Property News

[xebay11]

It is not easy to buy furniture and send to Singapore. IKEA Johor is likely to serve the locals' needs.

It may be split into two sites in Johor like in Singapore. My guess is it will stay put in Tebrau as it got its huge land cheap many years ago and population is already there, follow by setting up another one in Penang, and lastly one more at Nusajaya (possibly Medini). It may buy its land way ahead of its construction.

IKEA furniture is usually easy to put in the car and bring home, so I don't see why not buy in Johor and bring back to Singapore.

 

[xebay11]

Yes... I've been warned by a few friends and property investors with good intentions. They told me it's no joking matter. Many are not feeling it now only because their loans have not kicked in. Once that happens, those who are stuck with their properties may cry or start feeling the pain. It's not that they have no holding power. But that their money is not working for them but draining away.

So my conclusion so far is that, Iskandar properties are to be bought only if one has NO intention to get back the money for a long time... or maybe forever while he or she is still alive.

Good thing there is quite a handful here who are buying to relax and enjoy their properties in Iskandar. Main thing is, they can afford to lose that few hundred thousand $ as they are millionaires.

If I could turn back time, I would definitely not touch them, whether or not they are in Puteri Harbour with nice view and I can afford it. But no point crying over spilt milk. I have to admit my (bad) choice, see if I can change my mindset on the personal use of that property, or take steps to cut loss. Still keeping my options open.

One positive way to look at it, if you really are not financially strong, then console yourself that JB is the only option for you to get a second property, frankly it is those rich ones who bought in Johor that should be the ones kicking themselves. My strategy is to put my money and assets in a safer place and use the returns to rent in Johor. That way my investments are in a much better position for returns and CA. The point many here laughing at my strategy by saying that I am subsidizing owners properties are wrong, the way the market is going with huge oversupply in the horizon, rentals may not even cover mortgage payments and also I sleep well at night and and have supreme flexibility of where I want to live is priceless. Singapore is still a great place to live in, if you manage your money well it is still affordable, I may live in Johor when I retire but at the same time, say ten years, I also see myself returning to Singapore and spend my last golden years sitting at Boon Keng market whiling away my time.

Anyway your strategy now is to look for the least painful exit and if none exists maybe you grit your teeth and just go for the ride and hope things would turn out good. But I feel is difficult, because in reality, not many buyers for Johor properties both local and Singaporeans really have much money to fuel the capital appreciation needed in the secondary market. Look at PH thread, I don't think anyone bought it at over a million RM and all who post there are buyers who bought low before the RM1 million restriction.

 

[FHBH12]

IKEA furniture is usually easy to put in the car and bring home, so I don't see why not buy in Johor and bring back to Singapore.

Small items like shoe cabinets, lights and foldable chairs only. There will also be GST and traffic jam at custom. The most determined shopper can still do it.

 

[xebay11]

Small items like shoe cabinets, lights and foldable chairs only. There will also be GST and traffic jam at custom. The most determined shopper can still do it.

Gst only for RM 400.00 and above.

 

[sgcount]

One positive way to look at it, if you really are not financially strong, then console yourself that JB is the only option for you to get a second property, frankly it is those rich ones who bought in Johor that should be the ones kicking themselves. My strategy is to put my money and assets in a safer place and use the returns to rent in Johor. That way my investments are in a much better position for returns and CA. The point many here laughing at my strategy by saying that I am subsidizing owners properties are wrong, the way the market is going with huge oversupply in the horizon, rentals may not even cover mortgage payments and also I sleep well at night and and have supreme flexibility of where I want to live is priceless. Singapore is still a great place to live in, if you manage your money well it is still affordable, I may live in Johor when I retire but at the same time, say ten years, I also see myself returning to Singapore and spend my last golden years sitting at Boon Keng market whiling away my time.

Anyway your strategy now is to look for the least painful exit and if none exists maybe you grit your teeth and just go for the ride and hope things would turn out good. But I feel is difficult, because in reality, not many buyers for Johor properties both local and Singaporeans really have much money to fuel the capital appreciation needed in the secondary market. Look at PH thread, I don't think anyone bought it at over a million RM and all who post there are buyers who bought low before the RM1 million restriction.

Hey, thanks for your advice.

My view is that, if one is not financially stable or rich, don't even try to own a property for the sake of it with the intention to just go around telling people "I have a 2nd property". Even if one puts the money in the bank, the little pathetic returns after 20 years will probably still be greater than losing it through high bank interest rate, depreciating property value in Iskandar and the weakening currency exchange.

For me, like I've said, I do have the holding power. But I'm no multi-millionaire like some here. So that amount of money I want to put it to good use. To lose it like that is foolish. It's not like buying an iPhone if it gets stolen, yes it's a bit of a heartache, but I can just buy another one. So Iskandar properties are really strictly for own use only or if you have a lot of surplus money and don't know where else to dump it.

I do agree with the points you've raised about not having many buyers in the secondary Iskandar market. That's the downside. Even if buying to occupy on my own, it's a huge minus point to note that one is stuck with the property probably for life. Things do change. We may want to move elsewhere. We can't be sure we will retire there forever.

When a friend told me Be careful of Iskandar, people forgot it's Malaysia and think everything that happens there is like Singapore. I thought it was just some jealous comments. But after I see how the Malaysian officials talk, behave and with all the 1MDB saga, I totally agree with my friend now.

In fact, I fully understand now LKY's words when he once wrote something like "They (Malaysia) can change the rules with a stroke of the pen". The minimum RM1million for foreigners is a good example. When the news was announced, I remember feeling shocked! Wah, like that also can ah??? For those who have bought their Iskandar properties below RM1 million, it's like using a knife to go for a final stab to the heart. Now it's even more certain they will be unable to dispose their properties next time. So no choice but to pay S$300-350k just to enjoy it as an occasional holiday home. But that's very super expensive for leisure!

 

[Frodo]

Hey, thanks for your advice.

My view is that, if one is not financially stable or rich, don't even try to own a property for the sake of it with the intention to just go around telling people "I have a 2nd property". Even if one puts the money in the bank, the little pathetic returns after 20 years will probably still be greater than losing it through high bank interest rate, depreciating property value in Iskandar and the weakening currency exchange.

For me, like I've said, I do have the holding power. But I'm no multi-millionaire like some here. So that amount of money I want to put it to good use. To lose it like that is foolish. It's not like buying an iPhone if it gets stolen, yes it's a bit of a heartache, but I can just buy another one. So Iskandar properties are really strictly for own use only or if you have a lot of surplus money and don't know where else to dump it.

I do agree with the points you've raised about not having many buyers in the secondary Iskandar market. That's the downside. Even if buying to occupy on my own, it's a huge minus point to note that one is stuck with the property probably for life. Things do change. We may want to move elsewhere. We can't be sure we will retire there forever.

When a friend told me Be careful of Iskandar, people forgot it's Malaysia and think everything that happens there is like Singapore. I thought it was just some jealous comments. But after I see how the Malaysian officials talk, behave and with all the 1MDB saga, I totally agree with my friend now.

In fact, I fully understand now LKY's words when he once wrote something like "They (Malaysia) can change the rules with a stroke of the pen". The minimum RM1million for foreigners is a good example. When the news was announced, I remember feeling shocked! Wah, like that also can ah??? For those who have bought their Iskandar properties below RM1 million, it's like using a knife to go for a final stab to the heart. Now it's even more certain they will be unable to dispose their properties next time. So no choice but to pay S$300-350k just to enjoy it as an occasional holiday home. But that's very super expensive for leisure!

I can't recall which condo project you bought. But unless you bought Country Gardens or those mass market projects where your unit is same same as thousands of others in the same project, if you bought those projects with one or two towers kind may still not be that bad. Maybe can sell a few years after TOP?

While many think that Iskandar properties should not be touched, I also think that Singaporean is no heaven....I mean haven....as well. With a potential increase in population (6.9 million and more?) coming in, one can say "shiok! properties will all go up!" but it also means not many can afford the high price tag as well. You can sell your current one for good profit, but the next one you buy in Singapore may be even more expensive. And not to mention things will get more expensive, more people on public transport, more uncomfortable too. Then going over to JB may well be a relief as there is more breathing space. I feel that Singapore is beginning to be choking when it comes to living expenses. In Singapore I pay $120 for one kid to learn piano for one month 4 classes. For this amount my one kid can learn 3 instruments or 3 kids can learn piano each month.

http://www.propertyguru.com.sg/prop...aporeans-prefer-landed-properties-in-iskandar

 

[potter]

Too early to see unknown; known is too late liao. :p Better to close one eye..

 

[xebay11]

I can't recall which condo project you bought. But unless you bought Country Gardens or those mass market projects where your unit is same same as thousands of others in the same project, if you bought those projects with one or two towers kind may still not be that bad. Maybe can sell a few years after TOP?

While many think that Iskandar properties should not be touched, I also think that Singaporean is no heaven....I mean haven....as well. With a potential increase in population (6.9 million and more?) coming in, one can say "shiok! properties will all go up!" but it also means not many can afford the high price tag as well. You can sell your current one for good profit, but the next one you buy in Singapore may be even more expensive. And not to mention things will get more expensive, more people on public transport, more uncomfortable too. Then going over to JB may well be a relief as there is more breathing space. I feel that Singapore is beginning to be choking when it comes to living expenses. In Singapore I pay $120 for one kid to learn piano for one month 4 classes. For this amount my one kid can learn 3 instruments or 3 kids can learn piano each month.

http://www.propertyguru.com.sg/prop...aporeans-prefer-landed-properties-in-iskandar

To me rising prices in Singapore is good, I can sell and cash out overseas and still have change to buy smaller units in Sg and squeezing more people here increases rental rates so we can collect more rent revenue to live overseas, aren't you also benefitting?

 

[Frodo]

To me rising prices in Singapore is good, I can sell and cash out overseas and still have change to buy smaller units in Sg and squeezing more people here increases rental rates so we can collect more rent revenue to live overseas, aren't you also benefitting?

People with rich dads and $2.6m sitting in the bank can talk like this. People like me cannot. The only reason why I can benefit from having HDB rental is because I moved the whole family to JB and settled there in a landed property. Had I missed the 2013 boat I and my posterity will be forever stuck with one HDB flat and face the gloom and maybe even doom of higher living costs. And I can't rent out my HDB because I cannot afford another property in Singapore.

 

[xebay11]

People with rich dads and $2.6m sitting in the bank can talk like this. People like me cannot. The only reason why I can benefit from having HDB rental is because I moved the whole family to JB and settled there in a landed property. Had I missed the 2013 boat I and my posterity will be forever stuck with one HDB flat and face the gloom and maybe even doom of higher living costs. And I can't rent out my HDB because I cannot afford another property in Singapore.

Ultimately means you still benefited, imagine if your HDB cannot rent out or rent is low, you still cannot even get another place in JB. We shall not discuss about others who missed the boat or who are facing doom and gloom, they voted for it. Life is all about choices and if you do not know how to make a wise one, you cannot blame others.

 

[Frodo]

Ultimately means you still benefited, imagine if your HDB cannot rent out or rent is low, you still cannot even get another place in JB.

Chicken and egg question...I have to get the JB home first. And the fact that I benefit from renting out my HDB does not affect the point that living costs in Singapore are going up and up and living conditions may not stay comfortable for long.

 

[xebay11]

Chicken and egg question...I have to get the JB home first. And the fact that I benefit from renting out my HDB does not affect the point that living costs in Singapore are going up and up and living conditions may not stay comfortable for long.

Means you made the right choice with regards to your needs.

 

[Frodo]

Means you made the right choice with regards to your needs.

Yup, we (esp my wife) thinks we made the right choice to scramble our kids and belongings to run across the causeway. :o A little later and we will have missed the Iskandar Boat.

Anyway, perhaps my point is that as Singapore becomes more expensive and maybe pigeon hole becomes hell-hole eventually people might begin to look North for that respite, that living space, with Singapore becoming more of a concrete jungle while JB still have more greenery. Then folks like sgcount who owns a unit in Iskandar might be happy that he has somewhere to go to, should he decides that stressful concrete jungle life is "enough is enough".

Anyway below is an interesting article, it says that unsold properties are also in the RM700K to RM1 million range because of rejected loans. So there are people who WANT to buy properties in this range, probably the locals, but their loans are being rejected.

http://www.propertyguru.com.sg/prop...7789/rise-in-unsold-housing-units-in-malaysia

 

[xebay11]

Yup, we (esp my wife) thinks we made the right choice to scramble our kids and belongings to run across the causeway. :o A little later and we will have missed the Iskandar Boat.

Anyway, perhaps my point is that as Singapore becomes more expensive and maybe pigeon hole becomes hell-hole eventually people might begin to look North for that respite, that living space, with Singapore becoming more of a concrete jungle while JB still have more greenery. Then folks like sgcount who owns a unit in Iskandar might be happy that he has somewhere to go to, should he decides that stressful concrete jungle life is "enough is enough".

Anyway below is an interesting article, it says that unsold properties are also in the RM700K to RM1 million range because of rejected loans. So there are people who WANT to buy properties in this range, probably the locals, but their loans are being rejected.

http://www.propertyguru.com.sg/prop...7789/rise-in-unsold-housing-units-in-malaysia

Those stuck behind in sg have only themselves to blame, they voted a government that does not care for them and just concentrate on squeezing the people by making homes and cars so expensive. So they have to face the music.

As for loan tightening, that is not a good sign, show that banks do not have confidence in the property market, most banks are willing to lend in a rising market.

 

[Tekkun]

Those stuck behind in sg have only themselves to blame, they voted a government that does not care for them and just concentrate on squeezing the people by making homes and cars so expensive. So they have to face the music.

As for loan tightening, that is not a good sign, show that banks do not have confidence in the property market, most banks are willing to lend in a rising market.

Since last year, Bank Negara tightened lending rules. They called it " Good Guidelines for Loans approvals"
It is actually a system to reduce exposure on household debts which is very high around 80%. If banks are allowed to continue lending unabated, chances are high that the entire banking system would fail altogether. Those days, you can have DIBS, developers marked up and give discounts, etc. These days it is nett value, no more dibs, and loan application subjected to deduction of all loans whether it is car loans, personal loans, etc.

Banks want to lend, Investors want to buy, Agents want to sell, Property developers called for loosening of lending rules. But Bank Negara is steadfast on this. It is very common for many bookings to be refunded due to bank loan problems.

 

[Frodo]

Those stuck behind in sg have only themselves to blame, they voted a government that does not care for them and just concentrate on squeezing the people by making homes and cars so expensive. So they have to face the music.

As for loan tightening, that is not a good sign, show that banks do not have confidence in the property market, most banks are willing to lend in a rising market.

Re loan rejections, the point I wanted to make was that there are locals who want to buy properties between 700-1 million range. It's not that there are no demand for it. There are, but for some reasons the banks rejected the loans. It could either be lack of confidence or just the criteria of borrowers did not fit. As in banks do not have confidence in buyers, rather than no confidence in property market. But that's just my layman view...I am no property expert. In fact, the issue of property never held any interest for me in my adult life...until 2013 so I am still a green horn.

Re Singapore govt, I am also miffed that HDB houses are so expensive (yet Govt calls them affordable ). If not for the high resale prices and exorbitant COV demanded in 2013, I would likely have remained in Singapore. Who knows I may even have bought a condo unit in JB for own leisurely use. But I suppose this was a blessing in disguise.

 

[Frodo]

Since last year, Bank Negara tightened lending rules. They called it " Good Guidelines for Loans approvals"
It is actually a system to reduce exposure on household debts which is very high around 80%. If banks are allowed to continue lending unabated, chances are high that the entire banking system would fail altogether. Those days, you can have DIBS, developers marked up and give discounts, etc. These days it is nett value, no more dibs, and loan application subjected to deduction of all loans whether it is car loans, personal loans, etc.

Banks want to lend, Investors want to buy, Agents want to sell, Property developers called for loosening of lending rules. But Bank Negara is steadfast on this. It is very common for many bookings to be refunded due to bank loan problems.

My condo unit had the DIBS, which was another incentive for me to take the plunge.

 

[Tekkun]

My condo unit had the DIBS, which was another incentive for me to take the plunge.

You were the lucky ones.
The developer marked up and then give discount so that your loan applied at 80% is actually 100% of your actual purchase.
Those who came last missed the boat.

 

[Frodo]

You were the lucky ones.
The developer marked up and then give discount so that your loan applied at 80% is actually 100% of your actual purchase.
Those who came last missed the boat.

I am also one of those lucky one. Got myself early bird as well as DIBS discount (No loans) totaling 15% of purchased price. Free SPA legal fees as well. Saved me more than 150k in total. Some more I am the second person to book so I had a choice unit.

Wah, no loans! You even more lucky! Very true about the actual price, after the rebate the price is RM548psf which I think quite OK lor. We got ourselves a top floor unit but it was my wife's choice unit. I would have preferred to have a balcony that looked outward but she preferred an inward pool facing view. But look down from top floor the pool is very small leh...anyway she's the boss....LOL!

 

[xebay11]

Re loan rejections, the point I wanted to make was that there are locals who want to buy properties between 700-1 million range. It's not that there are no demand for it. There are, but for some reasons the banks rejected the loans. It could either be lack of confidence or just the criteria of borrowers did not fit. As in banks do not have confidence in buyers, rather than no confidence in property market. But that's just my layman view...I am no property expert. In fact, the issue of property never held any interest for me in my adult life...until 2013 so I am still a green horn.

Re Singapore govt, I am also miffed that HDB houses are so expensive (yet Govt calls them affordable ). If not for the high resale prices and exorbitant COV demanded in 2013, I would likely have remained in Singapore. Who knows I may even have bought a condo unit in JB for own leisurely use. But I suppose this was a blessing in disguise.

I also want to buy $10 million bungalow if bank willing to lend me, everyone also have demand for $10 million homes but is that really the case? since the banks don't lend....Sure if credit is easy everybody can buy high price, the fact that if bank don't loan, the property price cannot appreciate.