Ya lor. We should not look so much into the future. Just 10 years ago when I first bought my house in JB everyone was thinking I am mad. I bought a few more hoping to give my 3 sons in future which is 10 years later. Are the prices crashing? Try offering a cheque 50% of the valuation price to buy any units in Iskandar and you see if u can buy. Everyone was jumping mad when I first bought into JB They told me these properties will be zero value. 10 years later, I am sorry its not zero value.
Now these same people are still staying in their HDB flats. Not bad I must say cos for the past 20 years they save a lot of time on keeping their tiny house spick and span while I have to slog like a donkey to clean the entire house.
Again, since there are a few chaps here who are insisting that prices have crashed, I am offering Rm 300psf for a sea view condo in Imperia. Owners please PM me. I can put down payment anytime.
Need to go into the details here.
1. How much did you buy your JB house 10 years ago? Could typical Malaysians back then still afford it? Maybe they could, just that it was considered expensive to them. Or was it totally unaffordable?
Today, how much does a typical condo in Iskandar costs? RM800-1000k psf? Can an ordinary Malaysian in the street afford it? I was told, No, by many Malaysians. Even if they could, they'd rather buy a big house than condo.
2. Did you try to sell the houses you bought? Cos paper gain is just that -- paper gain. Until you actually sell it, you can't talk about the profits.
3. Are you a Malaysian? Did you buy the houses for long term occupancy? If so, it probably doesn't matter to you whether there are risks or not. For Singaporeans/foreigners who bought to stay in their Iskandar condos, they could say "Screw the market and negative reports!" It doesn't bother them. But not all are buying for their own stay. Many foreigners bought for investments. It's a totally different story. Getting cash out of the property may be impossible. That's a concern.
Incidentally, 10 years' ago exchange rate was about S$1 = RM2.29? If you tried to sell your home today, the loss solely due to exchange rate is already 28%. Not including any bank interest to be paid and other miscellaneous fees.
4. Do you have lots of spare cash? If a person has say RM10 million, spending RM1 million is not much of a pain. Even if the price drops, so what. Hold. Enjoy. The loss is minimal. But not everyone is in such a position.
So here's the DISCLAIMER: Based on points 3 and 4 above, if you are buying to sleep there, marvel at your water view every day, or maybe you're already retired, nowhere else to put your money, sure... you can spend on anything you want. The whole discussion about whether the purchase makes sense or not is quite useless.
I hear this a few times, about people looking down on HDB flats. What's wrong with them? It's really dumb to comment they are small and all that. The comparison is not even valid. You're comparing property prices in a 1st world Singapore and a 3rd world Iskandar. Might as well compare property prices in Indonesia or Africa? Why not go there to buy, so much cheaper? Check out the prices of apartments in large US cities, Japan and Australia. Do you dare to call the owners there "losers" for paying so much and yet get small floor areas?
Actually, HDB flats are one of the best housing there is. I dare say even better than a condo, in terms of price to floor area ratio.
I also have a story to tell. My colleague bought her HDB flat 8 years ago for a high S$600+k. People said, Crazy! Stupid! Don't buy! Too expensive! Her flat will soon be sold for a high $900+k, giving her S$300k in profits. For the benefit of the Malaysians here, that's a cool RM900k. Shiok bo? That's a public flat in your face!
And yes... I certainly think it's silly to waste time cleaning such a big house. Nice and cosy home will do just fine. Remember the phrase: Some people are just asset rich but cash poor. And ultimately, it's managing expectations.
You think your 2,000 sq ft condo "jin eh sai"? I tell you my friends in Australia and US live in 3,000-4,000 sq ft homes cheaper than what you can even get in JB. But they are nice and sensible pals. They won't laugh at others for owning smaller homes. In fact, cars, houses and other materialistic things are not even their favourite topic. Only Singaporeans and some Malaysians (like those here) put a high emphasis on such stuffs. When we all leave this world, can't take the properties with us.
So chill guys. If you have the $$$, go ahead. Just spend. Iskandar condos could be a good buy. But if you don't have that kind of $, just be careful where you're stepping into. I think many here can agree on this?
