The funny thing is, no matter how ridiculously priced these properties are, they still get sold. A semi-d house with an awkward design (toilet next to the car porch), located in Shah Alam and priced at 800-900k….sold out. This shows how desperate the home buyers are…. or rather, how aggressive the property investors are.

I think it’s pretty obvious that our property market is seeing a stiff competition between the desperate local home buyers and the cash-rich property investors (especially foreign investors). The situation is fast becoming a “get a house while you still can afford” thing as local home buyers (or first time home owners) rush to get their hands on ANY affordable properties.

As a result of this, the price shoots up even more, to a state where other local home buyers can no longer afford to get their own houses and yeah….people have to rent a place or risk getting a big big debt on their shoulders.

But seriously, will this situation continue? I’m afraid so. What bout the price of the properties? If the properties are overpriced as they are now…will there ever be a bubble burst for our local property market? I’m afraid not due to the large number of rich foreign property investors coming in, and also due to the smart marketing move by the local property developers.

And on the question of whether the government’s decision to lure foreign property investors is a positive/negative move…. i will leave that to you.

p/s…. property consultant Chris Boyd recently said that now is a good time to buy property due to the affordable interest rate and that the property price has not peaked *shudders*. Check out his article in The Star here – A good time to buy.

And for some people, such prices have gone overboard and they could no longer afford these properties especially those in the Klang valley and also few popular spots in Penang.

Then the question of “when should I really get a property?” comes out. Is it better to get it now since the property price is just going to go up anyway? Or should I look at what can I afford irregardless of the demand-supply in the property market?

It’s a tough question to answer because ….well, I do believe our property market will not slow down. More and more people form other states are coming into the Klang Valley and some towards Penang. So the demand will still be there especially at the popular spots like Petaling Jaya, USJ and Shah Alam areas. Waiting it out could mean that the gap between what you can afford and what it takes to afford a property, might end up getting wider and wider.

But don’t panic. In my humble opinion, you need to consider a few things before you dive into the property market.

• Do you have emergency fund? – you need to have at least 6 months to 2 years of emergency fund, depending on your monthly expenses. Yes, this should be the priority before you get a property. If you don’t have this, then save up for this before thinking about property.
• Is your job or career path stable? Can your skills and attitude help you to get a job where many have failed? - this is to ensure that when shit happens and you get retrenched, you will not remain jobless for too long. Because if you’re jobless, you still need to pay the bank for the property loan and that is going to make your life very very stressful.
• Do you have other investment? – stocks, mutual funds, fixed deposit accounts, EPF, these things can help you to move some of the money into property investing.
• How desperate are you in looking for a property? – are you getting married, or the current landlord is chasing you out? This will determine how desperate you are and also determine if you can actually wait a little longer before getting a property. Remember that desperation is not good when you cannot even afford it in the first place.
• and why are you looking to get a property in the first place? – is it for investment and you plan to sell it out after few years, or is it for your own stay? This question will determine the location and the type of property you should invest in…and of course, these 2 conditions will determine how much you actually need and if you can afford.

Once you have the answers for the questions above, you should know whether you can afford to buy a property now, or is it still better to rent a room for now and wait it out?

In the end, I believe that investing in a property is a good thing to do but you really need to know why do you want to get a property…and also if you can afford one with your current financial condition. Never ever dive head-first into property market if you are unsure of what you are doing. It can be disastrous, just like what happened to many newbie property investors in 2007-2009. They bought properties they could not afford, and were forced to sell them off cheaply.

Property market can be rewarding, but it can also be pretty damaging. So thread carefully. Do your research, do some soul-searching and think carefully before you invest.

All the best.

Anyway, a few friends of mine started asking people (I’m one of them) whether is it okay to buy property now? Most of them want to take advantage of the tax deduction incentive and, well, most of them are starting their own family soon. Here are some of the questions that they’ve asked.

Should I buy a property now, since there’s such a good incentive?

This is a very good opportunity to have your very own house/condo. But the main question here is, can you support the house during this economy crisis? How stable is your job or your monthly income? If you feel that you might lose your job in a few months time, then it could be risky to commit yourselves to another long-term loan.

I still want a property but I might not be able to pay the monthly interest, can I still get a property?

Yes. There are few property developers who managed to come out with certain promotions. I know that SPSETIA has this 5-95 plan which means you only need to pay for 5% down payment and the remaining 95% after the property has been completed (which is normally 2 years from now). And if you can’t find such plans, then don’t commit. It’s too risky. Also, beware of hidden charges since some of such promotions do have hidden costs.

Will the property price drop further?

I don’t think so. In my opinion, property developers will not be stupid to launch a housing project which is cheaper than their previous projects. This will decrease the market value of their properties and also make the previous buyers angry. They will either delay the launching date, or come out with more freebies and promotions. The property price drop might occur in the secondary market though since some buyers might not be able to pay off their housing loans.

Will the interest rate drop further?

It’s possible, seeing how our economy is turning from bad to worse. But I don’t see the impact as very big since most of the housing loans nowadays have flexi interest rates.

Then what should I do? To buy or not to buy?

I believe the best course of action now is to see whether your job is stable and how desperate you are in getting a property. If you’re not desperate, then wait for a few more months. I’m sure things will be clearer then, and there might also be more promotions.

You can also check this blog post from ChampDog – Tax Deduction Incentive for Property – Should I go for it?

Remember that during this difficult period, the best investment is property but provided you can support it.