Iskandar Residences @ Medini

[sgcount]

Comfy is correct. My unit's psf was about 831 before 10% discount.

Some high floor 2 bedders were going at 850++

I think it's better we look at the final prices after discount cos that's the actual amount to be paid.

I don't believe in all these "discounts". It's just to give buyers a false impression they are getting a good deal but prices were marked up a lot already. RM800-900psf can't possibly be the valuation price. It's way too much.

The agent already gave me a very painful look when I said RM750 psf.

I think developers back in 2013 knew all Singaporeans affected by the tough cooling measures implemented so many rushed in to buy in Iskandar. They "ka-ka" jacked up the prices and "makan" buyers.

 

[potter]

Dun think yr agent is guru to give u painful look. He maybe of them shouting "last few unit", see received thousands of cheque from buyers"..:p

I saw mah sing open a pasar malam stall in permas jaya aeon building selling their Meridin etc.

Oh..rem last time their sales cha bor chin v high up..when they bo chap me..:p anyway i just look look see see..

 

[sgcount]

Dun think yr agent is guru to give u painful look. He maybe of them shouting "last few unit", see received thousands of cheque from buyers"..:p

I saw mah sing open a pasar malam stall in permas jaya aeon building selling their Meridin etc.

Oh..rem last time their sales cha bor chin v high up..when they bo chap me..:p

Oh.. You've misunderstood me.

I was talking about the present agent who rents and sells properties. He thinks RM750psf is way too high. He didn't say much more after that as I think he wanted to be polite.

I take it to mean at such high pricing, no buyers will consider it.

 

[ECboy]

Oh.. You've misunderstood me.

I was talking about the present agent who rents and sells properties. He thinks RM750psf is way too high. He didn't say much more after that as I think he wanted to be polite.

I take it to mean at such high pricing, no buyers will consider it.

As a local, I also think that's too ex, especially for that location. I might consider downtown JB (not mega developments) or Imperia at that price.

 

[snowbird]

Oh.. You've misunderstood me.

I was talking about the present agent who rents and sells properties. He thinks RM750psf is way too high. He didn't say much more after that as I think he wanted to be polite.

I take it to mean at such high pricing, no buyers will consider it.

You really need to look at current market situation before offering your price, what is the demand, what is the average offering prices in that area and not what you prefer.
If someone is willing to sell his 1Medini mid floor unit @ RM653/sq ft negotiable, what is your chance at RM750/sf ft when units in popular Bukit Indah area is asking for around the same price??

 

[sgcount]

You really need to look at current market situation before offering your price, what is the demand, what is the average offering prices in that area and not what you prefer.
If someone is willing to sell his 1Medini mid floor unit @ RM653/sq ft negotiable, what is your chance at RM750/sf ft when units in popular Bukit Indah area is asking for around the same price??

Friend, Iskandar Residences in Medini is still under construction. The price of RM750 psf I quoted is what some buyers bought at directly from developer.

That's why it's all the more worrying. I personally think it's overpriced. How to sell off next time. All these Medini condo prices are accelerated upwards by developer and buyers' interest (back in 2013 during the blind rush to buy). When completed, there's too much competition all around.

 

[potter]

Oh.. You've misunderstood me.

I was talking about the present agent who rents and sells properties. He thinks RM750psf is way too high. He didn't say much more after that as I think he wanted to be polite.

I take it to mean at such high pricing, no buyers will consider it.

Of coz it is easy for agents to sell @ lower price..:p so you have to do yr homework.

 

[sgcount]

As a local, I also think that's too ex, especially for that location. I might consider downtown JB (not mega developments) or Imperia at that price.

Yes I agree. No offence to buyers but I honestly think many of us went in blindly. There was so much hype created by agents that the balloting was overflowing. People thought they could no longer afford or qualify to buy SG properties so many turned to Iskandar.

Wonder how long all these prices will be sustainable. Some 1 Medini owners are already getting cold feet and trying to offload their units but are not successful even at lowered prices.

Imperia I don't think you can get so cheap? Rental and sales there also not doing well generally from what I heard.

 

[sgcount]

Of coz it is easy for agents to sell @ lower price..:p so you have to do yr homework.

It's not that lah. There's nothing for the agent to sell as the condo is under construction.

He was sharing with me the true picture of how much buyers are willing to pay, the cheaper prices elsewhere, the location, the popularity of some properties, etc. As ECboy mentioned, it's too expensive. Can do homework on this one.

 

[Frodo]

Yes I agree. No offence to buyers but I honestly think many of us went in blindly. There was so much hype created by agents that the balloting was overflowing. People thought they could no longer afford or qualify to buy SG properties so many turned to Iskandar.

Wonder how long all these prices will be sustainable. Some 1 Medini owners are already getting cold feet and trying to offload their units but are not successful even at lowered prices.

Imperia I don't think you can get so cheap? Rental and sales there also not doing well generally from what I heard.

I think it is not a matter of thought but that for many it is simply true that they cannot afford to buy SG properties. Turning to JB properties is thus one very viable and affordable option, and being in close proximity is one major plus point.

 

[snowbird]

I think it is not a matter of thought but that for many it is simply true that they cannot afford to buy SG properties. Turning to JB properties is thus one very viable and affordable option, and being in close proximity is one major plus point.

But there is a world of a difference if one bought for self stay or for investment, and worse, with limited financial resources.
If buying for self stay, all those reasons you mentioned are still relevant and you just shut off to all the market noise and move over.
But if you had bought for investment, thinking of flipping and reaping a bundle in the near future or perhaps collect rental to service the loan and get a free apartment 30 years later then, bad news, at least for now.

 

[Frodo]

But there is a world of a difference if one bought for self stay or for investment, and worse, with limited financial resources.
If buying for self stay, all those reasons you mentioned are still relevant and you just shut off to all the market noise and move over.
But if you had bought for investment, thinking of flipping and reaping a bundle in the near future or perhaps collect rental to service the loan and get a free apartment 30 years later then, bad news, at least for now.

If I had bought a condo as investment (assuming it is a considered purchase and not anyhow buy anywhere type) I would see three options :

1. Sell at loss, lose all
2. Rent it out cheap, better than nothing
3. Move in and rent out SG home

 

[Tekkun]

If I had bought a condo as investment (assuming it is a considered purchase and not anyhow buy anywhere type) I would see three options :

1. Sell at loss, lose all
2. Rent it out cheap, better than nothing
3. Move in and rent out SG home

Assuming you take a RM400,000 loan @30 years 4.5%, you pay about RM 2000 = S$650/mth

If you are working in Singapore, can you afford to pay this amount? Worst case scenario, leave it empty...otherwise rent it out for subsidy.

 

[westman]

Assuming you take a RM400,000 loan @30 years 4.5%, you pay about RM 2000 = S$650/mth

If you are working in Singapore, can you afford to pay this amount? Worst case scenario, leave it empty...otherwise rent it out for subsidy.

Good point

 

[snowbird]

If I had bought a condo as investment (assuming it is a considered purchase and not anyhow buy anywhere type) I would see three options :

1. Sell at loss, lose all
If you have financial constrain, sell at cost if possible or worse, a little loss and forget about the whole episode. If got deep pocket, hold as long as possible until cannot tahan.

2. Rent it out cheap, better than nothing
Good if can get tenant, but cheap rent get cheap tenant, may invite more headache but if long time still can't get even cheap tenant, how?

3. Move in and rent out SG home.
Major decision, not an option for many to uproot and move over, back to No.1.

.............

 

[Manhattan]

Went recently to see Iskandar Residences. Building up slowly..... The roads and whole place are really deserted.

Iskandar Residences up close

Empty road in front of the condo. Beside it is the Volt Corporation. Surprised to see construction has not started yet. Lots of trees still.

Ghost town??

1Medini condo completed. Really quiet with no one in sight. Fully sold but I could see a lot of empty units inside.

You want traffic? Wait till 2nd quarter 2017, all traffic from 2nd link to medini and PH will pass through here. By then you will complain it's too noisy.

 

[mpan12]

But there is a world of a difference if one bought for self stay or for investment, and worse, with limited financial resources.
If buying for self stay, all those reasons you mentioned are still relevant and you just shut off to all the market noise and move over.
But if you had bought for investment, thinking of flipping and reaping a bundle in the near future or perhaps collect rental to service the loan and get a free apartment 30 years later then, bad news, at least for now.

Yup. Many reports have said Iskandar properties are better buy for your own stay. Some optimistically say it's a property cycle... things will get better in 2018. I questioned point blank this popular Malaysian property speaker ("Siva") why he said 2018 will be better. He couldn't give me a convincing answer. It's easy to just pluck out from the air some year and say "it will be better in future".

The rise in property prices back in 2013 has little to do with a stronger Johor economy or new job creations. It's the developers and blinded buyers who rushed in to buy that created all the hype and prices to soar. Such an artificial increase in prices and oversupply may create a bubble soon. It's fragile and may not be sustainable. Once many condos are ready and owners find they are losing money continually, we might see bank foreclosures and people dumping their properties at cheap prices.

I think it will be bad for a very long time. You really got to "tahan"/endure a very bumpy road ahead. I see it as beyond 10 years or possible beyond 15 years. But the risks may not be over by then. Even if the situation improves, you face other risks.... new properties will come up and are more attractive, your property becomes run down, oversupply may still exist, bank loans charge high interest rates and can increase, currency may drop 10-20% or even more by then. Property value goes up does not mean you can sell at profit also. You need to prepare for all these. In the end, you may end up still losing $$$ despite holding on for so long and you're losing to other investment opportunities.

Iskandar is an untested market. Got to remember that. Those who want to live there can shut their ears to all the above. Those with deep pockets can afford to write off their investments even if they don't make money. But the commoners got to be extremely careful.

 

[mpan12]

If I had bought a condo as investment (assuming it is a considered purchase and not anyhow buy anywhere type) I would see three options :

1. Sell at loss, lose all
2. Rent it out cheap, better than nothing
3. Move in and rent out SG home

1 is reasonable if buyers don't want to take any more risks. I always believe one has to sometimes cut losses. Write it off. Treat it as bad decision, learn from it, move on. Earn back the money. Better to lose an arm than lose all 4 limbs. But got to act fast. Once you get your title deed, dumping the property may not be so easy. If the news is bad, people have no confidence, and there is a huge oversupply, even if you reduce by RM100k, there may be no buyers.

I don't subscribe to 2. Rent is bloody dirt cheap in JB. If it's too low, one may think it helps to somewhat ease your loan. But you are actually a slave to your tenants. You bought a home with hundreds of thousands of RM to let your tenants enjoy. The rent may be only covering a small part of your loan. But the risk you face of your home getting damaged (I hear very common in JB) and becoming run down quickly is not worth it. More headaches.

3 may not be suitable for everyone.

 

[mpan12]

Assuming you take a RM400,000 loan @30 years 4.5%, you pay about RM 2000 = S$650/mth

If you are working in Singapore, can you afford to pay this amount? Worst case scenario, leave it empty...otherwise rent it out for subsidy.

Leaving it empty, especially for a long time, is one of the worst. It's just me, honestly speaking. Unless you have spare cash. The home is like a collectible item to you. Then ok. For investment, it's painful.

Now the buyers may not feel it. But to see money go out every month for 20,30 years without any returns.... after some time, one will feel the bleed.

 

[mpan12]

You want traffic? Wait till 2nd quarter 2017, all traffic from 2nd link to medini and PH will pass through here. By then you will complain it's too noisy.

Looking at the pictures... yes dead town there. Not looking good. Are there any future developments going on there? Are they building new stuffs around it that will bring in the crowd?

Just curious... why specifically in 2nd Q of 2017 the roads will be busier?