Generally, everyone tends to agree that the upcoming MRT will bring real connectivity to the masses. Thus, it cannot be wrong to buy next to, nearby or very near to a MRT station. Even the usual talks during fairs would tell you that buying near MRT cannot be a wrong decision. Developers are also advertising about their distance or duration away from a nearby MRT station. Some even offer the last mile connectivity! Yes, they build a connection from their project to the MRT station. I agree, buying nearby a MRT station is much better than buying in places where there are no MRT stations. However, the most important question everyone must keep in mind is this. Are the prices that I am buying is simply because of MRT or are there also other supporting factors? Am I too overwhelmed by the ‘Accessibility’ popularity?
I work in the city centre. I stay in Damansara Damai. Naturally the nearest would be the Sungai Buloh station. There’s also KTM station in both Sungai Buloh and Kepong. NKVE is nearby too. I think my place is pretty ‘accessible’, right? It takes me less time to travel from Damansara Damai to my office versus Kelana Jaya previously despite the fact that Kelana Jaya is 1.5km nearer. It takes me less time to arrive in office even when compared to some colleagues staying in Cheras. I paid only RM320 psf for my huge condo over one year ago. Today, when you buy ‘accessibility’, it’s easily double the price that I paid for my condo earlier. Are the prices much higher because it’s really expensive to build today or because the developers just want to build on the ‘accessibility’ popularity factor? There’s no need for an answer. The decision is yours.
What I wanted to reiterate is this. Everyone knows Herd Mentality is bad in stock market, right? It means you simply buy because everyone is buying. Always remember, ‘accessibility’ popularity can also be a disguised herd mentality. Especially when you believe that when you buy at RM800psf today, it will be RM1,000psf few years later. After all, how can MRT be wrong, right? Haha. Be reminded that this MRT accessibility will always be thumped by affordability. Affordability would determine ‘how risky’ is your investment. Yes, it’s true that prices of properties would continue to rise over the years. However, it is also true that the current low number of new transactions is not due to NO demand. It’s due to low demand caused by affordability. During these times, not even ‘accessibility’ popularity for MRT can give you an assurance of investment safety.
There are lots of other reasons why a certain condo should be worth at a premium compared to its peers. These reasons, when added together is also worth more than the ‘Accessibility’ popularity which is so popularly bandied by everyone in the whole industry today. Buy? Of course! But buy way too expensively? All the best to you. Happy thinking.
written on 15 Jan 2015
Next suggested article: Will MRT Malaysia really start on time? Sure?
Leave a Reply