancelled stations today could be built tomorrow. There were property speakers who shared that buying into places where there are traffic jams is better than an isolated area. They are right, PEOPLE (population) plays an important part on the future of the area. This is also the major reason why those stations were cancelled too. Happy investing.

written on 17 July 2018

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Some reasons whether to buy that property, today.

There are a few reasons why we should view more instead of just buying that
first property we come across.

Unless of course, we already have lots of experience and knows for sure what are we looking for in that potential property buy. Some of the usual reasons include ‘my wife likes it,’ or ‘my father-in-law likes it,’ or even all my friends are buying the same place. All are valid reasons by the way and I have used at least two when I bought my second property which was a condominium. However, beyond these typical reasons, we can also look at some slightly more objective reasons. Below would be a few of them. The more ticks that the new development can get, the better it would be, as long as it is still affordable to us.

Buy EASY to rent out areas (Find proven ones please). Most of the time, property sites would already provide all these information. Look at those which has good rental versus those which do not. Today, if we were to buy a unit and we only found out nobody likes to rent that area, it is definitely our mistake.

LRT / MRT stations within 10 minutes away
.

The nearer is of course better but as long as there is one nearby, that would already be a plus for that area. Find one where there’s the transit buses plying between your home and the station. Walk a bit lah. Buying a place right above or next to these stations are likely to incur high premiums. If it’s still acceptable, buy lah.

Nearby universities (especially private ones). This is usually for investment purpose. It’s by far easier to rent out to students if it’s nearby. These students do not usually like to live far away as they may only want to be just in time for their classes. Of course, if you have a son who’s 18 and in need of an university, this can be a good choice too.

Modern design (has things you want). There are reasons why secondary condos may not fetch a good price when compared to new launches. Usually the new launches look much better. The designs are definitely more contemporary. So, even when we buy a secondary property, a more modern outlook would be a plus point.

Malls please. ESTABLISHED regional malls

are okay. I would prefer a mall above 1,000,000 sq ft though. This will be a plus no matter how people kept talking about online purchase. A cinema within the mall is compulsory because this is usually a crowd puller. My wife and kids love it too besides lots of food choices.

Private hospitals please.

My wife gave birth in Parkcity Medical Centre. It’s not as famous as some other private hospitals but it’s modern, parking is easy and it’s just 8km away which is a huge plus point. Besides that, these private hospitals are usually built in places where the population around the hospital is already mature. In other words, they have done their research, your new place is safe.

Any areas having everything all these within 10 minutes away is definitely a good one. It does not have to be currently a hotspot yeah. Oh yeah, please make sure it’s near your loved ones too. My brother bought a unit on top of me and he bought a unit just 2 units away from my parent’s home too.(for retirement). Happy viewing yeah.

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written on 16 Aug 2017

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Reasons, Numbers and Potential from my latest Melaka visit

I visited my favourite Melaka again just two weeks ago. Stayed in Queenspark Hotel in Melaka Raya which I think gave me the best value thus far even if it is not within walking distance to Jonker’s Walk like my last trip many months back. Driving around was easy though and from my hotel, it was like just one road away to the biggest development envisioned for Melaka; Melaka Gateway. I think one advantage for Melaka Gateway would be the very good location; it’s near to everywhere including inter-connected departmental stores, hospital and all the famous tourist attractions. Now, for some real numbers and why I love Melaka.

Tourism numbers.
In 2013, 13.5 million tourists visited Melaka. This is despite the fact that the Melaka international airport is open but not really utilized, yet. In comparison, Penang international airport was used by 5.5 million in 2013. However, once we compare the tourist numbers, Melaka is many times ahead of Penang. For 2014, Penang is targeting to hit 5.5 million visitors while Melaka’s target is 15 million. Tourism is a very important industry to the local industry, especially Melaka. Just look at the number of malls it has and all the parking slots in these malls are always full. Take a look at the number of hotels available in Melaka. For the more branded ones, it’s always full during holiday season. One good thing is that due to the continuous new supply of hotels, especially the more budget ones it has ensured that prices continue to be low.

Accessibility.
 I have personally experienced a 4 hour jam on the highway from Melaka back to Kuala Lumpur. Fortunately, this was only once even though I visited Melaka once every year for the past few years. Melaka city is accessible by many cities, smaller towns and even Singapore. Total distance is just 232km. This meant that as long as speed limits are adhered to; 110km per hour, the Singaporean driver will arrive in Melaka in between 2.5 – 3 hours. From KL, it is a mere 136 km away. In other words, instead of the usual 1 hour traffic jam over 20km everyday during weekday, I can arrive in a UNESCO Heritage City in 1.5 hours and start eating my favourite nyonya assam fish, followed by a bowl of the Gula Melaka Cendol. That is what life is all about.

Food Diversity.
 I have one requirement for all the places I love. It must have great food diversity. In terms of food diversity, Melaka is on par with Ipoh. As for Ipoh, I will tell more next time. For Melaka, my favourite includes but not limited to Nyonya dishes, Chicken Rice Balls, Portuguese fare, Gula Melaka Cendol, pineapple tarts and many more. One major reason is because Melaka has been a melting pot of many different food cultures since its beginning hundreds of years ago. In my recent trip just two weeks ago, I had a very good lunch at Bei Zhan, a famous Chinese restaurant which is not to be missed as well.

Opportunity.
 I like Melaka because there are still lots of opportunities, especially in real estate; property. The most recent one was Malacca Gateway. You may read a short article about it here.
Malacca Gateway
. Before all of us get carried away and simply buy everything, do note that for Melaka, the development has been continuous and it has started to really shine only within these past few years. Where can you buy? Well, anywhere which is within 10 minutes from city centre would be a very good choice. Of course, if Malacca Gateway really starts, then you may also buy new developments nearby it too. As long as Malacca Gateway happens, anything nearby would also benefit.

Speaking about potential opportunity, there are many new developments in Melaka which are of good potential as long as it has the right location, the right concept and a very responsible developer. I said responsible because I would like developers to be very serious in what they do, especially if the MD is well versed with every aspect of the development. That would give me extra confidence in buying the project. Let’s be real. These days, many developers just want to maximise the highest profit possible. I am not against this but the developers must do a good job. Then, the buyers would also benefit too. I visited this project in my last trip to Melaka.
http://www.therivieramelaka.com.my
 If it meets your investment expectations too, do submit your Inquiry or contact the developer directly.

I would love to visit Melaka again. Perhaps not during those major holidays but one of those weekends when I feel like having great food as well as to relax and just taking it slow with a walk along the river of Melaka. I think in my next trip, I would look for friends there and force them to treat me to a cup of the best Melaka coffee.

written on 28 July 2014

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ERL, Melaka, Nyonya food

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6 great reasons to sell your property now.

Many friends love to ask if they should sell their property now? My answer has always been “do you have a reason to sell your property now?” I am serious. If your reason to sell your property now is because you want to put that money into the bank, then maybe think thrice. If the market is going to get worse very soon, it may be a little late to only think of selling the property now. Selling a property usually takes months to complete.

For this article we assume you are an owner who could still hold on or you could choose to sell and that selling is just an option versus someone who’s struggling to repay the mortgage every month. If you want to sell your property faster,
Here are 6 tips to sell your properties faster
.  If you just need 6 reasons why you may want to sell your property now, then please do read on.

Photo by Magda Ehlers on
Pexels.c

#1 – You really hate that property that you currently own.

You do not wish to drive there because somehow you hate the design, hate the neighbourhood, had a bad experience renting that home out or somehow it has bad fengshui and you could feel something is wrong with it. If this is the reason, wait no more. Quickly engage a real estate negotiator (REN) and let someone else own that home and you take their money instead.

#2 – You want to invest the money into some other investments

If you found another investment which could yield a higher return versus this property which is not generating anything, better sell quickly. Depending on which book you read, any property which is not giving any positive returns is a liability and you should just sell it and move on. Anyway, if this is the advice, I think at least half of all the properties bought a just a few years ago would never have positive rental yields…

#3 You need the money to do whatever you like to do

Let’s just understand that sometimes, we just need the money to do something other than investing. It could be anything and it does not even need to be another investment. Sell the home, take the money and you could use it for any purpose you like. Holiday with family?  As long as you need the money now and could not wait any longer, then by all means, sell your property now please.

#4 Many prominent people said negative rental returns are bad

Your monthly mortgage is RM1,500 and you will have to start paying it again in October 2020. Your rental is meanwhile just RM1,300 and once you add up the maintenance fee, then it’s a negative of RM400 every month that you rented it out. If you sell, then you stop losing RM400 x 12 months which will come to RM4,800 per year. So, if you believe negative returns are bad, then take action; sell your property now.

#5 No RPGT!

Under the Penjana incentive. You could now sell your property even if you have bought it less than 5 years ago and there’s no real property gains tax (RPGT). None. Zero. Nothing. That’s a lot of money too.  Bought RM300,000. Sold RM500,000. Gross profit of RM200,000 and if you get hit by a 10% RPGT, that’s RM20,000! Year, it’s actually enough for a family of 4 to travel overseas (next year lah, not so soon).

#6 You have a really good offer.

It’s tough to get any offer close to the market price in the current market. So, if you have a good offer which is not just on the market price but maybe even above it, it may just be the time to take that offer. Just remember to check what’s the actual market transacted prices lah.
Buy with reference to transacted price is possible
 Do not just listen to your friends or look at market listings which does not mean it will ever get transacted.

So, if one of these 6 reasons happens to be one of your reasons, then yeah perhaps it’s time to sell your property now. Remember to get a good real estate negotiator (REN) yeah. They will not just make things easier but may even teach you what to do prior to selling your home which will make it sell faster too. Oh yeah, besides these 7 reasons, if you just like many, many, many more reason,
here’s a google search result for ‘the best time to sell your property.”

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Sorry, these are not investing. Call it with original name

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10 reasons why we should buy a property (Part 2)

As promised, please refer to the other 5 reasons.

#6 – Demand will always be around. (I meant for Malaysia).  Looking at the demographics, Malaysia has a median age of 29. This is as safe as we can get. Any lower and Malaysians may not have enough demand since not that many Malaysians have worked and saved enough yet. At 29, that’s pretty okay! Graduated at 23, worked for 6 years, saved RM8,000 per year and that’s already RM50,000 for a first property…

#7 – Everyone’s on your side. Developers would not want prices to fall. Block 1 at RM400,000 and Block B at RM350,000? I think the developer would need security guards… Banks would not want prices to fall. They lent to us based on a value of RM400,000.  A year later, the price falls to RM350,000? I think the banks will be sweating because if something happens, they will immediately lose RM50,000 even if they were to auction our property…. The government will not want prices to fall. They prefer prices to stay almost the same so that voters will be happy that they could buy. Thus, the 1 million new affordable homes in 10 years…
(here’s that earlier article)

#8 – It’s the least we could give to our kids? Let’s not think about giving them money because in future, that money we give them will only be enough for them to buy a home VERY far from us or VERY SMALL if it’s nearer. However, if we give them a property, they will thank us for thinking well ahead before they even need to think about property. Parents just have to sacrifice a bit…

#9 – Retiring better if not earlier.  Without an income when we retire, do we really want to worry about rental if we did not own a property by then? If we bought a property every 10 years, we should have 3 properties when we retire at 65. Selling one is more than enough to last us longer than what the average Malaysians have in their EPF account. EPF says the minimum savings one should have would be RM228,000 in their account when they retire. At the moment, majority of Malaysians are nowhere near this number.

#10 – When we get lucky in property, it’s super huge. Our RM50,000 worth of stocks may increase 3 times and we suddenly have an extra RM150,000 to spend. However, if we used the same RM50,000 for a 10% downpayment and our RM500,000 property tripled, that’s RM1,500,000 of extra money. I am not saying it could happen but the possibility is there… (Think old PJ and current PJ?)

If we google for ‘reasons to invest in properties,’ there will be never ending articles about it. Don’t worry. If we google for ‘why NOT to buy a property,’ there are just as many articles. So, the world is fair and everyone has their own say. From my understanding, no one has actually gone bankrupt simply because they did not buy a property yeah. It’s usually due to some other reasons. Haha. If we dive deeper into the types of properties to buy, then we have even MORE debates; high-rise versus landed, popular hotspots versus emerging new spots and more. Perhaps that’s for another article. Till then, happy deciding.

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written on 6th Oct 2018

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Male loses in final decision making for property investment?

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7 reasons to move house. Yes, I have moved many times.

Oh yeah, move house need not be to buy a new house yeah. If we have retired and we are travelling around, there’s no need to own a home we are not staying in for most days in the whole month. Perhaps just rent a simple condo so that it’s easier to upkeep too. Sell our properties and use the money for our lifestyle then. Not meant as an advice, just for understanding yeah.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on
Pexels.com

Here are 7 reasons to move house. Many of these reasons were also reasons I move. Let’s run through them yeah.

#1 – We are getting married
 (or divorced…)

You think I am joking? That’s a super valid reason yeah. Go and ask around, many first time home buyers were buying a home because now they have a combined income and they could afford to buy a home because each have to pay just 50%. Alone, one could only rent (maybe) but as a couple, we could now buy. Now couples could buy. Okay, this was the reason I bought my first property in Penang. A combined income usually meant we could buy a slightly better dream home too versus if we had to buy it when we were single.

Oh yeah, not many father-in-laws may like their daughters to get married to someone who will be renting a room or even an apartment. Yeah, this includes me when I become a potential father-in-law in another 20 years? Haha.

#2 – Upgrade

There are times when we come home and we realised that the 700 sq ft apartment we bought many years ago may no longer suffice.  Our salaries have grown. We may want to buy a better place to live; upgrade. So, this is a a valid reason and is also one major reason why we have so many transactions. It’s not just for first-time home owners yeah.

This is also the reason why every time someone tells me about their dream home, I will tell them their perfect home dreams will keep changing over the years. I have moved 3 times.

#3 – Need more space

By the way, need more space does not mean buying a landed property versus a condominium yeah. These days, a condo may be bigger in usable sq ft than a landed property which kept getting smaller to keep prices low for the masses.  So, when we need more space, we may want to move.  For example, a baby’s arrival will definitely mean more rooms are needed. (baby and even parents who would want to visit and see the baby).

For example, when both have cars, then a high-rise unit with a single car park is no longer sufficient. We would need to find a place which allows 2 cars or more to be parked. By the way, if it’s a landed property, then a 18 x 65 is best only for one Segment D car and one Segment B car. If both are Segment D cars, then buying a 20 x 65 will be the BARE minimum…

 If we have too many things we want to keep versus throwing away, then yeah we would need a bigger home too.

#4 – We found a better job elsewhere

It does not have to be moving to another state. If we used to work in KL city centre and we have a home in Cheras for example, we may want to move if we found a new job in Shah Alam… Just look at the google map for some ideas. Not many may want to spend over 2 hours just on driving everyday… If you give up the better paying job because you refused to move…

#5 New stage in life; post-retirement.

One day when both my kids move out, they will have their own adventure. I would love to visit them often but perhaps by then, I do not need to own a big house just for my wife and I. We may prefer travelling a bit more and thus may just need a simple condo which does not require high rental and I also do not wish to pay maintenance fees. So, I will rent at the time after selling my properties. By then, renting is certainly better than owning. That to me would be one of my reasons to move house.

#6 You found a MUST-BUY property

Everyday, you drive to your in-laws place for dinner. They help to take care of the kids. You love them and they love you. However, every day, sending the kids, having dinners and coming home etc will easily eat up 2 hours of productive time. Then, the neighbour of your in-law told you that they will be moving to another state and would like to sell their home. WOW. This is like winning a lottery right.

You were renting a home next to your best friend’s home. One day, your best friend told you that he’s going to work in China for a few years and would like to sell his property fast because his new job starts in a few weeks’ time. He is willing to sell it for 15 percent below the property market. You calculated and realised that paying the monthly mortgage would be lower than the rental because of this. WOW. Another one of reasons to move house. (next door…)

7. Trend / Lifestyle changes.

I used to run around the park near my home in Ipoh when I was younger. It was just a field with some swings. My kids may not enjoy such a simple field anymore. Their minimum requirement may be to play in the playground on some days, to ride the bicycle and play hide and seek with me on some days and to swim in the kids pool on some days.

Some working professionals may prefer to jog within a gated and guarded community for safety reasons. As for me, i would prefer a gated and guarded stratified development. I cannot stand someone painting their house in some extraordinary colours next to mine. I also could not stand someone renovating their home slowly over a 6-months period. So, people change and when they do, their need for a home changes too.

There are certainly more reasons to move house. It could even because of an investment opportunity. For example, a new university was built right next to your home. Now you could move elsewhere and rent out the rooms and earn high rental income.  If there are any special reasons, please feel free to write to us yeah.  We could tell your story to the world too.

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PropertyQueen: Recap on the property market of 2020 and what to expect in 2021

Update. The full video is here. You can start from 5 minute onwards.

PropertyQueen will be asking me a lot of questions later. I will have to answer all of them later on. If you like to know about the happening in 2020 for the property market from someone whosnot from the developer, not from any real estate agency, not from the bank and does not even run any property investment course, then do drop by yeah.

My view is really from the ground as a small-timeproperty investor. Bought my first property in 2003. Second in 2005. Third in 2006 and so on. Definitely did not buy 10 at one go but now have properties in 7 towns / cities in Malaysia. Slowly, but surely. Property investment is really like watching the grass grow yeah. No need speculating and not need guessing. If you do not know, then invest in to something you know yeah.

Thanks for dropping by yeah. I will share it at kopiandproperty FB page too.   Cheers.

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Price will always rise from the leader. Think objectively

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Recent property outlook opinions by property gurus

So many people have said so many different things. Predictions ranges from frothiness or potential bubble or prices continuing to go up. Recently, the highlight was on the potential for secondary market to start shining after being overshadowed by new launchings since 2010. This coming weekend, I will start sharing some very enlightening and interesting statistics from Mr. Michael Geh, Senior Partner of Raine & Horne a.k.a Master of Property Statistics here in Malaysia. For now, let’s look at all the diverse views from the analysts as well as industry associations for the past few weeks.

CIMB Research – They believe that the current slowdown is due to all the cooling measures which has been undertaken and thus the market may need time to digest it. However, as soon as the market accepts that the house prices are unlikely to fall a lot, it will rebound. They expected the market to come back alive by H2 of 2014. That’s just 5.5 months away. Source: The Star, 3rd January 2014.

RHB Research – Mostly they are neutral on the property sector and if you love stocks, you may want to lok at their top picks which are: IJM Land Bhd, Tambun Indah Land Bhd and Matrix Concepts Holdings. It expects the property prices to be flattish and even the volumes declining by between 5-10% this year; 2014. The only sparkle may be Penang as they feel that there are some positive catalysts there this year.  Source: The Star, 7th January 2014

MIEA – MIEA President said that the property market may need two years to recover from its current uncertainty. In fact the primary market is likely to be slowed down tremendously and the shine would now start on secondary properties which are up to 50% in certain areas compared to the new properties. Source: The Star, 12th January 2014

Wealth Mastery Academy – According to Datuk Terry One, foreign buyers are unlikely to be hard hit by the RM1 million requirement. This is because of the fact that it remains to be affordable to these investors especially when compared to the region. In fact, there’s abundant of new developments projects as well as investor-friendly policies. Some areas he feel would continue to boom are: Greater Kuala Lumpur, Iskandar Malaysia in Johor, Penang and Malacca. Source: Malaysian Chronicle, 3rd January 2014

REHDA – President Datuk Seri Michael Yam said the at the Budget 2014 has impacted the property market substantially. This caused negative sentiment to flood the market. The industry as well as consumers would now take a more conservative approach both with regards to new sales launches or buying decisions. Source: The Star, 27th December 2013

Read more news online. Dozens of other articles online if not more. Believe what you want to believe. To summarise briefly, if you believe what CIMB Research is saying, you better buy now and wait for the uptrend. If you intend to sell, then wait till 2nd Half. If you believe MIEA, it’s time to seriously go into secondary market instead of new launches. If you believe REHDA, I think there would be more launches which are priced more conservatively or there may be fewer launches in 2014? If you believe Wealth Mastery, the foreign buying is not stopping because the RM1 million price is still very low compared to regional markets. I am not sure if foreign purchase would keep coming but in comparison, yes we are still cheap even compared to the region. If you think RHB is going to be right, you can buy the stocks they recommended or travel to Penang and view properties now. Buying stocks are easier than buying property though, much easier.

Most importantly, take action. Of course, even a ‘no action’ is also one form of action.

written on 14 Jan 2014

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Steps to start your property investment

Alternatively read the
top 10 most read articles

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Recession 2014, ending soon?

One of the search keywords to kopiandproperty.com recently happened to be “
when will 2014 recession end
“. Haha. I assume this is for Malaysia. How can it end if it has not started. Just like the question of when will the property bubble stop. Property bubble will stop only when it bursts, most of the time, unless the cooling measures work. So far, lookig at the transaction numbers, it does seem that a bursting property bubble is becoming a distant potential. Oh yeah, in the market today, the answer for whether there’s a property bubble or not ranges from definitely yes and no. The clever research analysts would say, ‘Bubble is building up and it may be bursting in 2015, failing which it will just cool and the market may bounce back in 2016.’ Haha. So much for a prediction based on statistics which are again something manipulated based on how you want the results to be. Not many bank research analysts would keep on painting a gloomy picture because they would soon be out of a job. This is like a Penangite saying, ‘Eh Chan Be Si’. It means if you can still complain, it means you are still doing ok. Truth is, if you are no longer doing fine, there’s just no time for you to even complain. You would be trying your best to save the situation.

Coming back to the 2014 recession. Based on the usual answer from an economist, recession would only be a recession when there are negative growth for two consecutive quarters. Based on the quarter to quarter growth for Malaysia thus far, we are pretty far away. In fact for 2014, we may be having a 5.7% growth before slowing down to 5% and by 2016 down further to 4.6%. This is based on UBS Investment Bank’s predictions earlier this week. (Dec 2014). Read here:
 Not such a good news for property market, Malaysia
   Since the recession has not started, it cannot end but would there be a possibility of a recession? Personally I feel that recession can happen in Malaysia only if it happens in the whole Asia. Why it would happen to the whole of Asia would be due to China slowing down even further and European countries all going into a recession first. Besides that, USA would also have to go into a negative growth first because its current economy remains very vulnerable even if the latest statistics has been positive. So, I guess the answer from me, is no, I do not think so. Malaysia cannot suddenly go into a recession by herself.

Okay, if recession is not starting, perhaps everyone should go into the market and buy properties then? Haha. Buying or not buying, it depends on the buyer’s objective and never because of recession. For example, a couple just got married, their parents would most probably be pressuring them to get a property whether there are recession or not. Another example, you are buying in a popular area because the prices are coming down and you would want to rent it out, you better buy during a recession! For those who are looking to upgrade and has accumulated some savings, the best time to buy may actually be during a recession, as long as you think your job is secure enough. Well, come to think of it, no wonder everyone has always been saying buy when others are fearful and sell when others are greedy. Recession is also a time when a lot of pretty rich people become super rich after it has passed. Remember Bursa (then known as KLSE) was once 200 points? The ones who dared to buy then, you can guess what happened as soon as the market recovered. Happy guessing on when recession would end, oops, I mean start.

written on 12 Dec 2014

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65% probability – recession by end 2015

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Recession in 2018 for Malaysia, most sectors down

For quite some time, I have heard of Malaysia facing huge economic distress due to the nearly 90 percent household debt versus the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Read here:
Households Malaysia: Financial assets up RM97.9 bil vs RM70.4 bit debt

Today, I read about a bold prediction in an article in freemalaysiatoday.com; Malaysia will be hit by a recession in 2018, with most sectors slowing down except for the palm oil industry. This prediction is by Professor Hoo Ke Ping, a political and economic affairs analyst. (Google his name and read all his articles for more understanding of who he is)

With regards to property, he predicted that the prices for medium and high-end homes will drop. With
bank loans harder to get
, the property speculators will tighten their belts. To those looking for a home, he said the next two-and-half years might be the best time to own a medium to high end property. He said the property market are showing slowing signs since 6 months ago with some houses already going foremost RM100,000 cheaper. One major reason is also because it’s harder to get bank loans and tenants have much more choices. Hoo also pointed out that because Bank Negara was slow in curbing the
greedy market speculators,
 the property prices shot up. This has also caused a property bubble with prices artificially increased. He estimated that 6,000 homes in the Klang Valley, 3,000 in Johor Bahru and 1,000 in Penang are still vacant.

He then suggested an idea to Bank Negara. He said that due to this ‘fake demand’ from the speculators, Bank Negara should tighten bank loans for developers and force these developers to sell completed properties at a cheaper price. This is because these properties were built in 2013 and thus
prices were already inflated
. Selling cheaper would only mean smaller profits. I think new buyers would be happy with this suggestion but for all those who bought earlier, they would be upset. Imagine developers selling at a price which is LOWER than what the buyers paid for earlier? We shall see if
Bank Negara
 would take his advice.

Yes, I think many would now point out that recently there has been reports that 2018 would be the year when the ‘oomph’ period for property is back. Slowdown is happening only in 2016. No? Well, an earlier survey showed this. Read here:
Flat 2016? Good 2018, 2019 and great 2020

So, who to believe? Better believe in ourselves. If we have viewed at least 20 units, we would already have an idea if what we are buying has good value or not. Stay focused on areas which we are more familiar with. Pre-determine what we want to achieve in our property investment. Happy investing.

written on 5 May 2016

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 New Market High in 2018, property actions today

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