Living in JB 2 (Johore)

[alleyboy]

These days, the newer generation want to go fast - very different expectations.

Yup! Everything moving fast in tiny red dot. That goes with the price of HDB flats!

But 1 thing for sure...if possible always have a property in tiny red dot. Cos the value very likelihood up and up. If it happen to go down, due to economic crisis etc etc, it will definitely affect value of JB properties, imo.

 

[jasonjst]

Year 1996, I purchased a 5room flat at Jurong West Central. It cost me S$197,500.



If 12 yrs ago, it should be yr 2000. All I can say is 1996 (@16yrs ago), Jurong West Central 1, 5room flat already cost me @S$200K. And 4room flat cost @$135K.

If u talk abt uluness, not much difference between Woodland and Jurong West (16yrs ago) that time ya.

1996 was one of the peak leh . After that, 1997 asia financial crisis price pluge to all time low , it recover a little and pluge again during SAR, 911 period for a few years . I remember those resale 3rm flat was 90K only , nobody buying . HDB got lots of walking units , dont need BTO. Now the new peak is higher than the 1996 peak lor .

 

[yonglip]

Allenboy, I hear you.

In 1997, after several years of work/savings, we (both NUS graduates in late 20s) paid $245,000 for a 5rm at Yishun Central from HDB.
After Govt grant, we paid $215,000.
We paid off everything by depleting our CPF and every month CPF contribution in 5 years (MOP).

It is 600m walk to Yishun MRT and near to Yishun Central.
We sold it for $420,000 after 10years and with this money, moved into private.
Of course by then, our salaries have increased considerably, so the $420,000 we received was not the reason we moved but buying the next property, at the right price, at the right location, was more important.

These days, the newer generation want to go fast - very different expectations.



Mind you, those days, when we said we had paid $245k for 5rm HDB in "ulu" Yishun, people were saying it's crazy prices too.
Some of our neighbours were young couples like us, some were with families, some white collar, some blue collar - and many were also worried if they could afford to pay for their brand new homes, at that time!

Amongst our friends, we also lamented that we had "missed the boat" and that the generation before us, ie those batch who graduated or went to work earlier, like some 5 years earlier, "had it easy", "so lucky", etc... were able to buy HDB so much cheaper and then moved into private earlier, etc...

Well, it does seem like deja vu and is not much different today - again you hear the laments of the younger generation that the previous generation had it easier, etc etc...

It was certainly not true - as I recall in the early 1990s the starting salaries of a new graduate was around S$1500 - well, below today's - and we did not have it easy too, with all kinds of recessions and retrenchments as industries changed and some even structurally moved out of Singapore permanently.

But for every down cycle, there were equally great up cycles and equal opportunities for many to fight for livelihood and prosper.

It took many of us, several years of work and savings, investing, sacrifices, step by step, to afford today's better living standards - Rome was certainly not built in a day or two!

In the end, all I want to say is that it is certainly not cheap to live in Singapore today but look around you, in Asean, in Asia, in Europe, in USA, etc... where can you find any free lunch?

I think many problems these days stem from the fact that people are living beyond their means. If they see their neighbour driving a big car, they also wan big car. If they see neighbour stay in big house, they also wan big house,..can afford?...they don care,..buy first think later. i hope we dont move to a society like US where credit card debts is very common there.

cheers.

 

[Picababy]

Ya lor, I think my neighbour too anxious to move in. Maybe he wan to pitch a tent at e lake first while waiting for his house ready. Hahaha

Wah, can fish at the lake meh? ...or make it the catch & release style for past time?
The only worry is hopefully the lake won't become a mosquitoe pond ;o)

 

[crystal_tiong]

Do anyone has any good contacts for curtain?

Hey Arsenal

I remembered Wuqi mentioned that Giant Plentong there have good and reasonable curtains shops , maybe u wan to drop by n see ....

 

[crystal_tiong]

Wah, can fish at the lake meh? ...or make it the catch & release style for past time?
The only worry is hopefully the lake won't become a mosquitoe pond ;o)

Hi

I dun think can fish there ba .... sometimes the lake will become teh tarik col .....

 

[Sanur]

Hey Arsenal

I remembered Wuqi mentioned that Giant Plentong there have good and reasonable curtains shops , maybe u wan to drop by n see ....

Hi

Have one that does house call, will bring samples n take measurement on the spot, quote u immediately too. Remember ask for discount

 

[cathylmg]

I agree that buying a resale HDB, especially single, will be very "siong".

Options include staying with parents, rent a room outside etc, if one does not have the means yet.
But if one has the means, then, the options become available for one to choose.

When one just started earning (freshie), the above is what one will do.

JB house maybe affordable but with the RM500k restriction, we are looking at about SGD 200k too.
Add the daily commute (assuming freshie and working in Sgp) either by Bus or buy a car.
Buying a car to do this will just add on to the burden.
Add the issue of not utilising CPF to service the loan, meaning cash will need to be used.
Add the higher bank interest rate versus the HDB rate
Also the HDB Grant, though not much, still $$

of course JB house is mostly Freehold and landed vs the 99 yr HDB Flat.
Both can appreciate in value, no one knows which will turn out to be faster, however, it is a home, so any appreciation is not going to mean anything, except when one needs to cash out urgently, HDB may present more options.

Lastly is the means testing for Healthcare in Sgp. Again, one can buy medical insurance to mitigate.

I guess, it really boils down to individual's outlook and preference in terms of risk taking.

IMHO, I will try to hold on to both HDB and JB house, then sell away one with the highest value for retirement purposes if the monthly rental income is not enough cover daily expenses. Be it Landed or HDB. Afterall, how big a space do we need to sleep in?

 

[cathylmg]

Ahem...sis, u sure u got it right?

May i know how many room flat was that?

How can it be 90k? I got mine 15 years ago. Already at 157k.....

 

[cathylmg]

I think many problems these days stem from the fact that people are living beyond their means. If they see their neighbour driving a big car, they also wan big car. If they see neighbour stay in big house, they also wan big house,..can afford?...they don care,..buy first think later. i hope we dont move to a society like US where credit card debts is very common there.

cheers.

You have got a point there. Something for the younger generation to ponder about.

 

[cathylmg]

1996 was one of the peak leh . After that, 1997 asia financial crisis price pluge to all time low , it recover a little and pluge again during SAR, 911 period for a few years . I remember those resale 3rm flat was 90K only , nobody buying . HDB got lots of walking units , dont need BTO. Now the new peak is higher than the 1996 peak lor .

Then again, our earnings have also rise many times since then too. I could still remember my hubby earning a mere $600 salary per month as a technician in the 1990s when I first met him. Then in 1995 when we got our 5-room HDB, we wonder how on earth were we going to keep up with loan payments for 25 years? But anyhow we just took one step at a time. It turns out, the value of money got small as the pay got bigger. But the monthly loan repayment sum remains the same.

I suppose the rise of housing price is in tandem with the rise of our pay too.... The key word is 'inflation'.

 

[cathylmg]

Hi

I dun think can fish there ba .... sometimes the lake will become teh tarik col .....

The only type of fish you can get from this condition, as I have imagine, are the 'm&d skippers'!

 

[cathylmg]

Allenboy, I hear you.

In 1997, after several years of work/savings, we (both NUS graduates in late 20s) paid $245,000 for a 5rm at Yishun Central from HDB.
After Govt grant, we paid $215,000.
We paid off everything by depleting our CPF and every month CPF contribution in 5 years (MOP).

It is 600m walk to Yishun MRT and near to Yishun Central.
We sold it for $420,000 after 10years and with this money, moved into private.
Of course by then, our salaries have increased considerably, so the $420,000 we received was not the reason we moved but buying the next property, at the right price, at the right location, was more important.

These days, the newer generation want to go fast - very different expectations.



Mind you, those days, when we said we had paid $245k for 5rm HDB in "ulu" Yishun, people were saying it's crazy prices too.
Some of our neighbours were young couples like us, some were with families, some white collar, some blue collar - and many were also worried if they could afford to pay for their brand new homes, at that time!

Amongst our friends, we also lamented that we had "missed the boat" and that the generation before us, ie those batch who graduated or went to work earlier, like some 5 years earlier, "had it easy", "so lucky", etc... were able to buy HDB so much cheaper and then moved into private earlier, etc...

Well, it does seem like deja vu and is not much different today - again you hear the laments of the younger generation that the previous generation had it easier, etc etc...

It was certainly not true - as I recall in the early 1990s the starting salaries of a new graduate was around S$1500 - well, below today's - and we did not have it easy too, with all kinds of recessions and retrenchments as industries changed and some even structurally moved out of Singapore permanently.

But for every down cycle, there were equally great up cycles and equal opportunities for many to fight for livelihood and prosper.

It took many of us, several years of work and savings, investing, sacrifices, step by step, to afford today's better living standards - Rome was certainly not built in a day or two!

In the end, all I want to say is that it is certainly not cheap to live in Singapore today but look around you, in Asean, in Asia, in Europe, in USA, etc... where can you find any free lunch?

I can only say that we were indeed the lucky lots who was there at the right point of time.

Where is the 'like' button?

 

[crystal_tiong]

How can it be 90k? I got mine 15 years ago. Already at 157k.....

Yr area is tampines ma. My sis is 4rm s model , near woodlands industrial.

 

[Nusajaya]

Very good point indeed. And you are absolutely right there to say that we need more internal checks instead of worrying about something we couldnt control at all. The best answer to all the negative what ifs, is to ask yourself: Do you have the financial ability to sustain if everything went the other way? You dont really have to worry if you are buying it for own stay. If investment or second home or holiday house, just sell it lah.....

Dont worry, Temasek, Khazanah, Legoland, Traders will be quiting first and let's wait for that..... These guys have millions at stake and the small frys are worrying?

There's too many what ifs....
What if the value of iskander property reach same level as Singapore in 15 years time ? A condo now at rm500k becomes RM2.4M.
What if the 2 IRs in Singapore push up crime rate in Singapore ?
What if Singapore government really push up local population to 6.5m and beyond ?
What if RM devalues to S$1=RM5 ? What if Temasek lose our reserves & so the other way round S$0.5=RM1 ?
What if most of the factories in Thailand shift to IM ?

Better not think so much about external factors (just think a bit), but more on internal checks.....

 

[alleyboy]

1996 was one of the peak leh . After that, 1997 asia financial crisis price pluge to all time low , it recover a little and pluge again during SAR, 911 period for a few years . I remember those resale 3rm flat was 90K only , nobody buying . HDB got lots of walking units , dont need BTO. Now the new peak is higher than the 1996 peak lor .

No doubt resale units greatly affected during crisis period. But new flats i.e. direct fm HDB, the prices dont really drop that much.

So 12yrs ago, my Jurong block area, 4room flat already cost $135K. Mind u its Jurong West, dusty, industrial area, all kind of smells u get.

How can it be 90k? I got mine 15 years ago. Already at 157k.....

Thats why lor. But your good friend said so.

Jurong West already cost $135K 12 yrs back though its "central".

 

[Qube3]

I too had many ponderings about the possibility of success of Iskandar, and in particular, Nusajaya.

As an interested but unvested property investor at that time, I had considered many various factors. The concept of Iskandar had been discussed for over a decade, and to be frank for many people (especially and even Malaysians who may have heard about it every now and then) the glacial progress was numbing and after a while, had little or no further interest.

Even after its initial concept/development launch in, I believe, around 2006, things were still slow to progress, and certainly the Global Financial Crisis delayed and distracted many individual, corporate and government investors (Medini investors a case in mind).

Slowly over time the relevant Iskandar officials announced the "committed investments" and as it gradually grew larger, one big question still came to my mind, and I presume others' as well. Where were the Singaporeans? How would more investors; personal, business or governments view Iskandar if even the Malaysians could not attract their neighbour to partake and commit into the Iskandar region especially where it is supposedly touted to complement the entertainment, business and personal activities of Singapore? This even despite the massive amounts of money sunk into developing an infrastructure for Iskandar.

Sure, Shangrila (or Traders Hotel), and Gleneagles (Parkway) all had reputable names but had strong Malaysian connection/influences in it. Certain education institutions, Legoland, bits of SiLC etc were I suspect, heavily subsidised and still fell short of showing potential investors the interest of their most important investor - their neighbour. (I specifically did not mention Singapore, but using the word "neighbour". An endorsement by a neighbouring country would send strong signals of intention to the international community, surely?!). The domestic developments could only take the "project" this far, and probably constituted Phase 1 of the Iskandar story.

Obviously we all knew what happened next; billateral relations continued to warm, and the Point of Agreement (railway land etc) signed and sealed. This I think is the political breakthrough, or "political tipping point".

Along the way came with the announcements of indirect Singapore participation. Sunway with part GIC shareholdings, UM Land with part Capitaland, Wellness City to be managed by Capitaland, fresh moves by Raffles Education, MDIS and underlying all these are subtle accumulation of properties by a sheer number of individual Singaporean investors in Iskandar (whom I guess are more nimble in sensing and making investment decisions). This is the phase 2 of the Iskandar development and the development's "tipping point". This phase, borrowing from some media writer's projections, will last till 2015.

I am of the optimistic view that further announcements relating to Singapore's investments in Iskandar would continue to send strong signals and hence endorsement of the Iskandar region. What I am looking for now, is the development of billateral infrastructure - and that must mean the 3rd CIQ in Puteri Harbour (and agreement of the routes, co-immigration / custom facilities), underground tunnel border crossing road, MRT/train extensions, Senai/Changi airroutes and radiowave connectivity (phone roamings, TVs). By then this would signal phase 3 and insofar as property prices are concerned, may look in itself like a fibonnaci wave 3 stock movement itself (and then a wave 5?) - long gradual growth in prices. I suppose this is what we are all after arent' we?

Afterall, with Singapore property prices 30-50 times more, and whilst I don't expect parity in my lifetime, it has a lot of room to grow.

 

[mika14]

Btw, at medini site office, I had 2 solid bars of Singtel signal. Imagine living at higher floor with no blockage of signal, it's gonna be great!

Hi, did u try making a call back to spore from JB using Singtel line?
I am sure the signal will be distorted n very intermittent.

Hi guys, first post here. What an interesting thread! Went to Bukit Indah for Setia's function yesterday (industrial property), and I am impressed by the developments there. My in-laws stay in Molek, so I hardly go to the western side. I am beginning to see why so many have bought HH, though its a bit late as we just bought a Terrace at Molek Haven. I understand SPRING is looking closely at offering SG companies, incentives for Iskandar region, so I am sure property prices will continue to rise.

Feel free to ask me on the good food in Tebrau, Molek or Permas Jaya area. I am more famiiar with those areas. Haha.....

I staying in Permas Jaya, any good foods to recommend there?

 

[abugumgum]

Hi, did u try making a call back to spore from JB using Singtel line?
I am sure the signal will be distorted n very intermittent.

Yes, same here. I may have good signal strength, but calls are almost impossible to make with distortions.
However, SMS can be received and sent.

 

[abugumgum]

IMHO, I will try to hold on to both HDB and JB house, then sell away one with the highest value for retirement purposes if the monthly rental income is not enough cover daily expenses. Be it Landed or HDB. Afterall, how big a space do we need to sleep in?

True, disposal really depends on one's outlook and the market condition.