Category: Real Estate

NEW public housing model will be introduced Well, the government have to do their best to provide affordable homes to the people I know, when you read the title, you think “another new model?” Yes, I had the same thought too. However, let’s face it. The government of the day, whether this one or the…

PropertyGuru Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023 ResultsRevenue of S$150 Million and Adjusted EBITDA of S$19 Million in 2023 Total revenue grew 11% to S$150 million in 2023 Adjusted EBITDA of S$19 million in 2023, up from S$3 million in 2022 Active cost management resulted in a 13% Adjusted EBITDA margin in 2023, up…

IJM RIMBAYU UNVEILS PHASE 21: THE PROMENADEFostering Social Interactions with Dynamic Commercial Concept IJM Land is proud to introduce The Promenade as an extension of its commercial development that is poised to redefine the commercial and retail experiences at IJM Rimbayu. Scheduled for launch in Q1 of 2024, The Promenade will offer a multifaceted experience…

Merdeka 118, second tallest no more… when? People always say Malaysia has too many tall office buildings. Some suggested that we should disallow any more future tall office buildings. I will agree once these tall office buildings have no tenants and all the tenants rush to leave these tall office towers to rent elsewhere. There…

Thinking of Ipoh trip? One more reason – ESCAPE Ipoh Header photo source: https://kyspeaks.com/2020/11/09/ky-eats-ipoh-choong-kee-big-tree-yong-tau-foo/ Ipoh is really the real food haven yeah We do not have Penang char koay teow (go there to eat yeah) but our Ipoh Kai See Hor Fun is definitely more flavourful and has better ingredients than Koay Teow Theng somewhere…

Most popular country in ASEAN for international visitors in 2023 is not Thailand Yes, it’s Malaysia. We have even exceeded the numbers prior to Covid! In 2019, we welcomed 26 million international tourists and if I remember correctly, we were second placed then, behind our fiercest competitor for international tourists; Thailand. Article in vnexpress.net Malaysia…

Press Release: RM400,000 homes the target of prospective homebuyers 60% of Prospective Homebuyers Target Homes under RM400,000;Concerns Persist Over Project Delays and Construction Quality  23% of respondents prefer the 1Malaysia Housing Programme (PR1MA) for affordable housing initiatives that meet their aspirations. 59% expressed that rental payments should be factored into their credit score. 74%…

Press Release: Sunway Property Sets Sights On RM2.6 Billion Sales, Spurred By Four New Signature Product Launches In 2024 Annual Signature Series campaign to offer a wide range of “Experience Sunway” packages on top of exciting deals in conjunction with Sunway Group’s 50th anniversary Sunway City Kuala Lumpur, 21 February 2024 – Sunway Property, the…

Press Release: Next Gen Living Majestic Gen is poised to dominate and redefine contemporary living. In every tale of transformation, the final chapter closes, making way for an eventful beginning and an awakening with a renewed purpose. Such is the captivating saga that follows Majestic Group, renowned stewards of architectural excellence, as they bid farewell…

Ageing (Aging), Aged and Super Aged nation. Huge difference yeah. Malaysia is NOT yet an aged nation yeah Article in nst.com.my with this title: “Population estimates show that Malaysia has reached aged nation status in 2021.” Just click to read in full. The article explained about the number of Malaysians aged 100 and above. I…

General Knowledge: The richest king is not from that small country or the oil producing one Millionaires vs BiIlionaires These days, billionaires would be the standard when it comes to how rich one is. Most Singaporeans by virtue of their property price is a millionaire these days anyway. Many Malaysians are also enjoying this status…

Property Investment 101: “Cautiously Optimistic” means what? This is what ‘cautiously’ means Let’s not think what it means. No need for any debate too. Let’s have the usual authority (Yes, from the UK, not the US) tell us what it means. According to Oxford Languages, this is the meaning for cautiously: “in a way that…

Property Investment: How can anyone afford a RM1 million property? If you asked me in 1998, this is my answer to you RM1,000,000 (RM1 million)? It must be a big bungalow somewhere prominent. Meaning not in some village or far away places from the city centre. This property would most probably come with sufficient land…

Economy news Malaysia: 2024 will be a stronger year says MIDF 2023 is past, 2024 is the focus Some people are waiting for the 2023 economic growth numbers. I think it’s important that we have a formal number for the economic growth but the right way to move forward is to know what’s coming and…

Press Release: Redefining Luxury Amidst Hilltop Serenity Experience the height of prestige at ViO Banj’ran by IJM Land, setting in a new era of elevated residential living standards at the peak of Seremban 2. Elegantly perched on high ground, ViO Banj’ran represents the epitome of opulence and luxury, setting an unrivalled standard in hilltop living….

Johor Property News: Transport Hub in Forest City? What do I think of JB property market? (Iskandar) I just answered this question a few days ago during the Annual Property Conference 2024 in which I was a speaker and also a chairperson. Here’s the earlier link of the event. Some of the facts include JB is…

Press Release: Tropicana Sells Courtyard By Marriott Penang For RM165MIL Netting Surplus Cash Of RM80.8MIL – Tropicana Macalister, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tropicana Group, signed a SPA with IOI  PFCC Hotel Sdn Bhd, an indirect subsidiary of IOIPG to dispose Courtyard by Marriott Penang for RM165 million.  ● The disposal will generate surplus cash of…

Residency Tenancy Act not necessary? Restrictions on free market? I am a landlord, I think having a Residency Tenancy Act (RTA) is good I do not like landlords who are too powerful (just because you own the house you think you are really the lord?) and could draft any rental agreement in their favour versus…

Press Release: 2024 Property Market Outlook: Uneven Performance Expected, but Opportunities for Growth Persist In the fourth quarter, the Sale Demand Index registered a quarter-on-quarter decline of 7.4%. However, the 2023 data also indicated a deceleration in price appreciation, signalling a stabilisation of price trends.  Shift to rental market anticipated as housing unaffordability remains. Johor recorded…

Bangsar Hill Park (BHP) proudly unveils its 6,099 sq. ft. property gallery in KL Gateway Mall, alongside the launch of Talisa – Phase 2 of BHP – show unit.  Drawing over 800 visitors during its opening weekend, the event was a resounding success.  The grand opening featured a plethora of activities – world-class lion dance…

EPF news: Great performance in 2023 and the headwinds in 2024 What’s the dividend for EPF savings for 2023? Nope, the dividend percentage has not yet been announced if that’s what you are hoping. However, if you have been following kopiandproperty.com news on EPF, 2023 has been a relatively good year yeah. One latest article…

Property Investment 101: REIT is also property investment too Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) is also property investment too. Property Investment may be too risky, we may not have the time and it requires effort Too many people have told me that property investment is too risky. They also have no time to read so…

Kuala Lumpur, 16 January 2024 – Since its grand launch in June 2023, KL Wellness City (KLWC) has been making remarkable strides, reshaping the landscape of integrated healthcare and wellness. The visionary city with flagship KL International Hospital (KLIH) and The Nobel Healthcare Park will champion high speed broadband connectivity, supporting advance Internet of Things…

Personal Finance 101: We should aim at minimum of RM600,000 if our intention is not to own any property If anyone tells you to skip property investment totally… These days, there are many personal finance experts in the market. Some do video, some write and somehow for many of them, their advice is always to…

Resale flat prices for 2023 in Singapore is only rising less than half in 2022 Even if the government is building most of the supply, home price cannot be fixed yeah Imagine the government selling a property unit which you bought. A few years after that, you wanted to upgrade to a bigger property. You…

Personal Finance 101: Malaysians need to increase our savings. What about Americans? I was forced to save when I was 26 years old That was the year I ‘forced’ myself to buy a property (after being reminded by my father-in-law and that was the time when I started to look at everything unnecessary (to buy)…

Property Investment News: All latest news on renting I know many say renting a home is the way of the future Whenever someone tells me this statement, I tend to agree. Why not? If majority prefers to rent, we should encourage them to rent by buying a property and let them rent yeah. If no…

HSR KL – Bangkok? Let’s go for it too if we could Flight tickets KL – Bangkok is more expensive than KL – SG Of course, if I am a tourist, then it makes more financial sense to travel to Bangkok versus to Singapore due to the currency factor. Right after the flights, we need…

Personal Finance 101: Financial Independence, Retire Early, a realistic goal or just a dream? A number of close friends have retired or says they will stop working soon I am 47 this year, in September lah. So, if a few close friends have retired since a few years ago, it meant that they have done…

Asia’s global real estate agent network IQI, which is a member of Juwai IQI, today released the first-ever Malaysia Home Rental Index, which is intended to serve as a complement to NAPIC’s Malaysia House Price Index. “The Rental Index analyses over 58,000 residential rental transactions since 2018,” said Juwai IQI Co-Founder and Group CEO Kashif…

Cannot be right, right? Inflation for Malaysia is VERY LOW. Sometimes, we are the reason prices go up too I was just speaking to a few friends in front of the lift and we were talking about food prices. Friend 1: The food prices are so expensive these days. They have just increased another RM1…

Property Investment 101: Nowadays not many are buying properties lah Anyway, these days not many people are buying properties. True? I am always asked if the property market is still okay all the time. Not sure if my answer should be taken as a cue to buy or to sell because no one can safely…

Malaysia Bank News: Aeon Bank or Bank Aeon Did we have more banks last time? A long time ago, before the 1997/98 ASEAN Financial Crisis, Malaysia used to have close to 60 local banks. Names such as Kwong Yik Bank or Ban Hin Lee Bank are no longer known today as all the banks were…

Property Investment 101: Did you read the flood news? Do we know if the place we are buying is safe from flood? Every year, monsoon season would come and we will start to read about flood. In some cities, potentially a flash flood. In some places, flood comes every year. When I was living in…

Malaysia’s economy grew 3.9% in the first three quarters of 2023 with the overall residential property market showing an uptick in both transaction volume and value. In Klang Valley, five notable office deals worth RM837.8 million during the review period signalled returning confidence as corporate entities sought office space for expanding operations and rental potential….

How high is the highest FD rates in Malaysia? Date of research: 5th January 2024.  Site used: ringgitplus.com Savings is critical prior to investment How much do you save per month? How much could you save? Can we save our way to happiness? Well, we could buy something to make us happy but could we…

Property Investment 101: What if property price rises only by 1 percent every year? 1 percent is sustainable. I am fine with this too. 🙂 This is how much your home price would become at the end of 30 years if the home price rises by just 1 percent every year for the next 30…

Personal Finance 101: Skip new car, what about second hand cars instead? Choices versus price? This article on Top 10 New Cars in Malaysia had a great day Published on 20th December which is considered a slow period since holidays are all coming. It still reached 196 views within a few days. Link is here…

EPF News: EPF says when we reach 30 years old, we should already have RM3x,xxx in our EPF account. RM35,000 by age of 30 (even faster if we have Progressive Wage Policy) EPF says that it would like its members to aim for a basic savings of at least RM35,000 by the age of 30…

MRT3 aka Circle Line: Latest Update on the tenders What’s the latest update on MRT3 aka Circle Line? Article in nst.com.my MRT Corp has sought another three-month extension (until March 2024) to finalise tenders for the multi-billion-ringgit rail development. This marks the fourth extension requested by MRT Corp since middle of this year, adding an air…

Property Investment 101: New home and New Twin Door Fridge. Ranked by price. It’s impossible to live without a refrigerator yeah If you are buying a new home, please buy a good refrigerator as you should be able to use this refrigerator for longer than whatever warranty is has provided. As for aesthetics purpose, I…

Let’s learn about inflation. Is this good or bad? It’s bad. It’s increase meant a decline in purchasing power A bowl of noodle could have been RM8 last year and RM10 this year. If we earn the same amount of money, this meant that we must now eat fewer bowls of noodle. A simple calculation…

Personal Finance 101: Do you buy a car because it saves petrol? Why do we want to save on petrol? The answer is very clear. We want to save on petrol because we want to save money. We want to save money because we want the money to be used in some other places. So, the…

Looking for a franchise? Micfront could be a franchise you want to take up This conversation happened with a long-time friend. (Haha… don’t want to use another word for long-time). My friend: Must ensure my children goes into Engineering related courses when they enter university Me: Yeah, that’s always a good field to be in. Just…

Property Investment 101: If property price is RM250,000 and rental is RM1,000 should I proceed to buy? I have no answer, really. Home price RM250,000 and rental is RM1,000. Worth buying? Please decide by yourself yeah. However, I will present to you all the numbers. We shall assume home price is RM250,000 and rental is…

Scam news: 20 percent profit is DEFINITELY unreal, fake and is a scam Stop labelling everything as an investment please Do you know how does the business earn its profit? If you do not and you still put your money into the business, that is NOT an investment. That’s just a gamble. Do you know…

Salary increase in 2024. How high (or low) will it be? Is 5 percent considered high or low for salary increment? Well we can only answer this if we know what’s the salary amount right? Someone earning RM20,000 should think 5 percent is sufficient, Its an increase of RM1,000 per month. Meanwhile someone earning RM2,000…

Tax News: Older population may mean higher tax rates Famous saying: Two things are certain; death and taxes Malaysians are living longer today versus 20 years ago. That is a good sign that we are enjoying a good life and have access to good medical care too. I do think that the life expectancy of…

Personal Finance 101: In my opinion, the strongest currency in the world is SGD Currency exchange is a tool which countries try to influence for the benefit of their own economy I have written many times that the currency fluctuation should just be based on the trade of goods and services. Well, unfortunately there is…

Property Investment 101: Choosing the right mortgage insurance. MRTA vs MLTA Briefly, what is it? Do we need it? It’s mortgage insurance. Personally, I think we should always protect our loved ones. So, yes, I think this is definitely needed. Or, you are already very heavily insured, then that helps too. All these protection will…

KPKT News: Affordable Housing is ministry’s main thrust Affordable Housing, how should it be done? Majority of Singaporeans stay in HDB flats. HDB stands for Housing Development Board and this is a public housing authority. Briefly, this is under the government and it seeks to ensure all Singaporeans have an affordable place they can call…

EPF News: When we are 54 years old, how much should we have as retirement fund? Life expectancy for Malaysians? Malaysians on average will live to nearly 80 years old. In other words, we do need a lot of money to sustain us after we retire at… 60? Or perhaps just work till 70, then…

Which are stocks with good dividends? Investing into the stock market can also be simple, just follow those with dividends? I was browsing online and found this website which says that it is a Malaysia Dividend Ranking Website. Click here to view them: https://dividends.my/coming-dividends/ The below are the upcoming dividends and I sorted it based…

Personal Finance 101: Car Resale Value is important! Right? Which car depreciates least? Do you buy your car based on how much it depreciates? Actually, the day we receive our car and we drive it out of the showroom, it has depreciated in price. If someone told me they have just received their car a…

High Speed Rail is definitely an economic catalyst High Speed Rail (HSR) Malaysia? Nothing, yet. https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2023/12/993566/anwars-govt-contemplates-reviving-hsr-eye-substantial-cost-reduction Plus someone said that it’s cheaper to provide free flights to Malaysians versus paying interest for the High Speed Rail. https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/690823 Meanwhile in the HSR for Jakarta – Bandung Article in nst.com.my The Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway (HSR), the first HSR in…

Property Investment 101: 8 washing machines (8kg) ranked by price I am using Panasonic 10kg top loading and is very happy currently. So if you like, you can follow me too. Just need to know that preference simply means preference yeah. It does not mean this is the best or the most long lasting or…

EPF News: Retirement savings up to RM512,500 with Progressive Wage Policy Salary increments are good, everyone loves it Let’s be honest. Every working Malaysians would want to have higher salary every year; salary increments. Even if I am an entrepreneur, I also want to have a higher pay for myself every year versus the year…

Property Investment 101: Only landed homes will increase in price lah?! Price of the most popular noodle stall versus less popular ones There’s a favourite noodle stall in town which everyone loves. Queues are long. There are also many other noodle stall around the area but not as popular. Perhaps the taste is also not…

Melaka will have trams! When? What? Where? I still like Melaka but the traffic lights must be improved! Many years ago and many years later, the traffic lights are still not coordinated. Perhaps Melaka drivers are super patient and could afford to wait for their turn. Frankly, engage any university and get their students to…

Johor Property News: Impact from RTS to Singaporeans buying into Johor Johor is right next to Singapore, always remember this fact This is one recent news. Most recent news on why Johor is the state to watch out for in 2024. If Singapore will be attracting more investments, it will need talents. These talents cannot…

Penang LRT news: Penangites must take the LRT yeah Giving up driving and starting walking instead? I was in Penang two weekends ago and also a few days ago. Frankly, traffic jam in Penang is getting worse. Perhaps we really do need the LRT Penang to help lessen the potential traffic jams which is likjely…

Energy Commission: New electricity tariff starting Jan 1 2024. Will it affect you? We need to keep the electricity usage to below 600kWh The below is the electricity tariff for Malaysia for domestic users. Source: https://www.tnb.com.my/residential/pricing-tariffs In the Philippines, it’s around 11 Pesos (RM1) per kWh. Source: english.news.cn In Singapore, it’s 28.2 cent (RM0.99) per…

2024 is “take-off” year for the Malaysian economy. Says who? Sorry, I do not believe our economy is in “bad condition” Every time the business is not doing as well as it “SHOULD” then the economy is bad. Sales affected by more competition, the reason is because the economy is not doing well. Hello… take…

MM2H News: S-MM2H will be further promoted to foreigners who live in countries with four seasons I love to visit countries with four seasons I am not sure if there are that many people who say they do not like to visit a country where there’s spring and see all the amazing colours. Or visitng…

En-Bloc Sales for redevelopment projects. Malaysia’s proposing for a lower % than Singapore. Redevelopment is very important Someone told me some weeks back that if redevelopment is allowed when there are just agreement from just 80 percent of the owners, it is unfair to the remaining owners who do not want the redevelopment to take…

Astaka Appoints Knight Frank as The Property Manager for Upcoming RM254 million GDV Serviced Residence in Johor Bahru Knight Frank Property Management, a leading property management company with extensive experience in managing residential and commercial properties, will be the property manager for Astaka’s upcoming residential project, Aliva Mount Austin Aliva Mount Austin is set to…

Property Investment 101: 70 inch LED TVs from 7 brands ranked by price Why 70 inch TV? Why not bigger or smaller? Note – this is a research using Shopee as a guide. Why 70 inch TV? Well, 50 inch seems like a little small these days regardless of whether you own a landed home or…

Interest rate news: When the largest economy is thinking of cutting rates Which country increases their rates from 0 to 5.5 percent in roughly 1.5 years? No prizes for guessing. Answer is below. In case you still does not understand the reason why US$ is so strong versus the world, this is the reason yeah….

Top 10 cheapest cars we can buy today. My very first car was a Nissan Sunny 1.3 My first full-time job was as a sales assistant in Parkson right after SPM. That was in 1993. The salary was RM350 if I remember correctly. Inclusive of OTs etc, it’s higher. So, my EPF contribution started was…

Press Release – iProperty.com.my: Top 10 Most Searched Areas by Homebuyers in Malaysia in 2023 Urban areas gained the most property searches as potential buyers look for homes near workplaces. Newcomers to this annual list are Bangsar and Bukit Jalil. Prime locations like Petaling Jaya, Mont Kiara, Johor Bahru, Puchong and Cheras continued to be…

Be ready to pay more for your online purchase soon I know you don’t like to pay more. Me too. However, we will all have to start paying an extra 10 percent for things we buy online. To be more specific it’s only for imported goods and it’s only for items valued at RM500 or…

Heavy Rain. Flash Floods. Sinkhole of 50m x 60m. Heavy rain expected until March 2024 This is message from Malaysia Meteorogical Department (MET). “The Malaysian Meteorological Department (METMalaysia) issued a warning today saying that the northeast monsoon is expecting four to six episodes of heavy rainfall on Nov 11 until March next year..” Source: NST…

EPF News: 10 things about EPF you may want to know about Who is EPF? KWSP or also known as Employees Provident Fund (EPF) will be in the news every time their next dividend is about to be announced. Is it higher than last year? Is it lower? Does EPF still have money for withdrawals?…

Raining period. Please always be aware of surroundings. I do worry when it’s rainy season These days, as I drive by roads next to hills, I always feel some fear. It’s very hard not to be when we see many landslide news whenever the rainy season comes. Even if I drive on the highway, I…

Personal Finance 101: Higher EPF dividends for 2023? Was 2022 a good year for EPF dividends? The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) recently declared a dividend rate of 5.35% for Conventional Savings and 4.75% for Syariah Savings for the Year 2022, with a total payout amounting to RM51. 14bil. Source: www.principal.com.my 5.35 percent to me is a very good…