you can also put it that way

Rich Chinese turn to Malaysia for property bargains
Jul 27, 2011
With China’s real estate sector in a slump, a number of wealthy Chinese are looking to Malaysia for bargains.

At the height of China’s real estate boom in 2009, Qiu Liping turned to Malaysia’s moderate housing market by investing three million yuan for the purchase of an apartment close to Kuala Lumpur’s Petronas Twin Towers.

“I had doubts about my first property investment in Malaysia at the time but I was even more doubtful about China's relentless housing prices after years of skyrocketing increases,” recalled Qiu, a 45-year-old Shanghai resident.

Prior to the purchase and before the central government’s clampdown on property speculation, she had acquired properties in Shanghai, western Chongqing and Sanya in Hainan province.

“I was considering investing in Australia but after careful and prudent selection, I chose Malaysia, which is closer to China and more importantly, (where) people speak Chinese. So I'm planning to live there when I retire,” said Qiu, who invested over 11 million yuan in two more apartments in Malaysia’s capital in 2010, following a forecast that her investment would likely generate a return of 15 percent by this year.

“This year, we have clients with more than 10 million yuan each to invest in Malaysian properties. That's never happened before,” said Sophia Xia, Managing Director of Shanghai’s Super City Group, a real estate brokerage.

Aside from China’s stringent housing curbs, Chinese investors also venture into Malaysia due to the “high risk” areas for investment in Hong Kong and Shanghai, Malaysia’s foreigner-friendly “My Second Home” Programme, the ringgit’s strengthening against the US dollar and the prediction that the Malaysian property market will appraise as high as 20 percent.

This post has been edited by dlyw1103: Jul 27 2011, 02:42 PM

Msia office market attracting a lot of interest
Jul 28, 2011 - HomeGuru.com.my
German-based Union Investment Real Estate GmbH (UIRE) is looking to invest in Malaysia’s office property market over the next two to three years.

“It’s possible that we might look for other investments of a similar kind priced from RM200-RM400 million,” said Ulrich Dischler, Managing Director of UIRE Asia Pacific.

Dischler was speaking at the handover of its initial property investment in Malaysia, in an office tower under the CapSquare development in Kuala Lumpur by Bandar Raya Developments Bhd (BRDB).

The company acquired CapSquare Tower for RM440 million in 2008, which marked UIRE’s first venture into Malaysia.

“The price depends on market situation — every location is different, every quality is different. It depends on the right building, right location and appropriate market price,” he added.

Datuk Jagan Sabapathy, Chief Executive of BRDB, said that UIRE’s investment in Kuala Lumpur’s property market is noteworthy, as it shows confidence in Malaysia.

“Despite the banking crisis in the US and Europe in 2009 that had a significant knock on effect on global real estate, UIRE stood by and completed this purchase,” he quipped.

CapSquare Tower is part of the CapSquare development, which encompasses 15 acres of prime land and houses the Menara Multi-Purpose, as well as two luxury residential towers, CapSquare retail and UNITAR campus.

The freehold development, which is the second high-rise commercial building developed in CapSquare, comprises a 41-storey office tower and has a net lettable space of around 600,000 sq ft.

where there is risk, there is also opportunity

Singaporeans snapping up Malaysia homes

Singapore’s skyrocketing property prices have led many Singaporeans to look for opportunities overseas, with Malaysia as the most popular location.

According to a Q2 Sentiment Survey by PropertyGuru, Singapore's leading property website, nearly 45 percent of Singaporeans are eyeing property investment outside Singapore and 37 percent listed Malaysia as their most preferred foreign country for property investment.

“Malaysia as a country has extremely strong fundamentals and the property market there tends to be a lot less volatile,” said Tom O'Reilly, Director at Singapore Tenancy Management.

“For the same amount of money, people can often afford to invest in multiple properties in Malaysia which helps them diversify risk and still generate positive returns.”

Many property investors and buyers in Singapore are also focussing on overseas investments and commercial properties, with Malaysia, Australia and India increasingly becoming popular.

The survey, which had more than 2,200 respondents, aimed to gain a better perspective on the Singapore property market, current consumer sentiment and how it may affect future property decisions.

Steve Melhuish, CEO of PropertyGuru, said the “latest quarterly survey gives an interesting insight into current sentiment towards the property market.”

“As a result, we can expect buyers to be more discerning, intensifying their search before making a purchase. PropertyGuru addresses this need by providing the largest database of available property for sale or rent.”

got competition only challenging mar...

good .. can start to bring out the chopping board and 1kg parang

I wouldn't just take one investment bank's forecast to convince myself that our property market is healthy!

This post has been edited by dlyw1103: Aug 2 2011, 07:38 PM

haha ... gut feelings also cannot trust sometimes .... overiden by greed!

Preferably <300k

KL among top cities in Asia for retail property investment
Aug 3, 2011 - HomeGuru.com.my
Commercial properties in Asia will continue to perform well in the second half of 2011, according to Pacific Star Group, one of Asia’s leading property investment firms.

Within the commercial segment, the group’s top bet is retail real estate, with Kuala Lumpur, along with Hong Kong and Singapore, among the top three destinations for retail property investment in the region.

Leslie Chua, Senior Vice President and Head of Research and Strategic Planning at Pacific Star Group, said the domestic factors in Malaysia “are at play”.

“Strong wage growth and positive retail sentiment have boosted retail spending and real estate fundamentals in Kuala Lumpur,” he said.

“Hong Kong is supported by tourist spending especially from outbound Mainland Chinese visitors. Singapore likewise is enjoying a surge in visitors attracted especially to its integrated resorts.”

Among the key factors supporting retail properties are tightening employment conditions and increasing tourism inflows to Asia.

Meanwhile, the group also picked office properties, as the region’s rapid economic growth is fuelling a stable upturn in the office segment.

“We expect office rents to remain firm because of positive business confidence and encouraging pre-commitments for new developments. Companies are actively looking to hire new staff, particularly in Singapore and Greater China,” said Chua.

must check with those hypermarket whether sales of maggie/cintan instant noodles have gradually increased recently ....

Buying Asian property risky but not in KL, says report
Aug 03, 2011

Kuala Lumpur’s residential market has been rated as a regional standout as key Asian capital cities face challenges from government-imposed cooling measures, said property investment consultancy Pacific Star in its mid-year report.

The report said that governments in China, Hong Kong and Singapore have been bent on curbing inflation and cooling the residential market through a combination of tightening measures, higher interest rates and management of supply and demand but this was not always the case in Malaysia.

“Although fundamentals for Asian residential real estate remain intact, residential investment at this juncture carries a disproportionate amount of policy risk,” said Pacific Star.

“We view that the Kuala Lumpur market will stand out given that policy risk is relatively low and economic conditions are generally healthy.”

The report noted that the sharp rise in the equity market in Malaysia this year has also helped to support residential demand.

“In particular, the pace of rate hikes in Malaysia has been more measured and will support residential purchases,” said Pacific Star. While the report will be welcome news to property investors, aspiring homeowners are unlikely to be happy that the Malaysian government appears to be lagging behind its regional counterparts in tackling residential property prices which have largely outpaced income growth.

The price of residential properties in and around the Klang Valley had increased by up to 30 per cent last year thanks to a combination of low interest rates and ample liquidity.

While Malaysia does not have a housing affordability index, a rough calculation shows the average price of a KL residential property is now about RM485,000, or roughly nine times that of the average urban household annual income of RM54,000 and a possible sign that the market is experiencing a bubble.

The Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey rates markets whose property prices are 5.1 times median income or more, as “severely unaffordable”.

The National House Buyers Association (HBA) had warned in May that an entire generation of young adults risk being locked out of the property market due to runaway house prices.

Malaysia’s central bank, Bank Negara has raised its key overnight policy rate (OPR) four times since the start of 2010, to the current level of three per cent which is still below the pre-crisis level of 3.5 per cent and the statutory reserve requirement rate of three per cent is also below the pre-crisis level of four per cent.

“Although Bank Negara Malaysia has initiated monetary tightening, inflation is expected to stay above 3.0 per cent, which implies a negative real policy rate,” said Pacific Star. –Malaysian Insider

Affordable housing: speculation does its damage
Aug 04, 2011

Speculation continues to do its damage at a time when the increasing population and diminishing sites are pushing prices of houses beyond the reach of the working class, especially in the Klang Valley.

Even as low and medium income earners struggle to pay the rent, speculators are buying a third or even fourth house which they don't need but want to own to resell at a higher price.

That is why real estate professionals are asking the government to extend the requirement of 30 per cent down payment to include the purchase of a second house.

Bank Negara made the 30 per cent down payment obligatory for third and subsequent purchases last November, but this is not enough, they said.

They also want the government to reintroduce the real property gains tax on a sliding scale, and to require sellers, and not just buyers, to pay stamp duty.

The generally accepted maximum price of houses regarded as affordable is already high at RM220,000.

With increasing prices of goods to contend with as well, people who do not already have a house cannot be blamed if they think they will never own a home.

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said recently that the government would, over the coming months, undertake a programme in concert with the private sector to offer quality homes to be fast tracked via the industrial building system.

"The government will provide the site, and the developer will implement the project based on the industrial building system. I’ve also said that if possible, they (the private sector) turn this into a corporate social responsibility project and not for profit," the Prime Minister said.

Najib launched the "My First Home" scheme on March 8, under which people aged 35 and below, with a monthly salary of less than RM3,000, are eligible to buy a house priced at RM220,000 and below with 100 per cent financing.

Housing and local government minister Chor Chee Heung has meanwhile assured the public that the government is monitoring the spike in house prices, and said that it will not hesitate to implement measures to keep them under control.

"My First Home" is only a part of the affordable housing scheme.

Another segment is the low-cost housing scheme, but many feel that the specifications for each unit should be clear and ensure that it is liveable if not comfortable.

The political will is there, but the other players must do their part, including the speculators who must stifle their greed, or be forced to do so, and the corporations, which must demonstrate all their talk on caring.- Bernama

Properties expensive to Malaysians, says HomeGuru survey
Aug 4, 2011

More Malaysians now feel that property in the country is expensive, according to the results of a HomeGuru survey on property market sentiment.

HomeGuru’s Q2 Property Sentiment Survey, which polled 2,182 HomeGuru users across the country, showed that 73 percent of respondents feel that property in all categories in Malaysia is expensive. In fact, 86 percent of the respondents feel that property prices will continue to rise in the next six months, compared to 78 percent in the previous survey.

Although 35 percent of respondents said that prices for apartments or condominiums, townhouse and SOHOs (small office home office) are reasonable, 66 percent of respondents with a monthly income of between RM3,000 and RM10,000 said that apartments or condominiums are expensive.

“With more supply coming up and the government introducing new schemes for home buyers, more respondents are now interested in entering the market after a long ‘wait and see’ period with more people looking to upgrade their properties; up from 36 percent in Q1 to 47 percent in Q2,” said HomeGuru.

Steve Melhuish, CEO of PropertyGuru Group, said, “Considering the overall sentiment towards property prices at the moment, it’s no surprise that the most important factor affecting purchase decision is price.”

Around “38 percent of respondents would buy a property based on how deep they would reach into their pockets,” he said, adding that location is a critical deciding factor, above all other considerations.

Melhuish revealed that when it comes to the type of properties, apartments or condominiums turned out to be the most popular, followed by terraced or link houses. He also said that the top three attractions for property investment in Malaysia are “potential profit from capital appreciation” (20 percent), “solid and safe investment” (18 percent) and “generate passive rental income” (18 percent).

With regards to first-time buyers, 43 percent of respondents are not sure whether the My First Home scheme will help in their property purchase, while 24 percent believe that it will.

“There is a strong feeling amongst the 33 percent of respondents who were not interested in the scheme that they would not quality for the scheme or are unable to purchase the property in their preferred location,” he said.

HomeGuru’s Q2 Property Sentiment Survey aims to understand the insights of Malaysian property buyers into key property issues such as affordability, property prices, transaction volumes, impact of government interventions and purchase intentions.

“HomeGuru’s Malaysia Property Sentiment Survey Q2 2011 is part of an on-going quarterly property survey that is aimed at gaining insights into consumer sentiments, understanding buying intentions and the impact of government measures. As Malaysia’s Property Expert, HomeGuru also sees the quarterly survey as a way to capture trends and help property agents, developers and Malaysian Buyers make efficient and informed decisions regarding property purchases,” said Melhuish

It's coming ....

NEW YORK (AP) -- Gripped by fear of a new recession, the stock market suffered its worst day Thursday since the financial crisis in the fall of 2008. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 500 points, its ninth-steepest decline.

Published: Friday August 5, 2011 MYT 9:06:00 AM
Australian stock market plunges nearly 4% Friday

SYDNEY: The Australian stock market fell sharply Friday as concerns over the U.S. economy and Europe's debt woes battered stocks across the world.

PLEASE DO NOT PANIC ... JUST KEEP REMINDING YOURSELF "LIFE IS GOOD"

continuous 1 month drop you may see ppl sh*t on their pants....

GO FOR GOLD INSTEAD OF PROP?

Gold Price Spikes as U.S. Hit with Downgrade
Sunday, August 7, 2011, 6:32pm EDT Written by GoldAlert Staff. Tweet

GOLD PRICE NEWS – The gold price traded higher Sunday night, gaining $25.50 to $1689.25 per ounce. The price of gold spiked higher in reaction to the news late Friday that Standard & Poor’s downgraded the United States credit rating to AA+ from AAA – stripping the U.S. of the top rating it held for 70 years. The move prompted the European Central Bank to begin “actively” purchasing sovereign debt of Euro-zone nations.

The S&P 500 sank 7.2% last week and has now plunged nearly 200 points, or 13%, from peak to trough in a short two weeks. Stocks in the U.S. have fallen for nine of the past ten sessions. Meanwhile, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury bond fell as low as 2.33% on Friday and the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) soared toward the 40 level. The Reuters-Jefferies CRB Index touched its lowest level in seven months. The gold price rose $37.20 last week, making it one of the only asset classes outside of Treasury bonds to move higher.

Fear is back.

S&P 500 stock futures opened dramatically lower, sinking 29.10 to 1168.70 at 6:30pm eastern time Sunday night. With the gold price posting yet another all-time high, there is no overhead resistance above and $1,700 per ounce is less than $10.00 away.