Oh no, I'm in the (black) list!

The author has been penning sensational articles about crashes to generate more viewership, which in turn drives up subscriptions for Forbes' publications. Malaysia and Singapore are doing very well with the new measures to filter out flippers. 2014 GDP forecast are quite rosy as US and EU (main export markets) are recovering. Just remember the $1mil you see today is not the same as $1mil you see 5 years ago. Don't be alarmed by the apparent high price tag; they are just illusions of eroded purchasing power due to inflation. Everyone is just getting poorer everyday with the same $1 in the pocket.

In case someone wants to label me as a crazy UUU protagonist, I share with you that I voted for "Yes, pockets of bubble bursting". I agree that some areas are likely to have been badly speculated by flippers due to DIBS. However in general, the demand is real just that prices in those areas are a bit bubbly. Choose wisely and go for those near transport nodes, as I expect fuel price and traffic congestion to increase over the next few years.

DIBS simply skews the demand of the market and creates some froth. Its removal around Q4 2013 by banks coincided with the Budget 2014 announcement, hence it is reasonable for the market to stabilise for one to two quarters. It is a good thing that it is removed.

Q1 2014 is a good time to get a property if you are buying for own stay. After Chinese New Year is usually when buyers return to the market. If the market is not doing well, most developers will simply delay launches to reduce supply. The reduction in supply has been the case since Q4 2013 to-date.

Malaysia's working population is quite young and increasing, and projected 2014 GDP will be better than 2013, so it is a matter of time (I think around Q2 2014) when demand catches up again.

The cooling measures in Budget 2014 were not overly punishing. My gut feel after looking at similar cooling measures of several countries, and the sentiment across several forums. Many people are still looking for properties to buy for own use or long term investment, not flip.

Strange that you like to look for me

Yes, go for gated and guarded freehold landed. It is a very resilient investment

Top 8 Property Investment Markets For 2014
Jan. 27, 2014
Panama City, Panama

Dear Live and Invest Overseas Reader,

U.S. markets are heady and uncertain. The most important agenda for any U.S. investor in 2014, therefore, is diversification, and real estate overseas is the best possible diversification strategy. Foreign property diversifies not only your portfolio and your assets, but also your life, your retirement, and your legacy.

Where, specifically, should the would-be global property investor target his attention? Here are the eight most interesting property markets worldwide right now:

#8: Malaysia

A foreigner can own property outright in Malaysia. This simple but critical fact sets this country apart in this region.

Malaysia is also a regional and a global hub, for trade and for business. The country is an expat melting pot for the region, with big numbers of expats both from all over Asia and, to a lesser extent, the West. Because it is a former British colony, English is widely spoken, so you don't have to worry about trying to learn to speak Malay.

Target the Johor Bahru area, bordering Singapore. Singapore has limited space to expand so more and more people are living in Johor Bahru and commuting across the border. As a result, real estate values on the Malaysia side are appreciating quickly.

Lief Simon

P.S. These, my top eight picks for 2014, will be among the markets we'll feature during our upcoming Global Property Summit taking place in Panama April 14-16.

More information on what will be the biggest overseas property event of the year is here.

[http://eletters.liveandinvestoverseas.com/read/archive?id=3299470&mid=359646775&e=andrew%40allproperty.com.sg&x=528a9fb8

There are a lot of hidden taxes in Singapore. Once you factor things such as private transport and medical care, you will find Malaysia is much cheaper. Even things such as leisure e.g. movie and theme parks, Singapore is easily double to triple the price.

In terms of quality of food e.g. $4 MYR compare with Singapore $4 SGD, Malaysia's food is slightly cheaper and much healthier, as Singapore imports most of its food and utilities and rental are very costly.

Quality of life is slipping fast in Singapore. There is currently a middle income squeeze. However Malaysia is catching up with Singapore in terms of cost of living in 2015.

I'm at both sides.

You are quoting prices of a typical primary school canteen in Singapore?

There are indeed some places you find value for money food, but they are getting lesser and lesser now.

The kopitiam and foodcourt chains are gradually buying over the existing ones, and NEA is upgrading the hawker centers one by one. The cleaners' minimum wages and foreign workers quota have just kicked in. When these happen, prices WILL go up by 10-20%.

Just watch out after Chinese New Year. If you still don't see price increase, watch out for smaller portion or cheaper substitutes (e.g. more sugar and salt in soup to replace using real chicken or ikan bilis stock, or blackened/carcinogenic frying oil for the chicken wings). Most comparisons overlook this.

Not much land left. Next plan is to reclaim land. Indonesia has just restricted aggregates export to Singapore. Reclaim land is going to be very expensive on psf basis as imports of sand and aggregates become challenging. http://www.ura.gov.sg/uol/publications/res...ns-reports.aspx Many are buying into Iskandar (mostly oil palm plantation land) as this happen. That's all from me in this thread