Buyers today, property fairs today and ignorant developers

There’s a property fair in Penang this weekend. (KWYP) There’s a property fair in Setia City Mall in Shah Alam. (The Star) Besides property fairs, there are so many new launching / previews in the market today. Just go into Facebook and go to Property Talk and Lifestyle Malaysia and you can see all the latest launches or upcoming ones. Are there advantages to go to property fairs then? Yes, the most obvious advantage is that you get to view many different projects under one roof. What’s the bad thing about property fairs? Truth is, not many developers launch their projects during such property fairs. Some even take property fairs as their final chance since they have been selling and selling and selling for the longest of times and there are still many units left.
My friend told me she saw one developer in the property fair in Penang. I laughed out loud. The reason I laughed was because over one year ago, this same developer told me that he does not need to do much advertisement because their properties are selling by themselves and there’s just 100 plus units, they do not need any online presence. I told them then that I wish them the best and gave them a smile. Of course if they managed to sell it all, they can continue to think that there’s no need for any online presence.
However, their presence in the property fair proved one very important point. While demand is there, if you take all the buyers as fools by selling it high, very few buyers would buy. These days, comparison can be done easily and quickly, online. These days, words travel fast, especially the time when you did your so called ‘launching’, it is already online. Thus, when I search online, I know almost exactly when you launch the project. Just go apartment-penang.com or penangpropertytalk.com  As a developer, your history can be found there easily.
Property fairs remain to be an important function for buyers and developers to connect. However, for developers who think of these property fairs as a place to dump their leftovers, then just beware because you will still not sell too many. If your project was promoted widely previously, there is no longer any need for you to dump your leftover. I remember one mainland developer who launched their property in a property fair, they sold so many units because their price was attractive and they got ready all the packages, all the bankers and hired many part-timer sales staffs. This is the mark of a developer who understands the market.
If any developers were to read this article, I hope you note that the market then and the market now is totally different. Many years ago, selling one project for over 1 year is considered okay. Today, try selling that same property over and over again is not a good sign. You may even lose earlier buyers too. The current online users started in 1990s. Today majority of them are already 40 years old. The rest of those below 40 are all already online savvy. Think carefully before you decide that a one or two times advertisement in newspaper is enough to sell. Buyers today wants VALUE, wants feel good BRAND and they want minimum Quality products.
written on 31 May 2014
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