Living in JB

[wuqi256]

Some switch seems to have been turned on, all of a sudden this month i got a deluge of visitors and friends of fellow residents here asking me about property and asked me to show them around.

I felt like an agent, its very weird, even some of the friends i know who are into property told me things are getting snapped up like no tomorrow even those previously not so popular ones.

Then there are those who were previously thinking of selling, they are not selling now. All the terrace have been long snapped up, now all the clusters are gone too. My sister was a bit too late to be convinced to join, we were only asking about a double storey cluster in the newly launched The Golf last week, as usual she was influenced by her friends and colleagues to wait and see, ignore and negotiate, etc but the very next day, he called us and said so sorry, its sold already. People are snapping up the below 500k properties here like the terrace and clusters i guess before the deadline kicks in on the 1st. In the end, we had to get her a terrace as there were no clusters available. Even some of the previously hard to move ones like the 2.5 storey are starting to go. (2.5 storey cluster still available but around 550-600k)

My neighbour, a retired local doctor told us that the property market is heating up, his neighbour at the side facing the golf course rented out his place for $7000 RM a month. Even his wife, previously a huge sceptic is now going into the market.

Things are starting to be crazy here. For folks who got in here, welcome!
Perharps we will see each other in the liason committee.

 

[toyohon]

Same here. Bank loan contacts must have been having a booming period as some do not even bother to respond to calls/emails/enquiries. On the other hand, developers are jacking up (artificially?) prices of terrace houses regardless of location, with many buyers jumping in before the purported hike in value of foreign property purchase threshold to 500k on 1st Jul 2010. I am thinking that after this rush, what would happen? Perhaps an official announcement that the hike will be postponed?

 

[aangsc]

It has to be the Singaporean pushing up the price , yet we are blaming surging ppty price in SG on foreigners. For those who own a unit good news, price is on upward trend but then M'sia has more than enough lands for the whole of Singapore. HH alone is building 5000 units and we are only in phase 3 , at least another 10 more phase to go. Now they also want to built condo in HH , why ? I hope it doesn't block anyone view ! With the politician in talking term, things are looking up , not to mentioned the lowering of tolls and telephone calls kicking in sooner than we expect !

 

[wuqi256]

Same here. Bank loan contacts must have been having a booming period as some do not even bother to respond to calls/emails/enquiries. On the other hand, developers are jacking up (artificially?) prices of terrace houses regardless of location, with many buyers jumping in before the purported hike in value of foreign property purchase threshold to 500k on 1st Jul 2010. I am thinking that after this rush, what would happen? Perhaps an official announcement that the hike will be postponed?

Oh yes it is, its still better to do your own homework before committing especially if no one has heard of the developer. I hope that it will be postponed as i have quite a few friends who are disappointed. Anyway, its a bit too late as there are no clusters available for sale for Gateway, same for the Golf(for resale market).

One of the last 2 available terraces has been snapped up by my friend.

 

[Dicktamby]

Any idea how big is the SG community in HH ? Seems like a mini sg town there. Went over to East Ledang and saw so many SG cars at the sales office. Prices so much higher there compared to HH. A corner Link duplex selling for RM841K.Intermediate from RM711K. They did a soft launch last weekend and more than 50% already sold for Phase 7.

 

[aangsc]

Oh yes it is, its still better to do your own homework before committing especially if no one has heard of the developer. I hope that it will be postponed as i have quite a few friends who are disappointed. Anyway, its a bit too late as there are no clusters available for sale for Gateway, same for the Golf(for resale market).

One of the last 2 available terraces has been snapped up by my friend.

Are you sure really no more clusters ? I drove by Gateway quite a few times and see many vacant , for rent , for sales houses . I guess many are bought by Singaporean and being foreigner we can only sell to M'sian right ? To get below RM$500 K might be a problem itself , as most cluster are already around there, minus all the charges, there is no meat left for resales.

 

[aangsc]

Any idea how big is the SG community in HH ? Seems like a mini sg town there. Went over to East Ledang and saw so many SG cars at the sales office. Prices so much higher there compared to HH. A corner Link duplex selling for RM841K.Intermediate from RM711K. They did a soft launch last weekend and more than 50% already sold for Phase 7.

Why go East Ledang, come to HH. I also went Ledang- so called luxurious high end bungalow, lucky never put deposit. So quiet , rape and rob also no body know. At that time East Ledang not even open for sales. HH already bought up by many SG lah with Jusco, Tesco, Giant, Sutera all nearby. Ended up buying HH also. How long more to wait before they built the first shopping in East Ledang ? Makan place ?
BTW,can anyone advise how much a Msia car must pay to come Singapore ? If driven in and out daily by a M'sian, must pay any extra beside tolls ?

 

[nitecrawllerr]

Just wondering why so much hoo haa on HH? Is it just cos theres a golf course there?

 

[toyohon]

Any idea how big is the SG community in HH ? Seems like a mini sg town there. Went over to East Ledang and saw so many SG cars at the sales office. Prices so much higher there compared to HH. A corner Link duplex selling for RM841K.Intermediate from RM711K. They did a soft launch last weekend and more than 50% already sold for Phase 7.

Even if it is all sold out does not mean that the houses are occupied. This is the main problem with most housing development in Johor if the buyers are mostly foreigners. That's why you see a lot of For rent/Sale signs all over. It can be quite a dampener to drive into an estate with most of the houses unoccupied.

 

[aangsc]

some of us are afraid that we cannot even stay in SG when retired with all things going up so bloody fast....5 increases for electricity tariffs !!! How many of us has a double increment in salary a year. Some not even bonus . So the kiasu booked first lah. The brave one move in liao. It's really not a bad idea to retire there though. Eat at kopitiam there only cost half e kopitiam in SG. The kids can play outdoor in MSIA rather than stuck with TV , computer games and mostly indoor stuffs in SG.

 

[wuqi256]

It has to be the Singaporean pushing up the price , yet we are blaming surging ppty price in SG on foreigners. For those who own a unit good news, price is on upward trend but then M'sia has more than enough lands for the whole of Singapore. HH alone is building 5000 units and we are only in phase 3 , at least another 10 more phase to go. Now they also want to built condo in HH , why ? I hope it doesn't block anyone view ! With the politician in talking term, things are looking up , not to mentioned the lowering of tolls and telephone calls kicking in sooner than we expect !

Sir, there is one glaring difference, foreigners in Singapore are free to buy any resale HDB in the open market and in some cases, landed as well as they can easily get PR here. The fault is not on the people and even the foreigners in SG, the fact is our government is not shielding us or doing enough to protect the locals in Singapore.

Their government in MY protects their people with a lot of cooling down or anti-speculative measures and there are loads of housing options to choose from for them, from low cost housing, etc. Foreigners are also not permitted to buy housing below 2 storey, below certain cost(500k), etc. They also have to pay a levy on top of the purchase amount and if you sell within 5 years, you must pay 5% of the net profits to their government. Even shophouses, only 3 storey and above are sellable to foreigners. These all give the locals a lot of protection.

 

[wuqi256]

Are you sure really no more clusters ? I drove by Gateway quite a few times and see many vacant , for rent , for sales houses . I guess many are bought by Singaporean and being foreigner we can only sell to M'sian right ? To get below RM$500 K might be a problem itself , as most cluster are already around there, minus all the charges, there is no meat left for resales.

Very very very sure as i tried to get one for my relatives and friends as they were asking and i brought them around. Even my neighbours tried to do "shopping". When was your last visit? Only the 2.5 storey ones are still available. Rest of the signs have either been taken down or if you call them, you get a "For Rental Only" statement.

No, that thinking is outdated, there is going to be meat as the property pricing are surging with the demand. What was only 380k a year and a half below are worth 500k now.

Pricing in JB are less than 50% as compared to housing in KL, it should not be as a semi-d there is sold for more than 1 million. It was less than that just 6 months ago but most are nearly a million or more than a million now so there is still upside for housing here. Same here for properties which are currently under or at 500k, these are terraces and clusters which are more sellable as compared to semi-ds.

You know the market is heating up when people refused to sell at previously agreed price or the place you saw in the morning at $505k for a cluster at 10.30am is gone at 3pm at $510k.

 

[wuqi256]

Why go East Ledang, come to HH. I also went Ledang- so called luxurious high end bungalow, lucky never put deposit. So quiet , rape and rob also no body know. At that time East Ledang not even open for sales. HH already bought up by many SG lah with Jusco, Tesco, Giant, Sutera all nearby. Ended up buying HH also. How long more to wait before they built the first shopping in East Ledang ? Makan place ?
BTW,can anyone advise how much a Msia car must pay to come Singapore ? If driven in and out daily by a M'sian, must pay any extra beside tolls ?

East Ledang housing is good, well designed and big but takes 2-3 years for the amenities to be developed in order for it to be livable. Plus pricing is already up there so not much "meat" to be made in 2-3 years time as compared to other properties that has more "upside" to be made.

Sadly, MY car cannot be driven into SG UNLESS driven by Malaysian. Even Malaysian who has SG PRs cannot drive it in. UNLESS you are chauffered in by a Malaysian or driven by a friend who is Malaysian. They have 10 times free entry into SG before having to pay the 20 dollars i think.

 

[wuqi256]

Just wondering why so much hoo haa on HH? Is it just cos theres a golf course there?

Actually to be fair, not only on HH, a lot of properties has risen recently.

Even the hairdresser my wife uses were complaining as 3 months ago, they wanted a terrace here but they didn't in the end as they thought housing is a depreciating asset here. Things has changed and caught some folks unawares though.

HH is good because of the location, sited to the new Coastal highway, very good shopping in the immediate vicinity as well as very accessible from the 2nd link.

Once the coastal highway is built, its also very accessible to 1st link.
Added to that, the proximity to the Puteri harbour area, the medi hub, educity. It will help not only HH but all properties in the vicinity. Some of my friends really kiasu, they not only contact agents but the developers at once to ensure they get something. Starting to be crazy here.

 

[wuqi256]

Any idea how big is the SG community in HH ? Seems like a mini sg town there. Went over to East Ledang and saw so many SG cars at the sales office. Prices so much higher there compared to HH. A corner Link duplex selling for RM841K.Intermediate from RM711K. They did a soft launch last weekend and more than 50% already sold for Phase 7.

Hi Dicktamby, oh big community there too. East Ledang though is good but i would say a bit overpriced. For the money for 1 unit there, i could buy 1 same unit and 1 small unit. It provides me with some hedge as well as giving me better value as i can stay in one and rent out. 1st phase guys are not selling at all and 2nd is already very high.

Dicktamby, now in HH, you will see an equal amount of SG and MY cars. Come and see especially during the weekend!

 

[wuqi256]

Even if it is all sold out does not mean that the houses are occupied. This is the main problem with most housing development in Johor if the buyers are mostly foreigners. That's why you see a lot of For rent/Sale signs all over. It can be quite a dampener to drive into an estate with most of the houses unoccupied.

Bro toyohon, spot on as always. Its quite true if most are owned by foreigners. However, once rented out or when the rest have moved in, it will be ok. It used to be like that less than 8 months ago, now my neighbourhood is filled with SG car and my entire row in front and in my row, almost all occupied. I guess some people want to see more folks moved in before moving in themselves, it then becomes a waiting game. Once enough people move in, then it becomes a scramble to see who has a nicer renovation.

 

[wuqi256]

some of us are afraid that we cannot even stay in SG when retired with all things going up so bloody fast....5 increases for electricity tariffs !!! How many of us has a double increment in salary a year. Some not even bonus . So the kiasu booked first lah. The brave one move in liao. It's really not a bad idea to retire there though. Eat at kopitiam there only cost half e kopitiam in SG. The kids can play outdoor in MSIA rather than stuck with TV , computer games and mostly indoor stuffs in SG.

Very true, its unfortunate but true. Actually not only food, utilities are cheap too and no season parking or silly tv tax to pay yearly. If anyone has units here and thinking of selling, please don't sell now. Wait another 1-2 years if you have holding power. When i told my neighbours my sister and 1 of my friends managed to secure a unit on the resale market, they were envious, one of them, a retiree even said the folks who are selling now are silly.

I am now trying to find a double storey cluster for him but there is nothing available now.

 

[aangsc]

Sir, there is one glaring difference, foreigners in Singapore are free to buy any resale HDB in the open market and in some cases, landed as well as they can easily get PR here. The fault is not on the people and even the foreigners in SG, the fact is our government is not shielding us or doing enough to protect the locals in Singapore.

Their government in MY protects their people with a lot of cooling down or anti-speculative measures and there are loads of housing options to choose from for them, from low cost housing, etc. Foreigners are also not permitted to buy housing below 2 storey, below certain cost(500k), etc. They also have to pay a levy on top of the purchase amount and if you sell within 5 years, you must pay 5% of the net profits to their government. Even shophouses, only 3 storey and above are sellable to foreigners. These all give the locals a lot of protection.

Don't you think they are over-protected ? I mean, there is this perception that we SG are not as innovative and entreprenuer than the Hongkee becos, the govt do much less for Hongkee while ours plan too much. I do agree , our garment should have set some higher limit for foreigner purchase and protect e HDB for SG only

 

[wuqi256]

Don't you think they are over-protected ? I mean, there is this perception that we SG are not as innovative and entreprenuer than the Hongkee becos, the govt do much less for Hongkee while ours plan too much. I do agree , our garment should have set some higher limit for foreigner purchase and protect e HDB for SG only

I think its fair, the locals are entitled to be protected by their government even though they pay less taxes, have no stupid 2.5 years NS obligations/reservist and can take their life slower.

Ours plan too much yes but UNFORTUNATELY, we are not in their plans, all of us are just treated as expendable worker bees. This outmoded form of thinking unfortunately is still prevalent these days. To give a quick example, I remembered finding 2-3 methods to get the correct answers in my Mathematics class when i was young but i flunked still as mine wasn't the "standard" answer. You must follow the standard they set in SG.

Now they are finally doing a U turn for our education after realising that their way is not the only way. They do protect in SG but the HDB forget that the immigration folks are scoring own goals by allowing any Tom with a dick and/or hairy to come in.

"Anyone can be a PR" in Singapore said one Chinaman to another as i sat in a reflexology place recently. One of them even joked that SG PR was like Japanese banana money/notes after WWII.

 

[aangsc]

Sadly, MY car cannot be driven into SG UNLESS driven by Malaysian. Even Malaysian who has SG PRs cannot drive it in. UNLESS you are chauffered in by a Malaysian or driven by a friend who is Malaysian. They have 10 times free entry into SG before having to pay the 20 dollars i think.

Hi Wuqi
someone actually suggested to me to get a Msia chauffered , buy Msia car and have him drive us around. Have you already research whether it is worth exploring in term of cost and benefits ? On top of tolls, we still need to pay S$20 VEP in SG for Msia car right ?