you gotta do your homework if you really intend to invest in penang properties. your timing has to be right, and location matters a great deal. don't simply buy into those hype (by property developers and agents, no doubt) that you must BUY BUY BUY NOW!!!

agents will always cite you the case of bayswater, where a 1600sq ft bought at launch around 350k can now fetch 550k+. (supposedly la..but whether really done or not, i dunno) but bayswater was launched around 2003/4 where our economy was pretty slow, and of course comparing with 2007 where there is a boom in equities and commodities prices all over the world, surely will see a decent appreciation. you gotta ask, now you buy 550k, you think 3 years down the road someone going to buy it from you at 800k?

also as a general rule, penang condos are slower in capital appreaciation but fetch ok rental. the reverse is true for landed properties. there are semi-d that are being rented out at 1-2k only.

so bottomline, you really gotta do your homework if you wanna invest in penang properties.

sg ara is quite a congested area. access to the area is limited to a couple of main roads, so that contributes to the traffic jam, especially during the office hour rushes. sp setia is quite deep inside sg ara, so you gotta consider this factor.

you can also consider mah sing's development at batu maung. new area and it's a bit further than sg ara, but it's near the main coastal road, so infact travelling is easier. price-wise is quite similar to sp setia. but iirc, it's gated community so you gotta pay a few hundred bucks p/month.

but actually if you ask me, the prices for new houses are rather steep. it's getting quite silly already. soon it's gonna be out of reach of your average wage earner. quite a sad situation that our house prices are similar or even exceeding kl's yet our pay is generally lower! no wonder ppl say penang ppl are kiamsiap......have to save money to pay for the houses!

why not consider second hand houses? if you look hard enough you can still get some good buys in sg ara area. you have to spend time and money on the reno work though, and some ppl just dont like to bother with that.

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Added on April 7, 2008, 10:32 pmdunno the rental rates for flats there. but if you can get something like 500/600pm then you can get quite a good rental yield. for investment, i dont really think a very good move though. there are plenty of low cost flats around that area, and more seem to be coming up.

This post has been edited by abarai: Apr 7 2008, 10:32 PM

go google for mah sing.

you may not get corner for below 800k though, coz i think their intermediate already going for 7++k.

yeah their maintenance is more coz they include clubhouse facilities, if i'm not mistaken

yes mah sing is the developer. not sure about the size, please google for it.

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Added on April 9, 2008, 9:51 amno problems. but dont simply take my advise completely, you should do some homework yourself too. afterall it's your hard earned money!

all the best!

This post has been edited by abarai: Apr 9 2008, 09:51 AM