Buying in a slow market is always good, not just for property yeah. Can be any goods and services. It’s usually the most expensive during the best times too.
I still remember this senior marketing manager in Penang who told me many years ago during the booming years. “Charles, people will laugh at me if I need to take 6 months to sell all these units.” He was selling over 500 units in a prime area in Penang. (some units with seaview…) Let’s just look at 7 advantages which buyers will get when they buy a property in a slow property market.
#1 – Negotiation is now possible. It’s now possible to tell the home owner sincerely that you love the unit but you also love another unit you viewed. The home owner will ask for a few days to think about it but hey, they no longer reject you immediately like what happened a few years ago when the market was hot….
#2 – Choices, real choices. From newly completed ones to new launches, sub-sale market and even property auctions, there are now more choices than ever. Gone are the days when developers assign you a number and 3 minutes to pick a property or they will call the next in queue. Gone were the days when people queue one week in advance prior to new launches.
#3 – Prices, good prices. Be realistic yeah. It’s good prices and NOT low prices. For some areas for which the demand is far higher than the available supply, prices will still be resilient. Ask ourselves. If we own a home in an area we love today or the home is right next to our parents, will we sell the home for a lower price? However, our asking price is definitely not as high as a few years ago.
#4 – Nothing lasts forever. There’s a cycle to everything. What’s up will come down and what’s down will go up again. The only thing about property investment is this; property prices on a longer term will always be rising. Here’s the reason why it is so. (We should look to the advanced property markets to understand why)
#5 – Banks need to survive. Contrary to popular belief which is banks are no longer lending actually banks love to lend. This is how they earn profits… However they prefer to lend to borrowers who look like they could pay. Good customers are now harder to secure and some banks are definitely doing more to woo customers too.
#6 – Developers have to do more for less. It’s harder for developer these days. Instead of just one time newspaper and sell everything, they now needed to advertise more, build more interests and equipping their sales staffs or real estate agents with more ‘firepower’ so that the sales numbers are better. They are thus more accommodating. Let’s not wait for the turning point…
#7 – The main supporting foundation; economy is seen to be growing in 2021. This is very important. No property market could survive if the economy is in a crisis or when the unemployment numbers are high. Without a job, who could buy a property? Earlier article here:Can negative GDP growth be positive news
Buying in a slow market definitely has more reasons but I will stop at 7, my favourite number. If the question is, should I still buy a property today? It’s a YES. If the question is, could I simply buy and expect prices to go up, the answer is a NO. It might have been because there was a period when everything went up. As for the best question of all time, ‘When’s the best time to buy a property?’ The answer is … buy when you could afford to buy (skip that barista coffee too). Happy investing.
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