Tropicana Nov-Dec 2020 #133 The Festive Issue

Charles Tan
“There are lots of
good choices in the
secondary property
market”
Joanne Lee
“Access to wellestablished
neighbourhoods, good
facilities, amenities
and connectivity are
important”
Daniel Gambero
“Choose carefully
the developer,
location and
infrastructures
provided”
New Opportunities
There are going to be opportunities that probably didn’t
exist even just a few months ago. If your job is secure and you
have some savings, it’s actually a good time to buy, buy, buy.
According to Charles Tan Chia Lih, owner of independent
blog kopiandproperty.com, the right time to buy needs to be
complemented with the right property and the right price
too. “It would be good just to write down five to 10 reasons and
evaluate all those properties based on these reasons.”
According to Tan, if the properties advertised or researched
fit as a good investment, then it should just be the right
choice. “Yes, this is still a perfect time for first-time
homebuyers. Preferably, they will try to take advantage of
all the incentives like the Home Ownership Campaign (HOC)
that is currently being offered.”
“Try also to expand the choices and not be too focused on
just the primary market. There are lots of good choices in the
secondary property market too,” he advised.
Tan said sellers need to understand the opportunity
cost when they want to sell in this market. “Sell now or
wait until a better price comes along? This is a dilemma that
many investors have in the present market.”
Choose Carefully
Property consultant, REI Group CEO Dr Daniele Gambero,
said that it is definitely a good time to buy property provided
you choose the right one.
“Choose carefully the developer, location and infrastructures
provided. For instance, optical fibre and good reception for the
internet is a must-have criteria for some buyers.”
Gambero advised the buyer to not simply accept ridiculous
discounts or rebates as it might be tricky. “Please double check
with bankers your loan eligibility then only you can plan for a
visit at the sales gallery.”
According to Gambero, this moment of time is worth for
home investment, especially for residential properties priced
between RM200,000 to RM800,000.
“Demand for residential units is still strong, and the
shortfall equals roughly RM800,000. In the next 15 to 20 years,
Malaysia will see an additional six to eight million population
increase or growth and our senior citizens will move from
the current seven million to above 14 million, generating
additional demand.”
Ability To Obtain Loan
“What matters is the importance of having the ability to
obtain a loan and being able to hold the units if, when
delivered, it will not be easy or fast to find a tenant,”
said Gambero.
It may take more than five years for unsold residential
units to be absorbed into the market. After all, the current
overnight policy rate (OPR) is at its all-time-low at 1.75%
since 2004, with a total of 125 basis points (bps) cuts thus
far this year to help cushion the economic impact of the
Covid-19 outbreak.
This shows that low bank lending rate is a big
advantage if you are looking to take out a home loan to
buy a property now as it could reduce your monthly
loan repayments by over RM1,000 or more for bigger
loan amounts.
49 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 | TM