Time to invest in Malaysia is now…..

Nope, Malaysia is nowhere near bankruptcy as a nation. Yes, this is just my personal opinion as a Malaysian. I also do not believe that it’s possible for us to force all the huge investment banks or analysts to who happened to say good things about us. This is the same for all those who also write bad things about us. Besides that one prominent university which ranked Malaysia as number one in the world for investment, we have another giving us another positive review. Credit Suisse (CS) said that the time is NOW for investors to buy into Malaysia. Buy here means invest, I believe. Full article here in
thestar.
 Well, investment takes time. Especially after 2013, everything slowed down. In fact, a crisis is even predicted by an economist in 2018.
Property market 2018: Crisis or recovery?

So, who to believe? Haha. Up to you lah. Remember to take appropriate actions, that’s all. One private university which is now ranked within top 130 in Asia also advised that the time to buy a property should be now. Read it here:
UTAR Research: It’stime to start buying your home

CS said that Malaysia has underperformed its peers in the merging markets because of the downward pressure on the ringgits well as wellasthe selldown in heavyweight sectors such as banks. This is now at the bottom. CS is now providing 10 reasons why investors may want to be bullish about Malaysia.  First thing would be the recovery of commodity prices which would mean that the current projections for the GDP would be exceeded. This is one current prediction.
Malaysia’s modest GDP growth for 2017

Second reason is because of the improvement of the earnings dynamics amor Malaysian corporates. Besides that, ringgit is considered extremely attractive after significant devaluations. In terms of REAL EFFECTIVE EXCHANGE RATE (REER), ringgit has already dropped 18 percent.
(YES, it’s 18 percent …………)
  Besides all these positives, CS also gave stock recommendations. It said that these stocks offer superior dividends and free cashflow yields. They are Malayan Banking Bhd, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, Axiata Group Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd, British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, IJM Corp Bhd, Gamuda Bhd, Alliance Financial Group Bhd and Malakoff Corp Bhd.

I choose to believe CS is right. 🙂  (For all the positive reasons based on stats) Maybe that’s because I have no choice; no external investments thus far beyond some unit trusts which are Indonesian centric. Ringgit is weak, there’s no doubt about it. However, there are huge differences between the fundamentals of 1998 versus the fundamentals of today. Sure,some would say we are weaker today.
Household Debt Malaysia vs assets, as per Allianz Global Wealth Report

 In fact the whole ASEAN is stronger than 1998. Potentially more well integrated.
When three becomes one; thailand-KL -Singapore

 As for that one currency which is always full of optimistic expectations, I shall reserve my comments. May its economy continue to grow because the world needs it too. In terms of all the stock recommendations, only buy if we understand the businesses. It’s not wise to buy simply because one huge investment bank is recommending it, okay? Happy investing. (Must wait yeah after investing….)

written on 19 March 2017

Next suggested article:
Tough times for some high salary Malaysians….

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Best time for property investment always favourite questions.

This was that favourite question, “Best time for property investment?” I shared my thoughts during the INVEST ASIA event and I was invited for the Mandarin session.

The topic was in Mandarin and it was along the lines of opportunities and threats in the current property market. As one of the 4 forum panelists, I learnt a lot from a few fellow forum panelists too. That two questions popped up again (never ending…) but I think I was not alone this time.

The two questions are when is the best time to buy a property as well as whether property investment is the most attractive investment of all versus all the rest. Generally, I think all the panelists agree that property investment and property speculation are two very different things. My answers during the session was much shorter but here they are as below for everyone’s understanding.

Timing is one important factor no doubt but it is almost impossible to know when is the highest or the lowest point unless we have a time machine. Anyone has one to spare? Personally, even more important than timing would be the
4Ps (People, Price,  Policy, Preference)
 In fact I would rate Price as a more important factor if compared to timing yeah. Just look at the many people who were buying a property due to huge cash backs.

They were told it was the BEST TIME because during good times, developers would not offer such huge cash backs! They failed to realise that the price per sq ft must not be way higher than similar properties nearby. Else the cashbacks are just THE BUYERS’s own money advanced back to them… TODAY. Well guess what happened to many who got their credit cards and could not manage their finances well?

Attractiveness of property investment versus other investments? There is actually no apple to apple comparison if it is stocks vs property or unit trust versus property or even REITs versus properties. Property is unfortunately the most illiquid of all. Completing the whole process of selling a home would take easily months. However, other than that, the risk vs returns are better than most investments I have thus far.

Yes, I have stocks as well as unit trust too. I am not a property agent, so there’s no incentive for me to say property investment is good and that everyone should own one. I have no courses to sell as well, thus if you think what I say is true, please proceed to sign up other people’s courses. Haha. Hope this answers the two questions; timing and property investment attractiveness.

If you need an article about why property investment makes good financial sense, read here:
H0 reasons for property investments, more actually
  I know this question will come again in the near future.  When is the best time for property investment.

Happy deciding.

Please LIKE
kopiandproperty.com FB page
 or
Sign Up for free
 to get daily updates about the property market. Else,
follow me on Twitter here.

Next suggested article:
When everything we want to buy seems so easy monthly

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Timing? Buy when the price is low, always.

I love to buy shares of companies with little or no debts. I hate companies where investors keep pouring new money though it has been running at a loss like ‘forever’ (over 5 years) and these new money is used to subsidise new POTENTIAL customers and then they (the company’s management) tells everyone that their market share is growing. Focus on service lah, not subsidy.

Anyway, what about companies where its assets value trumped its share price? Here’s one.
Article in NST here.
 As at end-September, UEM Sunrise’s net asset per share was RM1.56, or more than double its share price. It’s share price today (27 Dec) at 4pm?  RM0.64  per share. Technically what this meant is that if we buy this stock and it decides to delist, then the company will give us back RM1.56 if they sell all the assets.  Okay, it’s not that straight forward but the idea is around there.

By the way, for the nine months ended September, UEM Sunrise posted a net profit of RM260.25 million on revenues of RM1.29 billion. This is on a rising trend; up by over 66 per cent compared to the previous corresponding period. Earnings per share for the same period was at 5.56 sen. (Yes, this is definitely on the high side and if sustainable meant that its share price is low for its performance.
That’s why the average price target is above RM1. Read it here)

UEM Sunrise’s fiscal year 2017 annual report shows that it has 9,816.9 acres in Johor, about 600 acres (potential GDV of RM14.8 billion) in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Negri Sembilan, 2,405 acres in Tapah, Perak, and pockets of land in Melbourne, Australia, and Durban in South Africa. The land held for property development is valued at RM4.93 billion. There are now news that Tan Sri Halim Saad, former executive chairman of Renong Bhd (now UEM Group Bhd) may be making an offer to buy Khazanah Nasional Bhd’s stake in UEM Sunrise Bhd that could trigger a mandatory general offer (MGO). NST Business understands that Halim, who was The New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd chief executive officer (CEO) in the early 1980s, may be eyeing more than 30 per cent stake in UEM Sunrise, sources said. It will cost RM973 million for a 33 percent stake based on current market capitalisation.
Article in NST here.
 (Lots of comments from different analysts too)

I have no shares in UEM-Sunrise yeah. However, I think when the market does not appreciate the company enough, perhaps those who do will swoop in and then make it more valuable in the future. The only issue is this. The stock may be undervalued but it will take time for the market to adjust to its right value. No wonder they say if you are cash-rich, you will become richer when the times are bad. During good times, it’s hard to find ‘cheap’ opportunities. Yes, exactly like property investments. From the days of queuing potential buyers one week in advance, today it’s more of doing many more things to get more potential buyers. It’s always a cycle. Happy understanding.

written on 27 Dec 2018

Next suggested article:
Property stocks in favour? Value vs Price

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


7 tips on Effective Debt Management

This is what
AKPK says about Debt Management.
“Regain control of your life and your debts.” If you are already at the AKPK stage, please continue and do follow their advice closely. However, if you are only starting to feel as if money is not enough and occasionally you have to stop going out at the final week of every month, then please read on to the below 7 things you could think about managing your debts.
Oh yeah, debt-free is not financial freedom. (read here for an earlier article).
However, financial freedom cannot be achieved if you could not even repay your debts yeah. Let’s look at the 7 strategies.

#1 – SAVE, SAVE and SAVE.
 The first debt-management strategy is definitely NOT to get into debts in the first place. If we are able to save money every month, that is a sign that we are not taking up debts. A very good sign indeed. Thus, a measurement of success would be how much could we save every month. Could we save more as we earn more? Could we save more every other month?

#2 – DO NOT apply for many credit cards.
You know, every month when we have just received our salary, we feel rich. When we feel rich, we spend. It is the same with credit cards. When we have one credit card, we spend with one credit card. When we have three, we spend with three. Imagine what happens when we have more than three.

Our salary could be RM5,000 per month. The credit limit may be RM10,000 per month. Spending all this limit meant you need many months to finish paying it back. 3 cards meant we have credit limits of up to RM30,000 per month. This is why as soon as you start spending on three cards, there’s no way home…

#3 – GET OUT of your debt(s).
 Whether it’s PTPTN which is a responsibility to the future students who need it or credit card debts. By the way, home loan is not considered part of this because even if we have no home loan, we will need to pay rental anyway. STOP paying the minimum amount. Start to reduce that outstanding amount every month by NOT using the card and keep paying for it until you have finished your balance. Simple but hard to do. Well, it’s either this or
bankruptcy in the future. (read here to understand what is bankruptcy)

#4 – Do we REALLY NEED it?
 New smartphone launched. Our colleagues have it. It looks so awesome. Surely everyone will be envious if we get one. Three questions. Is our current one doing just fine? Continue using it. Is our current one giving problems but we can live with it? Continue using it.  Is our current one really nearing its end? Then, find out if there are cheaper models which fits all our minimum requirement except the ‘making people jealous’ part. Buy that cheaper model instead.

#5 – Think Sense. Not cents alone. We need a new set of sofa. We believe a RM10,000 set can last longer than a RM3,500 set. We assume you are right and that the RM3,500 set could only last 3 years. That’s RM3,500 divided by 3 years which is RM1,167 per year. We would need to use that RM10,000 sofa for 8.6 years (RM10,000 / RM1167) for it to be give the same value per use.

Supplementary question. Trends continue to change, even colours, why do we want to use the SAME sofa for 9 years? What if we move home (upgrade), we want to use back that old sofa for the new home and making the new home looking like an old home? Erm…  We did not yet calculate the extra investments we could do with RM6,500 over 8.6 years… Chances are this could have been doubled to RM13,000 at the end of 9 years.

#6 – INVEST lah.  From a life expectancy of 50s a very long time ago to 60s during the 70s and now towards 80 in 2020, I hope all of us realise that we are living longer and living longer means we need more money. Saving could have been enough then. Imagine working from 20 to 50 years old and using 30 years to save just so that the 30 year savings could last us 10 years. Retire 55, life expectancy 65.

Now… today. 30 years savings remain the same. We work from 25 to 55. (tertiary education, mostly) We retire at 55, same. However, we live to 80… That’s 25 years after retirement. Anyone here could save enough money in the first 30 years to to be sufficient for the next 25 years? Including the inflation which actually continued to eat away our savings? Well, if somehow we could do it, then just do it yeah. Skip #6. 🙂

#7 – Keep ourselves updated.
 It could be personal finance sites such as
ringgitohringgit.com
. If we could track our expenses like how she does it, we are definitely on the right track. Or another of my favourite personal finance written i
n a story format is elizabethtai.com
 Both are ladies. Oops… makes us wonder why. Haha.  Plus, you can also read
kopiandproperty.com
and share with all your friends. LIKE
fb.com/kopiandproperty and get
 updated daily.

These days, resources are aplenty. It depends on whether we would like to learn or not. There’s #8 as well which is to find new income streams but that’s another story another time.
Oh yeah, blogging could earn us millions too. (Earlier article here)

Please LIKE
kopiandproperty.com FB page
 or
Sign Up for free
 to get daily updates about the property market. Else,
follow me on Twitter here.

Next suggested article:
Is property an asset or liability? How about compulsory?

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Tips to pay down debt and save $$$

When we have extra money to spare, DO NOT SPEND it somewhere. We may even forget where we spent it last month. How about using those extra to pay down our debts. Frankly, I disagree with anyone who thinks that buying many properties at the same time and hopefully flip them will make us rich. Perhaps there were those lucky few but for those who were not so lucky, that’s the road to bankruptcy. Remember yeah, the only reason why we can retire without worry is when the homes we own are already fully paid for. Here are a few tips from my good friend
Ms. Jessica Jong

who managed to use just 3 years to pay off her mortgages instead of the typical 30 years. All the best

—  start of Jessica’s sharing —

?
Money Management: Tips to pay down debt and save
?

=============================================

This year, I have met with lots of people during one-on-one personal coaching. I have learned that many are having money management issues that they are drown with debts without having any savings at all. And this group of people are actually professionals; namely lawyer, property agents, financial planner, teacher, etc. Some of them even caught into huge debt after follow the so-called “property guru” to purchase multiple units of properties and fail to manage their finances even after getting the “cash-out” from the purchase, are now filing a bankruptcy
?
.

.

Here are some tips to help you pay down debt and free up money to save.

.

(1) Consider a home equity line of credit a.k.a Refinancing

You may consider taking out a home equity line of credit aka refinancing. Refinancing allows you to take the equity in your house and use it for other purposes. Once your line of credit is established, you can access the funds to pay down high-interest debt.

.

For example, if your home equity line of credit has a fixed rate of 7% and you use those funds to pay off other debts, including a credit card balance with an 18% variable rate, your savings would be substantial. Plus, unlike credit card interest, the home equity loan interest may be deductible if you itemize your deductions on your tax returns.

.

One additional benefit: you only pay interest on the amount of the credit line that’s used. For example, if you have a RM30,000 credit line but only used RM10,000, you will only pay interest on the RM10,000 amount. Keep in mind that home equity loans can be set up with either a fixed or variable rate. Each offers certain benefits, so be sure to weigh both options to determine which one is best for you.

.

If mortgage refinancing is your option, you can contact my friend,
Ethan Phoon
 to assist you.

.

(2) Renegotiate with lenders

You might be surprised to discover how flexible some creditors can be. Mortgage terms can be renegotiated and credit card rates lowered. Sometimes all you need to do is ask. If you’re unable to get the creditor to budge, take your business elsewhere if you can.

.

(3) Develop a spending budget

While most people know how important it is to have a budget to track expenses, far too many simply don’t have one. Without realizing how much you’re spending each month, “small” expenses can add up. Creating a written budget for your household can help you gain control of spending and identify areas where you can save.

.

For example, cutting back on extras such as Astro subscriptions and unused gym memberships may seem like a small step, but the benefits will add up. Determine where you can make sacrifices and be sure everyone in the family is on board. Such actions may also help your children understand the importance of taking personal responsibility for their own finances as they grow up.

.

?
?
SAVING IS THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN
?
?

.

Nearly everyone can save more on a regular basis than they presently do. I personally use (4) SYSTEMATIC SAVING PLAN to build my cash reserve, payoff mortgages and have sufficient cash for investment.

.

With systematic saving plan, I pay myself first everytime when I received my paycheck and make building my financial goals a priority.

.

While others use 30 years to payoff their mortgage, I only use 3 years to do so. What’s the secret? I use a simple Mortgage Formula that enable me to fully optimise my money; by using little money to achieve maximum savings. This is how I helped my friend, Ms Chen to save a total RM157K interest and be able to payoff her mortgage from original 37 years to 18.5 years using as little as min. RM6.72 additional payment per month.

.

With creativity and discipline, you can succeed at reducing your expenses so you have more money to pay down debt and build your savings.

.

?????????????????????????????????????

.

To your success,

Jessica Jong

— end of sharing —

(Read more tips in her Facebook!)

Please LIKE
kopiandproperty.com FB page
 or
Sign Up for free
 to get daily updates about the property market.

Next suggested article:
Protect our wealth, always

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Tips on ‘Good Location’ to buy.

Everyone has their ideas about a good location to buy. Some would swear by their area and would never buy anywhere else. Don’t believe me? Ask a Penangite who has stayed in island to move to the mainland and tell me what’s the answer. Even for those living within the SAME ISLAND of PENANG, different areas would elicit different response. ‘Water murky’, ‘Too far’, ‘Too jammed’ and more. This is despite the fact that you point to them that you have been staying there and you do not find such problems. Okay, coming to some tips on what constitute a good location to buy.

1) Mature Neighbourhood. Normally this is where everything is conveniently located. You will also find that the development is not dusty. Everyone seems to know everyone and you feel more relaxed. Shops which you need to frequent are nearby and somehow there are many famous restaurants as well as a mall, a market, many schools, including SRJK(C)s etc. Malls, especially, I love.

2) LRT /future MRT stations. The more the better. Let me tell you that once MRT starts, the lifestyle may change. Thus, it may be wise to buy nearer to these places. Do note though that since the number of available stations are now many more than previously, do not concentrate only on areas where everyone is buying. Do not pay premium on top of premium!

3) 10 Minute rule. If the neighbourhood is growing, then use the 10 minute rule. Can you have access to whatever is in (1) above within 10 minutes? If answer is yes, then I think you have found a good place with high potential for capital appreciation. Always remember, every so called new area would somehow grow to be matured area and more new areas come up.

4) Public spaces. Lakes? Parks? Basically huge ones built for the public. Even if you have not been to one before, try going one in the evenings. Walk along the jogging track or just accompany your kid at the playground. You will see lots of people there and your kids would love it too. This is so important and it is FREE too.

5) Easy access. Don’t think distance. Think duration. 6km vs 20 km is not big difference if both needs 45 minutes to reach the city centre. However, if the area has many alternative roads for you to use, that’s the best. That’s why buying within Petaling Jaya does not necessary meant better than the fringe areas instead. of course if you can afford, then by all means buy anywhere you think is most convenient to you.

6) Future developments? I prefer to buy in newer areas where there are still plots of lands not yet developed. Find out first though on the owners for such lands. Most of the time, you can know if you buy Ho Chin Soon’s books. In Penang, I always tell everyone that I stay in the cheapest property in an area where every other property is more expensive. People laughed but I like it and it works because when everything else increases in price, my ‘low’ priced condo would follow too.

Some of these reasons may be at odds with one another. Do not worry, I have never believed there is such a thing as perfect property. Perhaps the perfect property for you at this particular point in time may not be the perfect one for you five years down the road. You may like the SOHO unit which is still affordable and you can reach office in 5 minutes but once you have a wife and your wife got pregnant? 🙂 Take care, make the best choice objectively and you will be just fine.

written on 31 Aug 2014

Next suggested article:
Kuala Lumpur new condos are now RM700k instead of RM600k last year

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Tips on why NOT to buy a condo

You saw an advertisement for a very low priced condo. There are many units available. In fact price psf is cheaper than the apartment you are staying now. Full facilities. Ample parking spaces. You immediately called the agent who said viewing is possible and that the condo is value for money. There are four tips to stop you from buying yhat condo.

Way too many car parks available. Let’s be objective. If this is a secondary condo which has been around for a few years, how can there be too many empty car parks? I am saying this because you would normally view the condo during the evenings after office hours. Perhaps even during weekends. Let’s just say, for me, if I see a lot of cars parked inside, it is better than to see a lot of empty car parks within the condo’s compound.

Dirty environment. You can see rubbish strewn everywhere in the vicinity. This is not a good sign. Either the cleaner has not been paid and has ran away or the type of people staying there are just like that. Either way, do you want to be there for the long term? Rubbish is the easiest to maintain. Are the floors clean? Are the toilets beside the swimming pool in an eerie condition? Reminder, conditions typically get worse and not better.

Only One (1) Guard. There are many reasons why there is just one (1) guard. Maybe another guard is on holiday and the third one is on MC. if this is the reason, why the security company did not send REPLACEMENTS? Today, security is of utmost important. Yeah, some would now say, more guards do not mean higher security. Oh, do you want to say one guard is better than four guards?

Unusable facilities. If the tennis court has some water spots in it, I will tolerate. If the gym room has one or two items which are not usable, I will tolerate. However, if the swimming pool is not usable either due to the murky water or the pool is DRY, I leave immediately and will not continue with viewing. Facilities reflect the condo management. Typically, a weak management may meant many things are not taken care off, maybe due to insufficient reserves.

I am very sure there are a lot of other reasons why you would not buy a condo but for me, even if the price is very low, as long as it failed in any of the 4 items above, I will say No. There are hundreds if not thousands other properties. Do not give up the forest for just one tree. Happy searching, viewing and buying.

written on 4th March 2014

Next suggested article:
My first condo buy

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Tips for retirement? It includes ‘don’t retire so early.’

Specifically for Malaysians. When should we retire? Let’s focus this question only on age before moving on to other reasons. Is your answer as follows?

55? (This was long ago…)

60? (Yeah, this is supposedly current number)

65? (British men’s retirement age)

75?
(Forbes article says so, in reference to millenials in the U.S)

93? (Our PM is still working…)

Perhaps there’s no conclusive answer because I have a friend who’s still working at 60 here in Malaysia and a close friend who’s retired and she’s just 46. Both know one another too. I am 41 and is nowhere near ready for retirement. According to an
Article in Yahoo Finance:
4 Tips to Catch Up on Retirement Goals
, the FIRST tip is to build a budget.
Do we seem to use more than what we earn every month, every year? As soon as we receive a promotion and gets a good increment, we feel we deserve to spend more for breakfast, lunch and dinner and we realise that our new salary is also not enough? If we write everything down, then it will become very clear to us what was NEEDED and what was WANTED instead. Want even more tips? Here’s one
awesome personal finance site: ringgitohringgit.com by my good friend Suraya.

Second TIP is more applicable to the U.S. market but I think it’s important to always note that our Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is really for retirement. As much as possible, build up our savings because relying on just EPF is not going to be sufficient. This is one latest stats on the amount we should have to maintain a certain lifestyle that we want. “To enjoy a monthly post retirement income of RM3,000, one would need to have a minimum of RM720,000 in savings. If the monthly expenditure is RM5,000, then a minimum retirement savings of RM1,200,000 would be required.”
Here’s that article in thestar.com.my

Third TIP is to ensure there’s a defensive element to our wealth. Investments should be for a longer term instead of short-term high risk and potentially high gains. As we get older, we need to be even more protective of what we have. I would add that we must have protection too. Insurance will be a very good form of protection. Medical cards would also protect us from sudden medical emergencies which will usually take away many months of non-stop savings. Remember yeah, a typical minor surgery with a few nights of hospital stay would usually be more than RM5,000.

Last tip is the reason for this article. It says, people can also think of DEFERRING their retirement! Basically, the more years we are able to work productively, the more years that we could delay from starting to start spending our retirement funds. I do believe that I will continue to work even until 65 or beyond. However, I would like to have a choice in terms of things I want to do instead of it being compulsory. This is the reason why I am still working very hard today as well as continue to look for investment opportunities which are not limited to just property, property and property.
The full article is here for reference.
  Let’s keep working yeah everyone. Of course, occasionally we should also just drink kopi and laugh loudly in a local kopitiam.

written on 13 Sept 2018

Please Follow / Like
kopiandproperty.com FB page
 or
Sign Up for free
 to get daily updates about the property market.

Next suggested article:
Becoming a millionaire just by working 9 to 5?

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Really want to sell your property faster? 6 tips here.

Everyone says it is the buyers’ market today. By the way, that’s not really true. Many sellers continue to have strong bargaining power and if you try to offer some ‘foolish’ pricing which is out of this world, the seller will still tell you to go fly kite. As for sellers who are in financial distress, most of the time, this news may not arrive to us first. So, please be good to the real estate negotiators and give them specific type of properties you like to buy. Please do not just say ‘tell me good deals.”  The agent will just forget your request because you do not even know what you want… Here are the 6 tips.

1)  Decision without Emotion – You may have feelings for the property but objectively, your buyer does not. You may want to sell as high as what the highest in the market is selling but objectively, your buyer wants to buy at the lowest point. Look, if you are selling for a profit, the slower you sell meant that you lost opportunity to also use the profits for other investments. Decide what’s the price which can sell. There’s no such thing as waiting until the price is highest etc.

2) Timing and your property’s attractiveness – Are you selling at a time when the market is slowing down? For example, now? If answer is Yes, ask yourself the second question. Would you rate your property as above the average? Clean, renovated etc? If it’s slow your property is just like any other average properties, do set a price which is very slightly below the average price of all other properties. The Rm5,000 will not kill you. Let it go.

3) Impress the buyers – Making sure your property is in its best condition helps. New Paint helps tremendously but as long as your paint is still looking acceptable, then chances are it is ok. Fix any lights which are not working. The toilet flush may need just RM50 to fix but if your prospective buyer could not flush after he has gone to the toilet, you have just lost your sale.

4) A good agent helps. It’s not easy to know who’s great, who’s not. If you really have no friends who can recommend you one, just go online. Search for the project you are selling, look at the agents who are selling. The good ones usually puts more effort; more pictures, more explanations, a nice photo of himself or herself etc. No guarantees but it’s better than any Tom, Dick or Harry.

5) Messy is a no-no. Yes, when it’s your home, you can leave the newspapers lying around. However, when you have prospective buyers, make sure you tidy the place up. Buyers buy due to emotion, definitely not the price because your property would not be the only one on sale. Prices are also not that big a difference. Thus, if he feels good, he buys.

6) Cleaning up is important. If you hate it when you are viewing a show room and everything is dirty and dusty, why do you think the prospective buyers would not hate it? If you have never had the habit of cleaning, it’s ok. Spend RM100, hire two of those temporary maids for 4 hours and get them to help instead. Investment is needed for a better ROI.

Sorry, I did not mention things such as renovating your kitchen because it’s already too late for that. You would only be able to sell to people who would love what you have and remember, if the buyers are coming to view, it means they have interest. I have not seen too many buyers who just wanted to view for fun. Happy selling.

Love to be updated of investment news?
Sign up for KopiWeekly. (once per week for property, finance, investment news and more)

Please LIKE
kopiandproperty.com FB page
 to get daily updates about the property market beyond kopiandproperty.com articles. Else,
follow me on Twitter here.

Next suggested article:
How agents can be better agents

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Press Release:  Titijaya’s new launch – 3rdNvenue in Jalan Ampang.

KL property market? Not that many good news. On an overall basis,
the property market is slow, no doubt about that.
Thus, it’s always good to see encouraging response when there are new launchings these days. I was invited to a new property launch by Titijaya Land Berhad last weekend. The project was called 3rdNvenue and it’s located in Jalan Ampang. I did not go because of prior appointment but their media press release is as below:

Below is the press release by Titijaya Land Berhad.

— start —

KUALA LUMPUR, 9 JANUARY 2017
 – The worst for the property market seems to be over, as exemplified by the overwhelming response from buyers of 3rdNvenue located at Jalan Ampang. 3rdNvenue is the latest property development by Titijaya Land Berhad, a reputable property developer listed on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia.

More than a thousand purchasers queued up at Pullman Hotel Kuala Lumpur on Sunday to register units as early as 4am. Most were hoping to grab their preferred units of lifestyle office suites strategically located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. Aimed at promoting the next generation city lifestyle, 3rdNvenue was inspired by the bustling vibe of Fifth Avenue in New York City. Speaking at the event, Titijaya Land Executive Director Ms Charmaine Lim said the positive response from purchasers of 3rdNvenue shows the market confidence and strong follower base in property products by Titijaya Land, adding that this is a very encouraging sign of recovery in the local property market.

She disclosed that the first phase of development has a total of 1,110 units across 42 storeys which are currently for sale.

“Adorned with a prestigious address along Embassy Row at Jalan Ampang and surrounded with reputable malls, hotels, hospitals and various amenities, we are optimistic that we shall receive good response for 3rdNvenue. The strong branding of Titijaya Land also plays a key role in attracting a large group of buyers,” she added.

3rdNvenue is the latest mixed property development by Titijaya and its joint venture partner, CREC Development (M) Sdn Bhd, which has an estimated gross development value of RM2.1 billion. Sitting on a piece of land measuring 6.06 acres, 3rdNvenue will comprise four blocks with a total of 2,400 units of lifestyle office suites, serviced apartments and retail lots. CREC Development (M) Sdn Bhd is a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Railway Engineering Corporation (M) Sdn Bhd, which is in turn a wholly-owned subsidiary of the world’s second largest construction company, the Hong Kong listed China Railway Group Limited.

“With the expertise and branding from both parties, we are confident that the development will spur high interests for commercial and residential properties within the prime area,” she commented.

— end of press release —

Next suggested article:
Buy property now or buy later, which is riskier?

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Family fun in Titiwangsa Park. Free too!

Do you love free things to do for your family? I do. Do you love to play in a waterpark? I do. Do you have children who love playground? I do. Please do read on for my adventure in Titiwangsa Park and also its newest Splash Park fo rthe enjoyment of all KLites.

I have brought my children to Titiwangsa Park twice. My son asked when would be the next trip. Briefly, they enjoyed it tremendously. I am also very happy as I think DBKL has done a good job with the rejuvenated Titiwangsa Park. There’s now Titiwangsa Splash Park too. Best part for KLite families with young children? Parking is easy to find and entrance is free. This is definitely a very well designed park for the enjoyment of everyone. Certainly something I would proudly show all my foreign friends too. Okay, now let’s enjoy all the photos yeah.

Amazing view in my opinion.

Relaxing view as we job / cycle

Really fun to run

Reminds me of some overseas parks. Clean and lots of greens

Jogging and Cycling trail in Titiwangsa Park

Definitely not the usual stuff for playground in Titiwangsa Park

Super nice playground. Free…

Standing under that ‘mushroom’ is really relaxing

This ‘water-park’ is free at Titiwangsa Splash Park

Lie down and just soak in the water and the Twin Tower in the background too.

Want to know where to park the car? This is the
Google Map location (click here)
 for where to park the car near an entrance to go to the playground and the Splash Park.

Enjoy and please do our best to keep it clean for the benefit of all of us. Thank you.

Property News Malaysia?
Sign up for daily investment news updates (FREE since Nov 2013 and FOREVER).
 Alternatively, Follow me on
 Telegram here
.

Please LIKE
kopiandproperty.com FB page
 to get daily updates about the property market beyond kopiandproperty.com articles. Else,
follow me on Twitter here.

Next suggested article:
True cost of a property is not when we are young

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


No title to property? Woman showed proof to gain 73 pct share of the property.

Is your name on all the assets you paid / are paying for today?

Frankly, if you like to share with someone to buy a property, it’s best to do it properly. The Sale and Purchase Agreement should have your name too and it’s not good enough to just base on trust. It may not be due to trust sometimes because circumstances change / happen. Here’s one case where the buyer wanted to save on taxes and thus did not have her name on the property. She trusted her MBA course-mate instead.

Then, she got involved in a court case where the wife of the man she trusted with the property purchase wanted the court to declare that she had no stake in the property. Oh dear, not an easy time for her definitely.

Article in straitstimes.com
  A woman (Ms. Yeow) and a married man bought a $1.7 million house together as an investment, but put the property under the man’s sole name to “save costs” on stamp duties and property tax. The agreement was for the house to be sold and the profits shared once the price hits S$3.5 million. Ms Yeow was transferring $7,000 to $10,000 every month to Mr Ramasamy to pay the mortgage. her total contribution was S$833,600 and Mr Ramasamy’s as S$310,000.

The married man’s wife staked her claim on the house in Hougang. Ms. Yeow was a course-mate to the man in a Master of Business Administration programme. Ms. Yeow showed proof that she contributed 73 percent to the purchase and related expenses. The judge ruled that after having carefully analysed the evidence, Ms. Yeow has indeed proven that she and Mr Ramasamy had intended for their beneficial interest in the property to be apportioned according to each person’s financial contributions.  Please do read the article in full here:
Article in straitstimes.com

An oral agreement is still a valid agreement

By the way, an agreement does not need to be in written form in order to be valid. An oral agreement is also valid BUT it would be harder to prove and if there’s just an oral agreement between two persons, then it gets even harder to prove if both parties are saying different things. This is why when it comes to something which is S$1.14 million (RM3.53 million), better not rely on oral agreements and it’s not always possible to prove what was agreed or in this case, showing proof that she did pay for the property and that her stake was higher than the person whose name is on the property.

I think in this case, justice prevailed if all the facts of the case are as per reported. Happy understanding and learning from such a case yeah.

Love news like this and more?
Sign up for daily investment news updates.
 Alternatively, Follow me on
 Telegram here
.

Please LIKE
kopiandproperty.com FB page
 to get daily updates about the property market beyond kopiandproperty.com articles. Else,
follow me on Twitter here.

Sign up for KopiWeekly. (only once per week of property, finance, investment news and more)

Next suggested article:
Renting without a tenancy agreement?

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


To retire rich, do not give too much to your kids.

The title for an
Article in thestar.com.my
 caught my attention. “To retire rich, don’t leave too much to your kids.”  Are your kids now working and spending everything they earn every month?  Are you doing your best to keep reducing your expenses in order to give everything you have to them? Well, that article above says, if you intend to retire rich, do not leave too much to your kids. Agree? Haha.

Here’s the article
Article in thestar.com.my
 and this is what it says.  Many may not have saved enough and that’s because we  do not have self-control.  In fact, an avocado toast today may mean one less future pair of reading glasses. Many parents will be thinking that they should leave something for the children. Then again, perhaps it may be better not to have kids then?

Global life expectancy went up by 5 years between 2010 and 2015. This is the fastest increase since the 1960s. What this tells us is that those retiring in 2035 would need to have enough money for an extra 5 years and that’s only because we are living longer. Statistically, in 1996, only 14% of Americans saw themselves as working beyond 65 years of age. Well, in 2019, that number went up to 45%. Do read the full article with a lot of other information here:
Article in thestar.com.my

Perhaps a degree and a home?

I am still an Asian parent yeah. So, I do not care about all those predictions that a certificate in some online related skill is all you need to survive and earn good money. You may tell that to my kids when they grow up and have their kids. For me, that first degree, as long as my kids could do it would have to be completed. So, yeah, that savings for this purpose would have to be done. I would not save this money just to retire rich. My brother, my sister and I were all graduates and that was sort of a requirement from our parents.  I have since completed an MBA as well.

A home is meanwhile more of what they intend to do with it. I will give each a property but I would not mind too much if they stay there, sell it to fund some business venture or even rent the property out for a few thousands while they stay in some rented rooms for hundreds and taking that rental as their second income. That’s up to them. However, I do think I agree with the article. I do think I will prefer to spend the money travelling a bit more. So, my responsibility is not to leave them my money. My responsibility stops with a degree and one property.

Photo by Ekrulila on
Pexels.com

Perhaps it’s about investing and educating?

I continue to tell my kids that life’s not easy if they do not get a job which pays them a good salary. I know, some say that we should be encouraging them to be an entrepreneur. That one, leave it to them and that’s an upside potential yeah. Majority of everyone would still be working and there’s joy to working actually. Stable pay, go travel with annual leaves and not work day and night just to ensure the business stays profitable. Noted about that part that entrepreneurs could become multi-millionaires. Like I say, that’s for them to decide.

What I need to do now is to continue investing because that’s the only way I could build up the wealth versus just getting a monthly pay. That’s quite an important part and this investing part, they will start learning very soon. Let them enjoy their typical maths lessons first lah. At the moment though, I think they are disciplined enough to know that they better finish their food or I will show them some videos of kids without food and hunger. So, educating them correctly is super important yeah.

Yes, I do not believe in giving all I have to my kids

I kid you not. I am a Gen-X parent.  Our kids would have to learn how to behave. They would learn why they must respect their elders, teachers and rules. They will certainly NOT become a ‘strawberry generation.’ My wife agrees to and by the way, they do not have their own smartphones and their access to smartphones are at most 30 minutes per day. When I say give me back, they know they must give me back. Haha. Yea, I am one of those TIGER papa.

I think when they grow up and they could read this article, they would realise that I am not joking. Haha. They deserve all my love but my wife and I deserve to use more of our money for our enjoyment too. So yeah, I think in order to retire rich, it may be prudent to also plan for our future after retirement and not just give everything to the kids. Do share your thoughts if you are also parent to young kids like me. Thank you!

Love to be updated of investment news?
Sign up for KopiWeekly. (once per week for property, finance, investment news and more)

Please LIKE
kopiandproperty.com FB page
 to get daily updates about the property market beyond kopiandproperty.com articles. Else,
follow me on Twitter here.

Next suggested article:
Kids are getting free properties from rich parents. Erm

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Tokyo Olympics and Tokyo real estate potential

I have visited Japan 3 times. I enjoyed the trips very much and it remains one of those countries on top of my next to visit list as soon as travelling is allowed again. Many people whom I met are older than me. Well, Japan is also a super-aged nation which meant that over 20% of its population is 60 years old and older. The actual number as at end of 2020 is 25%. This meant that every 4 person you meet in Japan, one of them is 60 years old or older.

With this in mind, what about its real estate market? What are the potential advantages of properties in Japan? It has Tokyo Olympics as a catalyst.

Article in nst.com.my
  One analyst says that the Tokyo Olympics will provide a “show window” for Tokyo’s real estate. This is not affected by whether spectators are allowed or not. With the approaching Games, as well as the increasing pace of Japan’s Covid vaccination campaign, it is helping to fuel expectations for the country’s real estate investment trusts.

Daiwa Securities Co. analyst Eiji Kinouchi wrote in a note, “Should the Olympics and Paralympics move forward with the help of vaccines, it’s highly likely that money will flow into J-REITs globally — even if the games are held without spectators.”

The global TV audience for the Olympics is estimated to top 3 billion — dwarfing the 600,000 foreign visitors who had been expected to attend before the pandemic hit. That audience provides an opportunity for Tokyo’s booming real estate sector to display its wares to the world. Please read the full article here:
Article in nst.com.my

Just need to differentiate between visiting and buying

Loving Tokyo and buying into Tokyo property are two very different things. If we love to visit Tokyo, we can visit it every year. if we buy into Tokyo, then we need to understand that the growth is unlikely to be like a developing country or a young country. However, we get maturity, we get stability and we get predictability. In other words, if we are okay with a continuous return versus that potential sudden rise in property with a growing population, then Tokyo may be a good choice.

Please engage a knowledgeable agency to assist your purchase yeah. I seriously do not think we have that many Malaysians who knows how to read Japanese documents when it comes to Sale and Purchase yeah. Happy watching Tokyo Olympics which is coming within the next 50 days.

Love news like this and more?
Sign up for daily investment news updates.
 Alternatively, Follow me on
 Telegram here
.

Please LIKE
kopiandproperty.com FB page
 to get daily updates about the property market beyond kopiandproperty.com articles. Else,
follow me on Twitter here.

Sign up for KopiWeekly. (only once per week of property, finance, investment news and more)

Next suggested article:
When we spend too much and people say we earn too little

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Tokyo too expensive? Yen is at 13 year low!

My first time to Tokyo was a business trip. My GM allowed me to go one day earlier and come back two days later. I loved the trip. My second trip was just a few years ago and I visited 8 cities in Japan including Tokyo. I love Japan. It’s my top country for vacation after comparing it to around 19 other countries that I have visited before. So, when I read an article about investing in Tokyo, I was attracted to share. Of course, I am not at the buying Tokyo property level but no harm in sharing. Maybe some of kopiandproperty.com readers are ready.

According to property investment firm IP Global, the interest in Tokyo from Southeast Asian property investors are growing because of the strong rental market and the depreciating Yen. In fact, Yen is now at a 13 year low level. (US$1 to Yen 124.92). Lowest since 2002. It has also fallen to its lowest level versus the Singapore Dollar, at S$1 to Yen 92, depreciated by more than 35 percent. No, the Japanese economy is not in a financial crisis if you intend to again make a comparison of depreciating currency versus some currencies as a sign of crisis.

The two reasons to buy? Due to the currency, properties have become cheaper and rental yields remain healthy in comparison to many modern cities which has seen huge property price increases. Another major reason is also the 2020 Summer Olympics. Note that this is really many years away but if you are trying to take advantage of this, then better not buy few months before. No one knows if the price can sustain itself after the Games. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has also committed to spend more in the upgrades of public infrastructure.

For those who have been following Japan’s economy for the last decade, do note that the economy has never been very healthy. Growing slowly but lacking that oomph. According to the report, confidence is returning to the market and more developers are committing to building more apartment blocks in the capital. The government, through its policies continue to welcome investments and many foreign and local banks are also lending more to foreign investors into the Japanese property market.

Always note that investing in overseas require much more homework than listening to one report, even if the report is from quite a famous research firm. At the very least, pay a visit to the actual place that you are buying. Then, look at all the usual considerations such as convenience of location, nearby facilities, actual rental market for the area and the actual condition of the property. Remember, you may not be able to visit that said property often. If this is your first investment property, perhaps best to concentrate on places you know better first. Happy investing or at least enjoy a vacation there, taking advantage of the current weak Yen, even when it’s versus Ringgit versus the past few years.

written on 16 June 2015

Next suggested article:
Golfing, hot weather and Japanese interest

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Toll to drop… eventually. (somehow)

This is more for KLites. Paying toll comes naturally these days. We want to get to some place faster, we need to pay toll. Of course, there are times when even when we pay tolls, we are still stuck in a jam. Actually, it’s not advisable to have ever increasing number of cars on the road. Connectivity must be enhanced and instead of driving, more Malaysians should be encouraged to take the public transport instead. Just look at Singapore for a good example. The government made it extremely tough to buy own a car. By the way, Singaporeans still need to walk a bit before they could reach the nearest public transport stop yeah. It does NOT stop right in front of a HDB flat…

Reported in
many media including StraitsTimes.com
 The government has decided to abolish toll charges gradually and in phases. A study is being conducted and is due to be ready by June 2019. However, a source said that one concessionaire has offered to give rebates and discounts to road users in the meantime. Works Minister Baru Bian shared thaty the government would only make a final decision after the study was submitted. He said, “In fact, we are looking at it at the short term, medium term and long term. There are some proposals that are feasible and can be implemented in the immediate future for the short term.” Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng meanwhile said, “I am sure there will be clarity when the announcement is made but until then, please do not speculate.” In November, Works Minister Baru Bian told the Dewan Rakyat that there were 29 highways with tolls in the country. Of the 29, the concession for two would end in 10 years’ time, while agreements for another 16 would end between 11 and 20 years’ time. The remaining 11 are highways where tolls will be collected beyond the next two decades.
Article in StraitsTimes.com here.

Attached is the
official press release from the Prime Minister’s Department.
Message as follows:

PROPOSED ACQUISITION OF TOLLED HIGHWAYS

Pakatan Harapan has promised in its election manifesto to take steps to acquire highway concessions and abolish toll collection in stages, in accordance to the terms of the concession agreement.
This is to alleviate the high cost of living for commuters.
I am pleased to announce that as a first step, the Government has commenced talks with Gamuda Berhad to negotiate the acquisition of highway concession in which the company has a majority stake.
The highways are the Lebuhraya Damansara Puchong (LDP), Sistem Penyuraian Trafik KL Barat (SPRINT), Lebuhraya Shah Alam (KESAS) and SMART Tunnel.
Upon successful takeover of the highways, the Government intends to abolish the existing toll mechanism.
In its place, a ‘congestion charge’ will be introduced where commuters will only pay a ‘congestion charge’ equivalent to the existing toll for 6 hours of “peak” period a day.
During the “off-peak” period between 11pm and 5am, commuters will travel on the highway for free.
At other ‘normal’ travelling hours, commuters will enjoy discounted rates up to 30%
compared to existing toll rates.
The revenue collected from the ‘congestion charge’ will go towards the operations and maintenance of the highways and repayment of borrowings.
Any surplus collected will then be channeled into a public transportation fund to improve the quality of public transport in Malaysia.
Further details on the proposed exercise will be announced by the Finance Minister at the appropriate time.

— end of statement —

written on 23 Feb 2019

Next suggested article:
Car vs property? Well car ownership do mean something, get a luxury one please.

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Sky Avenue. Too big? Worry or still getting ready?

Info from i3investor.com

Two foreign visitors were talking about Genting Highland’s Sky Avenue. The man said, “I think this is too big. There are so many parts still closed up and not opened. Many shops still have seats in them during lunch time. They (Genting Group) should build a smaller one and expand when the market can take it.” They were speaking in English and they came from the country with the other huge Genting casino in ASEAN. : )  It was a Thursday though and yet the queues to check in was long enough even though nowhere near the usual weekend or holiday crowd. Star Avenue’s Lobster and Burger restaurant? Total of only 18 pax in queue when I walked past. Okay.. It is actually
Burger & Lobster. Here’s the site
 to know more why they are famous. Usual queue during holidays or weekends are much longer. So, what are my thoughts about Genting Highland?
An earlier article here.
Target price wise, I usually refer to

i3investor.com (informative site)

Since I have somehow visited Genting Highlands 16 times within a period of 5 years, allow me to share some personal insights. Haha. Nope, I do not own any property there yet. The current progress (including shops still closed / renovation) is really a work in progress because the old theme park has been closed for past few years and their new one is not yet ready until next year. Still remember First World Plaza? Yeah, that is also closed for construction currently.
The new theme park should be open by second half of 2018. It is the 20th Century Fox World Malaysia
,

a Hollywood-themed family theme park. Well, I think all the current work should be more ready when the theme park opens. In terms of visitors, it will be full of families once that new theme park opens. The kids can go theme parks and the parents (non-Muslims) can definitely drop by the casino in the late evening.

Speaking about accommodation, I actually tried to book Hotel On the Park but it was full and my colleague confirmed that she has failed to book it a couple of times too. On Saturday, I went to their self-serve machine to book a room and guess what, the only room choices available was the deluxe room in First World hotel. In other words, even without the new theme park, it’s booked enough…. Not full definitely but ready enough for next year lah. So the question of having a place too big is not an issue. How about building it even bigger and then think of even more ways to fill it up? As I drive down the hill, there are also a few other developments which are currently in construction stage. I think for them, they would be trying their best to open when the new theme park opens. The buyers or investors are certainly hoping for this too. Are they buying to stay? Who knows, maybe they were bought by Genting staffs? The projects include Windmill Upon Hills and Ion Delemen. You can google for them if interested yeah. They did not update me their sales progress. 🙂   Happy dropping by and my answer to the two foreign visitors? Genting Highlands is definitely not too big because up there, there’s just ONE and not TWO. Cheers.

written on 23 Sept 2017

Next suggested article:
GPO: Guess which shop has the longest queue?

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Too early to know if property price will be falling

If we bought a property for RM500,000 a few years ago, we are certainly not going to sell the property for lower than RM500,000 today. UNLESS if we lost our job and we are certain that we could not find a new employment before we ran out of money. In that case, we may sell the property for below RM500,000 if the market price is RM500,000 or even lower depending on how bad the market is. My point is, for property prices to fall, there has to be a triggering point. That point has to be a crisis of sort for us, financially.

Even if we lost our job but we could find a job in a few months, we should be able to continue paying for the home and there’s no need to sell the home for a lower price. This is why property price do not fall like stock prices when sentiment suddenly turns negative and this also explains why stock prices could also rise much faster than property price too if the market suddenly becomes active like the last 7 days. Perhaps more Malaysians are taking out their Fixed Deposits (FD) to buy stocks since the return from FD is 2% or lower while the right stock with dividends will actually give higher returns. Coming back to property price, here are some views from prominent real estate personalities.

Article in themalaysianreserve.com
  Jones Lang Wootton ED Prem Kumar gave his views about the potential for property price to drop. He said, “It is still too early, especially since the moratorium on loans provides a buffer for a period of six months. Even though people may have lost their jobs or their employment income may be affected, the fact that they do not have to service their loans for six months provides short-term holding power.”

Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents president elect Chan Ai Cheng shared that the many cooling measures implemented by the government to control property pricing over the past many years have helped to curb speculation of the market. She said, Prices will adjust if there are owners who are in need to offload quickly. In established locations where owners have lived for many years, prices are very unlikely to fall, as firstly, they are mainly owner occupiers and secondly, they would have very much paid off most of their loans.” Please do read the
full article in themalaysianreserve.com here.

What both of them said makes a lot of sense yeah. The buffer from the moratorium will last until end of September. Now, guess what happens if our normalisation could happen slightly faster than what we thought and that most people could get back to work by end of September? Besides, we must always remember that if the development is full of owner-occupiers, what’s the reason for them to sell lower?  They would just continue to live there!

Plus they could smile at real estate agents who tried their luck by sending in some SMSes with ridiculous price offers. Yes, every time I received them, I replied my pricing expectation and that SMS never gets any reply. Haha. So, if we are waiting for property prices to fall, then do remember that the window of opportunity does not open forever. Happy evaluating and deciding what’s best for you.

Please LIKE
kopiandproperty.com FB page
 or
Sign Up for free
 to get daily updates about the property market. Else,
follow me on Twitter here.

Next suggested article:
Why cut rates will help the economy?

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


It’s always too far, too expensive and too soon for many (updated)

There are many myths about property investments. Most of these myths are also because we have never really take some actions to find out more. They say we will only do something impossible when we are pushed to the limit. Quite true really, applicable when I was buying my second property. For 1 month, I thought it was impossible because of all my
awesome analysis
 on only the negative part. In the end, I proceeded because I believe worst comes to worst, I will sell of the first one and take some losses if need be. Perhaps a 2 year setback? That’s the worst that would happen! That ‘impossible’ second property sparked my interest with property investments until today. Let’s look at the three usual reasons why people who did not own a property, still
did not buy yet.

Too Far
 – Unless you buy in a place without roads, it is very hard to find a ‘too far’ place for property. Even property developers would never build in places whereby it’s impossible to access. Think duration, not just distance. Think about it. Many years ago,
Mon’t Kiara

was nothing more than just……. nothing. Sunway was nothing but mines, mines and mines. You only go Sungai Buloh when, when, when you really have nothing to do. Today, these places are still growing, especially in terms of price per sf. Oh yeah, Desa Parkcity certainly was not called Desa Parkcity before it became Desa Parkcity… Haha….

Too expensive
 – When we intend to buy because we intend to profit from it, it will look expensive. If we are buying the property asa form of savings or hedging against the inflation and everything else, then the term expensive becomes manageable. Secondly, please read and understand what are the property prices in the hotspots versus the secondary areas. The difference remain huge. Understand why these hotspots became hotspots and understand the secondary areas with these traits as well. It’s definitely cheaper and not too expensive. Oh yeah, if it’s already too expensive,
it’s time for the property bubble to burst.

Too soon – Buy what we could afford. Not buy things which stretched you thin or speculatively buy. Thus, the question of too soon does not appear. It’s just a question of could
we afford it at that point in time
. What age should we buy? 30? 40? No one can answer because everyone is different. No one should use this as a reason not to buy. By the way, there are many different categories of homes too. It does not need to be landed or luxury condos.

Let’s be reminded however that
property may not be for everyone because it’s very sticky
. It may be high risk if we bought wrongly and many other negative reasons. How about investing in REITs? It’s safe, it’s easy to buy and it’s affordable and low risk. Decide and take appropriate actions. To lower our investment risks, sometimes diversification is a good way. Just do not think that it’s too far, too expensive and too soon. Happy investing, regardless of your choice.

written on 16 June 2016

Next suggested article:
Property investment? keep learning, even if opinions differ

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Why do some people still get cheated? Sigh.

As the saying goes, there’s no free lunch. However, what if someone offers us a deal too good to refuse? Some kind of ‘investment’ which will give us returns which are 10 percent PER MONTH? Haha. PLEASE ALWAYS understand that if the returns are real, there is no need to offer to you.  They would offer to listed companies instead. These companies could then offer huge dividends to its shareholders.  They would even offer to the local banks since local banks have the funds to buy much more than what we could ever buy. This is the reason why we need not be excited or happy when we get such deals. By the way, the potential returns from the advanced nations would be even smaller! Many have interest rates close to zero. In other words, these huge return schemes are SCAMs.

Do refer to an article for the warning from the Federal Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) directorComm Datuk Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani.
MalaysianDigest: Victims of Scams.
  Somehow, despite so many warnings, greed continue to cause people to be cheated. He shared that over 20,000 people got cheated in 2016 for investing in the illegal money game but only 100 people came forward to lodge a police report. He shared a few ways that people are being cheated such as frozen bank account calls, online shopping fraud and most common of all, love scams. “Always be vigilant and do not simply give your personal information out, especially your bank account information. These conmen prey on your fear and will take advantage of it,” he urged. In fact, recently The Star reported that authorities shut down the VenusFX forex scheme syndicate.It was involved in foreign exchange investment scam causing 23,259 people to lose approximately RM80 million.

I think this will continue because within 2017 alone, I have already been informed of lucrative investments a few times. I personally do not believe any investments with more than 10 percent returns per year. Except for investments which I can personally control and not just to hand over my money to my friend’s friend’s friend somewhere outside the country. Thus, to cheat me, please offer something lower but still higher than the dividend stocks. I still remember my good friend told about one scheme which offers 5 percent returns per month. She said that it’s safe because her sister has also invested in it. A few months later, she told me that she was lucky because she managed to get some returns as well as her invested capital back. She did not say what happened to the scheme but I guess it has closed shop. 5 percent returns per month is 60 percent per year! This is better than whatever investments you have in mind right now. Haha. So, yes, it’s FAKE. Stop getting cheated, please.

written on 11 April 2017

Next suggested article:
Action needed lah. No such thing as BEST investment

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


How to know what is “too good to be true?”

I do believe we receive many offers to invest our hard earned money. If we are promised that our investment into whatever scheme can get a 1% return every month and it’s guaranteed, is this too good to be true or well, it’s  just 1%, surely this is possible, right? Let’s talk about 4 things today about this 1% return per month then.

#1 – Time too short

For any investment to work, it has to be invested into some business which is PROFITABLE. For this business to be profitable, it has to sell something, goods or services. In other words, there has to be time for this transaction to be completed and the business to earn a profit. This usually does not happen in a short period of time and may not happen for a lot of companies. Please do ask any successful business owners how soon they actually started to get profits and most of them will tell you more than 30 days… So, AS SOON as we invest, the return starts the next month is really “too good to be true.”

#2 – Guarantee not possible in real world

No business can guarantee that they will be profitable. Unless of course it’s a monopoly. Then again, if it’s a monopoly, it will gain exceptional profits. If it is gaining exceptional profits, I really am not sure why they want us to invest into the business. They could have easily gotten a bank loan instead which may just charge them a lot interest rate as well as all the flexibilities of a business loan too. The interest rate will be way lower than the 1% per month which they are paying to any other so-called investors. If it’s guaranteed and they could not get a bank loan, should we not wonder a little more?

#3 – Return is just too high

1% return is too high? Charles you must be joking. I am not. If I am the CEO of a bank and I learnt that there’s a business which pays 1% return per month, I will push all my investments into this business versus subscribing to bonds or even investing into overseas market. Get real. 1% per month means 12% per year! As a bank, I am only paying my customers 1.8% for their Fixed Deposits. If I could get 12% returns, I can even offer my depositors 3% and I will still gain 9% without needing to do anything much! Haha. Not true?

#4 – Why YOU?

Are we the best friend to the owner of the business? Are we the best friend to the best friend of the owner of the business? Is the owner of the business a very close relative whom we know very well? If we have no relationship with the owner of the business at all, then are we the best friend to this friend who’s pitching this super deal to us? Is this friend pitching the deal to us the best friend to the owner of that business? Or he / she also does not know who the owner of the business but they are just marketing the programme?

I be honest. If I have a business which can give 12% returns per year, I will NOT offer it to any stranger on the street. Not even to casual friends. Maybe to some good friends. Maybe to more close friends. Should be to family members. This is why this is another “too good to be true” deal yeah.

Too good to be true will always be around

These days, everything seems possible, right? That’s precisely why everything can also be faked. That’s also why marketing is getting so advanced that they could convince us to buy something we do not need or leave aside after buying them. We do need to read more because if it’s too good to be true, it’s also important to be able to recognise them. Else, another scam case may be reported in the near future. Thanks for reading.

Property News Malaysia?
Sign up for daily investment news updates (FREE since Nov 2013 and FOREVER).
 Alternatively, Follow me on
 Telegram here
.

Please LIKE
kopiandproperty.com FB page
 to get daily updates about the property market beyond kopiandproperty.com articles. Else,
follow me on Twitter here.

Next suggested article:
5 Must-Do steps for property investment.

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Too many condos, don’t buy condo

Yea, this was what many friends are saying today. There are just too many condos. Stop buying condos. May I ask if I do not buy a condo, then what do I buy. Buy an apartment?
There are even MORE apartments
. Buy a flat? Are you sure? There are even MORE flats. Or I should only rent? If rent should I rent condo or apartment or flat. How about this, why not buy a condo of 3 rooms and rent out two rooms? Then, your monthly payment might be just a rental for a room in a condo? Haha.

Someone actually told me that as there are so many condos, the prices would drop in future. If buy landed, then it is very safe. I laughed and ask, how many landed have you bought. He smiled and said, soon. Then, I asked, how much
would condo prices drop?
 He smiled and said he has no idea but this is what his other friends are telling him. Until today, when you search online, there are condos which are priced so high it can almost touch the sky. There are also condos which when you look at the price, you would think this must be a haunted place.

Actually, the expensive one just happened to be in a hotspot, somehow everyone loves it and demand exceeds supply and prices went up. The cheaper ones are all secondary ones, maintenance was not that awesome or other issues. Most of the time, with the
right management committees,
 it can get better. So, the expensive ones are already so high, even if the price drop a bit, can the majority afford? The lower priced ones are already just already at the prices of the affordable homes that is being built today, you think it will go even lower?

Think objectively. If you are buying to flip, NOTHING is safe. If you are buying to stay instead of paying for rental, anything considered affordable would always be safe. It meant everyone can still afford it. If you can buy and rent out one room like what my close friend in Penang is doing, well the
monthly payment becomes more manageable.

The worst is of course the refusal to consider the affordable ones but willing to rent a room in the high-end ones. That’s the best combination. Too many condos, so stop buying condos? Think again.

Please LIKE
kopiandproperty.com FB page
 or
Sign Up for free
 to get daily updates about the property market.

Next suggested article:
Why did I fear property investment, then?

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Too many property fairs, good or bad for developers?

Penangpropertytalk.com founder, Ken Lim sent me a note that this weekend (24 – 26 Oct), there are three property fairs in Penang, by three different organisers, in three different venues. It was the very first time that this has happened. This weekend, I went to two malls in KL, both had property fairs and I got to know about another 2 malls which also had property fairs. Some of my industry friends were speaking in these property fairs and they showed in Facebook that there were huge crowd listening to their talks.
Two good friends went to the fairs and sent me photos which showed that some fairs are doing ok while others are just not doing well at all. In fact even the staffs of the organisers were chit-chatting as there were no new visitors to register! If you want to know which is doing well, ask me when we meet lar. Not necessary to state down the names. 🙂

On second thought, are property fairs so lucrative that everyone is trying to organise one and gain huge financial profits from it? Or are property fairs effective, therefore the developers are pushing for even more fairs and for some developers, they spread they teams to cover more than one fair on the same weekend in different venues and different states?
The third reason would be a negative one. Is the property market so bad that the usual ‘Open House’ or the ‘Pre-Registration Lunches’ no longer work and everyone has to try everything? I prefer to think it’s reason number one. 🙂  However, according to REHDA’s own survey, it was reported that
85% of the developers faced a dropping sales within 1st half of 2014.

On a personal note, I think for developers it may be best to preserve your best team and only go to the largest few fairs and not all.
If I see you more than once before in any property fair, my confidence level in you drops, no matter how well you say you are selling.
 Always remember, these days, there’s no such thing as sell slowly. There’s also no such thing as 3 times newspaper is enough or even just organising one ‘pre-registration’ lunch should do it. If your price is able to do the talking, then yes, there’s no need to do much of anything. However, if your price is so-so, the area is not bad, the mindset better be changed to ‘sell fast’ and not ‘sell slow’. Oh yeah, I saw one developer whom I have seen way too many times and every time I see them, there’s always ‘limited units left’. Maybe, its true, they are still selling that few limited units that’s why they are still participating. Some developers even told me that the buyers would buy as soon as they see the construction is about to end. That’s when the buyers have full confidence. I just smile these days. I am very sure they are more experienced than me. Happy visiting property fairs.

written on 26 Oct 2014

Next suggested article:
Buyers today, property fairs today and ignorant developers

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Too many shopping malls and retail scene are NOT the same

I think if we ask just about anyone on the street if there are way too many malls here in Greater Kuala Lumpur, the answer will have to be a Yes. By the way, Penangites may say the same thing. They are just two prominent malls there, the rest are trying their best to get more visitors. However, is this the same for the retail scene? Could we say that because the malls are way too many, the retail scene will be affected badly?  If we were to ask the owners of malls which are now void of visitors and struggling to pass every day, they may  conclude that the retail sector is bad, no one’s buying or everyone’s buying from online these days. This is incorrect.

Retail sector is looking resilient says AMInvestment Bank and Rahim & Co’s after the latter’s property seminar a week ago.
Full article in TheStar here.
 It is in line with the performance of retail-based real estate investment trusts (REITs). AMInvestment said, “The speakers are of the view that the outlook for retail properties, mainly shopping malls, will remain resilient in the short to medium term. This is consistent with REITs under our coverage, namely Pavilion REIT and Sunway REIT whereby both have a high occupancy rate in their shopping malls.” As for sentiment, AMInvestment says, “The trend implies that consumers are still optimistic but remain cautious and selective in spending plans.” Here’s that
full article in TheStar.com.my

Consumer confidence generally has nothing to do with the number of shopping malls. The few that is doing well will continue to attract shoppers because shoppers love the malls where all the other shoppers are. They hate to shop in a mall where no one is shopping… As for spending, it’s also clear that many are spending instead of saving which I think is going to be positive for the retail sector for a very long time more. The only issue is that the people have LIMITED monthly salary but UNLIMITED wants. Thus, the prices must be attractive enough to attract them to buy. In 2018, I bought probably 6 new long sleeve shirts and 3 new leather shoes. They were too attractively priced. Happy shopping.

written on 22 Nov 2018

Next suggested article:
6 things a mall can think about

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Too many supermarkets, why Jaya Grocer still opening more?

Do you have favourite supermarkets that you go to every weekend? I am not that loyal to just one brand. What about supermarket brands that you dislike? Let’s not talk about some supermarket brands which has already lost me as a customer. Three reasons? The fresh choices are just too limited. For example, quantity and quality of fish and vegetables. Reason two: The freshness is just not there. Have you been to a supermarket where the fish really look as if it’s been displayed for a very long time? Please sell everything off or keep them or throw it away instead of leaving it there! That fading colour of freshness? Reason three: The display is just not imaginative. Why can’t they make it more attractive? The supermarket landscape in Malaysia is a very competitive one. There are / were locally grown, Japanese influenced, Britain influenced, Middle East influenced, Australian influenced and even French influenced! I may even missed some.

There’s one family-run supermarket which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year and will be opening 5 more outlets within 2018 on top of the 22 that it is operating today. We are talking about Jaya Grocer. Here’s one of the
recent media report in TheSunDaily
 Its operations director Daniel Teng shared that as part of its 10th anniversary celebrations, Jaya Grocer has been offering 10 items on special promotional prices each week since the start of the year. “We call it our ‘Ten To Celebrate Ten’ Campaign.” The other 5 new outlets would be in the following malls:

Eco Ardence at Setia Alam in Feb

Kuala Lumpur Eco City at Bangsar in June

Empire City Damansara in July

Kiara 163 at Mont Kiara in Sept, and

Kuala Lumpur East at Taman Melati in Dec.

Teng further shared, “Even though Jaya Grocer itself is 10 years old, the management team is led by retail veterans with a family heritage dating back to pre-Independence Malaya. We are proud of our heritage and are yet humbled by the overwhelming support shown by our loyal customers through the decades.”
An earlier report on their KLEC outlet here.
He then shared one reason why Jaya Grocercontinue to win new customers. “The concept of Bangsar Market by Jaya Grocer is to bring back the feeling of shopping in a fresh wet market which is clean and well laid out. We hope to meet the discerning demands of sophisticated modern day shoppers in the city.” Jaya Grocer has online delivery service as well and Teng shared that it provides same day delivery, with the quickest delivery time being within 2 hours. “You just click and we deliver,” he added.  When it comes to loyal staffs, Teng said, “We are proud to note that many of our senior managers have been with us from the start 10 years ago and are still with us. Many in fact have been working with my family even before the inception of Jaya Grocer.”

As customers, we should continue supporting brands which are able to satisfy us and ignore those which could not. Remember, competition makes everyone stronger and not just making consumers happy. These brands can one day be going out to other markets too and it may be best that they were already pushed to their limits here in Malaysia. Oh yeah, if the fish choices are aplenty, I will automatically love the brand.  Happy shopping yeah.

written on 20 Feb 2018

Next suggested article:
Closures always point to tough outlook

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


I am too old to invest. Wow…

Do you feel you are too old to invest? How old is too old?

Nope, Malaysia is definitely not looking at increasing the retirement age to 93 anytime soon. Haha. However, it was a thought which I have shared a couple of times.
Working till 68. Still healthy I guess.

Until what age should we retire, really?

Photo by RODNAE Productions on
Pexels.com

A close lady friend will be leaving full time employment in 2 months time. She has no firm plans on what to do next. Perhaps a couple of really relaxing holidays first? The reason she could afford to think about ‘not doing anything’ for a while first? She has shares in a bluechip counter in Bursa Malaysia. That would be her foundation to last a long time. She has a couple of properties too which has easily doubled in price on an overall basis based on the price she bought. (Yes, it was me who pushed her into property investment. Yet, she is now retiring while I am still waking up everyday at 730am to prepare to go to work. Haha. What a life…)

Another few years and another friend told me that it is too late for him to invest. It’s better to save the money instead because everything is so volatile. If buy shares, suddenly it can drop a lot, just look at the Malaysian stock market these two weeks. It can be up one day and down the other day. Haha. Actually, I reminded him that this is the same in MOST stock markets of the world. If he’s hoping for a stock market which does not move much or keep moving up, it’s only time that the whole stock market crashes!

When it comes to property, he said he heard that the 1 million new affordable properties by the new government will crash the market too. There will be just too many homes! I pointed this to him:
Unsold units? We need more actually.

Secondly, I have not heard from all my richer friends that they will be selling their over a million home and moving into these new affordable homes.

There are many ways to invest and there are also many kinds of investment. If we do not know what are they and what to do, it’s important to start knowing a bit more. The world is changing, everybody knows. The market is volatile, this will be true for a very long time more to come. Well, until A.I (robots) take over this world anyway. 🙂  Here’s that debate recently.
A.I voice calling will now identify itself to humans.

Please stop saying that ‘I am too old to invest.’ One day we will be too old to travel. One day we will be too old to carry our kids. One day we will be too long to climb the staircase. However, we will never be too old to invest. If we hate investing for ourselves, then please invest for our loved ones. I think they need it, even if we do not like or need it. Here’s one good article for everyone to read.
It’s about the things that rich people will never say.
 Happy following.

Please LIKE
kopiandproperty.com FB page
 or
Sign Up for free
 to get daily updates about the property market.

written on 24 May 2018

Next suggested article:
What’s pushing up house prices? Housing supply issue? No…

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Too positive, Too negative, Your decision.

You are too positive. Someone told me this the other day. It’s funny because I agree and yet some of my friends actually think I am too pessimistic too. This is especially when they ask me about properties priced at RM800psf and whether should they buy for INVESTMENT purpose. My answer is always, not for me. Actually, I do not like speculative buys. You either win big or you lose big. I prefer safer or risk-managed type of investment. Risk is always present no matter what we do. As for those who argued that we can never plan for any unforeseen circumstances, do we stop thinking and planning then?

BURSA has been very volatile for the past many months. In fact when BURSA has dropped for a few weeks, my action was to quickly browse through some of the shares which have fallen the most and see if there are opportunities. So, in this sense, I am positive. Since I am only researching and will only buy undervalued companies in my opinion, I am thus positively cautious. Beginning Q4 of 2014, my total investment in BURSA has increased a lot. Maybe I am just too positive? Well, I have no idea but I think the worse case scenario would be that the dividend that I will get is above the usual savings rate but below the FD. The only difference? Potential share price increase and thus healthy return on investment. At least whether this comes true or not, it’s still my decision. No one to blame.  🙂

I have written about RM a few times and will not repeat too much. RM does not deserve to be at current low value. Unfortunately I do not have US$100 billion to prop up the RM, so I can only watch from the sidelines. Property market continue to move albeit at a much lower number than usual. Do note that if it does not move at all, then every single developer would stop launching and the smaller ones may have to think of a new business instead. Look at this current situation as an opportunity. If we are able to think objectively, it is not a threat. Someone said the other day that the retail business is bad. The barometer that I would use would be the Starbucks business in Malaysia. Rest assured, if the whole economy is not doing well, Starbucks would be the first to be hit. RM12 for a latte, are you crazy? Well, truth is, there are many crazy people up till currently.  Don’t believe yet? It’s ok, just have to stop drinking Starbucks then. Happy believing whatever you want to believe.

written on 30 Jan 2015

Next suggested article:
Oh No! Oil prices falling means Bursa stocks and Ringgit will fall too!

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Top 10 billionaires overall, women, tech, finance and more

Billionaires do not all need to become old…first

Gone are the days when billionaires are usually quite old by the time they become billionaires. The duration to become a billionaire has also become much shorter nowadays.  The journey to become one has also changed tremendously. it does not need to be a profitable business. Sometimes, it’s just that idea and the vision that one day it will become a world beater. There are also no particular sectors and no longer limited to just a few countries as well.

It’s a small world after all

The world has indeed become very much smaller because people get to know about things in a matter of seconds and minutes and no longer days and weeks. In short, information is already available as and when people need them and most of the time, they do not even need to buy and pay for it. Below are all the richest people in the world across different categories.

Source:
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/richest-people-in-the-world-2022/

Some facts about these billionaires and the world today

Info Source: visualcapitalist.com
  Today, the 10 richest people in the world control
$1.3 trillion (RM5.47 trillion)
 in wealth.

This scale of wealth is equal to approximately 1.4% of the world economy, Amazon’s entire market cap, or spending $1 million a day for 3,000 years. In fact, it’s double the amount seen just two years ago ($663 billion).

As billionaire wealth accumulates at a remarkable speed, we feature a snapshot of the world’s richest in 2022, based on data from the
Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List
. Please do read for more details here:
Info Source: visualcapitalist.com

Look at the business they are in and take actions

We can see Elon Musk is the richest man in the world and one major reason is because of Tesla. If we understand this, then we should know that Electric Vehicle (EV) will become dominant in the future versus petrol engine cars. It does not mean we must only invest into Tesla. It means that we could look at all the other EV players and understand about the potential of others too.

We can also see the number two Jeff Bezos and he’s into internet / online. Have we seen some similar businesses in some countries which are also showing a huge promise as well? Have we started to understand more of these online startups versus just usual traditional brick and mortar businesses? The more we understand how online businesses work, the easier for us to invest into one or even start one.

Of course, another easy way is just to invest into the businesses they are in. If we believe they will continue to become richer, it also meant that the businesses they helm would become more successful too. As usual, there are no certainties and circumstances do change yeah. So, invest based on what we could afford and not borrow excessively to ‘invest’ because the line between investing and speculating is a very thin one as well.

All the best

Property News Malaysia?
Sign up for daily investment news updates (FREE since Nov 2013 and FOREVER).
 Alternatively, Follow me on
 Telegram here
.

Please LIKE
kopiandproperty.com FB page
 to get daily updates about the property market beyond kopiandproperty.com articles. Else,
follow me on Twitter here.

Next suggested article:
Property is no longer a key retirement asset

Header Image by
capital street fx
 from
Pixabay

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


Top 10 FDI destination and US$1 billion GDP by 2030

Too many negative news? Let me share a little about the longer term potential for Malaysia? Of course, it has to be a continuation from today, else we are not going to make it. According to a study by US-based global information company IHS Inc, Malaysia is among Asia Pacific’s top 10 foreign direct investment (FDI) hotspots. The rest of the other 9? China, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Myanmar, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
(Out of these countries, only Sri Lanka has a lower population compared to us. In my personal opinion, this is very important because it meant that these FDIs are looking at Malaysia as a supplier to the rest of the world.)

IHS Chief Economist Asia Pacific Rajiv Biswas said that the Asia Pacific region would grow at an average annual rate of 4.5 percent because of rapid growth in consumer spending in China, India and Southeast Asia.
(If Malaysia or even Singapore is still thinking of how NOT to co-operate soon, I wish both countries the best of luck)

IHS also expects Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand to join the ranks of Asian nations with a Gross Domestic Product exceeding US$1 trillion by 2030. It said that Southeast Asia is expected to be one of the world’s fastest growing regions with these four ASEAN nations. IHM projected Malaysia’s per capita GDP of US$20,000 by 2025 and total GDP exceeding US$1 trillion by 2030.
(Yes, I seriously do not think IHS received any money from any of these countries for reporting all these good news.)

Okay, enough of a positive dose. Continue the usual negative thoughts but just be reminded to hedge the potential of this happening in the form of investments. Whether it’s just a continuous purchase of unit trusts or just one or two properties, please do something. Many times, joining the ‘negative’ chorus may just yield us some unexpected good deals. Haha.

written on 28 Apr2016

Next suggested article:
It’s always about competitiveness,or nothing left

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...


The top 10 most expensive properties transacted, recently

I love to window shop. I mean, I may not buy that Coach men’s wallet. My current wallet is VW but that’s because my wife bought it for me. I am okay with cheaper brands actually but I really do appreciate the thoughtful design, the organised stitchings and even the touch of leather. Plus the fact that should I somehow ‘accidentally’ show off a RM1,200 ringgit and some friends see it, that can be a topic for conversation too. 😛  I guess this is the same as property prices. We may not be able to afford those super expensive ones but we would still love to know where are these top 10 most expensive properties are. Who knows, one of it may belong to one of our schoolmates. It’s time to visit our schoolmate and enjoy a cup of 20-year old Pu-Er tea (from his / her tea collection) and some curry puffs (from the roadside stalls that we bought and bring along). I am sure even the super-rich Malaysians would still love a tasty curry-puff for tea break.

Here’s that list compiled by my good friend, a senior writer in
iProperty.com, Ms. Reena Kaur Bhatt. “10 most expensive homes sold in Malaysia.”

The review period is Oct’16 – Sept’17
 and sales data is captured from the Valuation and Property Services Department (JPPH) and compiled by iProperty.com’s big data solution, iPropertyiQ.com.

10. Bungalow, Casa Permai, Tanjung Tokong (RM9 Mil)

9. Bungalow, Masera Bukit Segar, Cheras (RM9.8 Mil)

8. Condominium, The Binjai On The Park, KLCC (RM9.9 Mil)

7. Town House, One Menerung, Bangsar (RM10 Mil)

6. Bungalow, The Enclave, Bangsar (RM12 Mil)

5. Bungalow, Bukit Damansara, Damansara Heights (RM12 Mil)

4. Condominium, Serai Bukit Bandaraya, Bangsar (RM12.1 Mil)

3. Bungalow, Kenny Hill, Bukit Tunku (RM12.6 Mil)

2. Bungalow, Jalan Bunga Hinai, Tanjung Tokong (RM13.6 Mil)

1. MOST EXPENSIVE: Bungalow, Jalan Utama, Pulau Tikus (RM14.5 Mil)

Source:

The interior of a Serai Bukit Bandaraya condominium unit. Source:
http://www.brdb.com.my

Here’s that full article by Reena for reference.

Out of the top 10, we have 7 bungalows, 2 condominiums and 1 townhouse. I hope that friend whom I debated before about his semi-detached gated and guarded home versus high-end luxury condo is reading this too.  Actually, when we look at the highest of the highest, prices wise, a bungalow would always be in the picture because of the land size and not just the structure itself. However, luxury condominiums do offer a very good proposition of life-style because for any other property types, there are no 40th floor infinity swimming pool overlooking some famous buildings or even the sea. With a temperature controlled jacuzzi pool right next to it. There are also no gym rooms with lots of facilities overlooking the infinity swimming pool where you can wave your hand to other super-wealthy peers.

One more critical factor would be the security levels. There are many bungalows with guards but for many of these super-luxury condos, it’s not just the sheer number of guards but also the many different security levels too. Last but not least, when the extended families come for a visit and the kids need a HUGE park to run around, it’s much better to let them run around WITHIN the development instead of outside too. I know, that question, ‘if one is super-wealthy, why stay only in a condo, regardless of how luxurious it is?’  Well, how about asking the two super-wealthy who bought the condos worth RM12.1 million and RM9.9 million in the list then? Both properties are not the last two in the Top 10 list….   Happy knowing.

written on 24 Feb 2018

Next suggested article:

Are you quite rich or ‘super-rich’ yet?

Share this:
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
Like this:
Like

Loading...