According to VPC Alliance Malaysia Sdn Bhd, James Wong, condo transactions would slow down and most probably face price correction. If this is true it will affect condo buyers like myself. Yet, somehow I agree. I think with the high growth in transactions beginning 2010 – 2011, the total number of completed condos should be high and with the prices going to levels which may not be affordable to a lot of middle-income families, a correction is necessary for a pricing level to stabilise before regaining its momentum though it would this time be slower.
There are plenty of other reasons for this. The market remains uncertain, especially with so many cooling measures, both in terms of RPGT as well as stricter Bank Negara control. Besides that there would also be more affordable condos being launched this year. If I can potentially wait and the new property is RM500 psf or lower compared to current prices, I would buy the new launches instead. There are plenty of places where the condo prices are RM600 psf or even higher. Just go to any online sites and you would be able to see. When my wife and I went to view a condo in Kelana Jaya, the buyer would only want to sell it for RM600psf and it was leasehold. Yet we felt the quality was no better than our Penang condo which was still selling for Rm500 psf and free hold. Please note that RM600 – Rm700 psf condos do not yet belong to the luxury category.
It is a different story for landed residential sector and it will continue to grow especially the gated and guarded ones. Nevertheless I would only agree for developments which are integrated and not so much on a one-off type of project because with this slowdown, a good brand name helps more than just continuous advertising. If you buy landed properties and can wait it out, the capital appreciation is almost guaranteed. This is because there are still lots of land in the whole of Greater KL but no one wants to stay far away. Everyone wanted to stay close to places they deem as convenient and ‘classy’. Yes, when you have the money to spare, you would also add ‘class’ into whatever you buy. Just look at the number of ladies with branded handbags which are most of the time more.expensive than the monthly salary of a junior manager!
Though I continue to love condos, I think the time has come to see what’s the actual value of your condo. Don’t worry though, it would not fall below the price you paid. Merely making you hate yourself for not selling earlier when the market was still on a uptrend. To those people, think positive. You have already earned so much, why not let genuine buyers buy a slightly cheaper place to stay? After all, urbanisation is continuing and demand would continue, just that the time is not now and not suddenly. Investment continues.
written on 15 Jan 2014
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