A few weeks ago, an old friend said to me, ‘wow, Ipoh is now a property hotspot. So many new project launches’. Some time back, someone from Penang said that property market in Penang is very developed and is maturing. Let me tell my opinion in one word. Sorry. Yes, just an apology because I do not agree. For this article, we shall look at only Ipoh. How do I define hotspot? Well, it should always feature in every property conversation amongst investors. I repeat, investors. Not your uncle thinking of buying a new property for his son who comes back once in a while or your parents who wants you to buy a property nearby them or even your own choice to buy a property because you think one day you will retire in Ipoh. NONE of these instances makes Ipoh a property hotspot, except the first instance.So, my conclusion for Ipoh is that it is not a hotspot.
Since Ipoh is not a hotspot, why should anyone buy? This is a funny question because why would you buy when it is a hotspot? Why not buy before it can be a hotspot? Just like if the whole stock market is down, why not buy instead of trying to buy so high when it has gone up so much and has potential to just crash? Why buy gold when it’s on the way up like so many and thus driving it up higher a bit and then crash? Why not buy when the gold prices are going down because the US$ is going up? Do you think the US$ can keep going up when their own economy is actually not really healthy even until today? I hope I have answered the question of, should you buy now since Ipoh is not a hotspot. Buy potential, not buy for ‘superficial’ reasons.
If you ask me however since Ipoh is not a hotspot, then what is it? I think for many Ipohans who work outside and have experienced the outside world, Ipoh is a softspot. For Ipohans and even for people who have stayed there, they would know. Actually this is very important. When you love something, you buy it because you love it. If it’s hotspot, you are buying it because everyone else is buying it. Would I be buying in Ipoh? Answer is a firm yes. If the location is not too far from my parent’s place and the design is nice and I can afford it, yes I may buy one in the near future. Would I encourage people to buy in Ipoh? I think if you have read my articles about Ipoh you would know that Ipoh is a great place to stay and enjoy everything that bigger cities offer except the pace. The many recent rankings only serve to reinforce Ipoh as a retirement haven which is still exciting enough. Note: the best snowbeer thus far for me is in Ipoh. In my life thus far, I have stayed in Teluk Intan, Ipoh, Penang, Subang Jaya, Bristol, Kelana Jaya and currently Damansara Damai. I seriously think I am more qualified than many to talk about which city/town is the best in my opinion. 😛
Until today, if you really want to compare between cities, Ipoh is definitely on the cleaner half. If you want to compare food, especially in quality and varieties, Ipoh is above that tiny food haven that always say they have the best food but the truth is, every coffee shop you go to, the varieties are almost similar. Haha. If you would like to further your study, Ipoh offers many good universities with very good facilities. It has stadiums, pools, squash courts, badminton courts, velodrome and even a world class hockey turf. I could not think of that many cities with all these and more, except for Kuala Lumpur?
Now the question that some of my friends like to ask me, if Ipoh is so great, why are you working elsewhere? The answer remains the same. Working place and the living place can always be different. Just like there are some who ‘jumps aeroplane’ to work in other countries so that they can earn more. Perhaps for me, its not that extreme because I can go back to Ipoh every weekend and be with my parents. Currently working hard and investing smart so that when my parents really want me to go back to Ipoh, I would be ready. Don’t believe me? It’s ok. Carry on your investment and trumpeting that your city has the best food. All of us should anyway. Take care.
written on 1st January 2014
Next suggested article: Ipoh Property Boom? I seriously do not think so, not yet.
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