New market high in 2018, property actions today

If someone were to tell you that the next market high will be in 2018, what would you do? Nothing? Good decision, you may have just stopped yourself from buying because of some predictions and that’s great. However, it’s also bad if you do nothing because what if this is true and you missed earning your first ‘pot of gold’? This prediction came from the Chief Executive Office of PPC International, Siva Shanker. Reasons given include pent-up demand, improved buyer sentiment and even overall business environment.
Pent-up demand is easy to explain and see for ourselves. Think what would be the reaction or response today if a developer launches a RM450,000 condo project in KL and the size is at a minimum of 1,000 sq ft? Yes, it would receive lots of views and lots of attention. Everyone would like to know where is the exact location, who’s the developer and more. What if the project is RM800,000 or higher and is said to be ‘the most luxurious condo’ you can ever buy for that price? Fewer responses without any doubt but nowhere near the frenzy of the very affordable one. Pent-up demand is very certainly true based on the usual Facebook responses in the property related Facebook pages.
Improved buyer sentiment. My agent friends said that in terms of viewing of properties, it has been similar but in terms of actual closure, it has dropped tremendously. Reason is because buyers want to buy but buyers are unsure if the value they are paying is too high for the current sentiment. Would it drop further? Sorry, please do not try and ask the buyer to think a few years down the road. If the sentiment is negative today, majority would be very cautious and that’s the fact. Furthermore, there are lots of murmurs that the Malaysian economy will be severely affected by so many different issues. From the famous 1MDB to the hated GST and even the unneeded political chaos, negative messages are everywhere. Fortunately, some of these may pass after some time. So, perhaps the sentiment may recover in the near future, I hope.
Overall business environment. Has anyone been following the results of the listed companies in BURSA? Actually, it has not been bad news all the time. This is true even for developers who were supposed to have been hit hard in 2014 and will continue to be subdued in 2015. In fact even the land buying continues and ever higher prices are recorded. Reason is simple, the business environment remains intact but there’s way too many negativity and not many businesses would be pouring money to expand. Certainly, it’s more prudent to be careful how money is spent today, agree?
Yes, the above briefly explain with a little more detail why I also think the current situation is temporary and why I believe opportunities continue to exist. In fact if a crisis do come, the number of opportunities would expand horizontally, at least for those who are already prepared. An article earlier about numbers of transactions can explain a little more as well. Read here: Malaysia residential property market recovery in 2014 or if you would like to read more specifically on Penang, please refer here: Property market Penang better than national, number wise.  Do not rush because when we rush, we may not think objectively. Waiting for a better deal is good, just don’t try to wait until the BEST deal comes along. Most of the time, the best deals go to the people closest to the deal. Are you close enough? Happy thinking or believing.
written on 20 May 2015
Next suggested article: Perhaps marketing is getting more sophisticated.