Just found out this thread using the search button! I'm glad that TS offers free valuable advices to LYN!

TS, i wonder if property prices especially housing prices will fall this year? Mind you that UK house prices  have fallen for more than 10% due to recession since last year. 

I'm going to buy a house at an exclusive area, in which the real estate consultant informed that 1 point of area worth Rm30k.

Hi Danny,

Think these r OK prospects, but at todays pricing, it doesnt fit my "demand VS supply" test, so personally I'll give it a pass. 

i remembered back in 2004, transacated price for berjaya timesquare studio was about the same price range-RM340k++...not much increase on tha value huh..

You r right, so tell me why would anyone wants to buy BTS? 

although both areas are at about the same price range ... kenny hill still ok alot of the houses there are not pledged to the bank .. mostly old house and alot of them fully paid .. so no danger of repossesion and stuff ... .. jalan song dangerous .. but jalan song is good if u can hold for like 5 - 7 years .. but don;t buy yet wait till year end ... otherwise kenny hills at 30k per point .. vacant land or completed unit? infact take a minus 10 approach or .. minus 10% of the value of every house you see ... the next time u see it minus 10% again .. well hmm dont use this rule la .. it's very complicated i also donno how to explain ....

You r right, so tell me why would anyone wants to buy BTS? 

Hi, very interesting topic.

Would like to 'tap' all the experienced minds here I am interested in buying a property (my very first property!) in the 200K - 250K range, in the short term (<1 year), as I believe this would be a good time to enter (recession).

For that range, what are some of the areas in KL/Selangor that you would look at? In your previous posts you mentioned Kota Kemuning etc. What are the other places that you would consider, especially for landed property and new developments(in both mature locations, or new/upcoming areas) . I need some suggestions on general areas as well as on specific developments, as I have just recently relocated to KL, and do not have a good idea on the hot locations/ new developments here. I would be looking to scout these areas, therefore any help would be greatly appreciated

(For the short to medium term, I believe that properties would be a safer bet, compared to equities. Reasons are that we do not know if the market has bottomed out, especially for the Malaysian market, and we're not even sure IF it will bottom out. There is a lot of volatility, and even if you do invest now, many stocks are UP since the low of October/November 2008(could very well be speculation). Knowing this, and the fact that the market direction in the short/medium term is unknown, I deem this risky. Therefore, properties would seem to me to be a better investment, less risky or rather more solid(properties have always been more resilient in a downturn/recession historically, wherever you go). Invest in properties, wait for a couple of years maybe 5 years, or wait till its 'stable'/hit rock bottom, and when the stock market is on the upswing, it still wouldnt be late to enter. Mind you, the stock market would not recover to anywhere near the 2008 highs, as the world economy is in recession, therefore no worries of missing out on LOW counters anytime soon At least that is my plan for the short to medium term)

haha...to keep their golden phoenix  ...hahaha...

anyway, many singaporeans trapped by BTS investment 

in regards to the build then sell concept, i totally disapprove of it. Your potentially adding an 15%-21% premium on the price of the property for a 3 year project. Most developed countries instead have a policy sold by private insurers that cover against uncompleted projects. Further more that takes out all the legal implications for the buyers and have the insurance company deal with getting the paid amount back... these policies only add a premium of between 3% - 5%. I forgot what it's called ... have been out of the industry for to long.

yes - my bad - am probably still asleep after Christmas.

I meant Build then Sell.....sorry for the confusion.

1.  Am in agreement with your statement on BTS.  Take the recent 5/95 deals launched by SPSetia and Sime Darby with some local banks.  Big F*cking deal.  It should be the way things are done in the first place.  Secondly, they probably jacked up the pricing to factor in some premium.

2.  I have no idea why our capital markets are so blardee backword.  We're probably one of the few guys left stuck with this "BLR" concept.  Other developed markets enable their banks to hedge long term funding costs, to give competitive and fixed rates for 30 years or more.  Here?! Slowly wait until we have grandkids lor.

well ... there is a base lending rate everywhere around the world ... it's just the instruments that are different .. it's actually Bank negara's standard credit policies that are holding us back .. by the way malaysia has the best credit checking system in the world .. you';d be supprised alot of countries are buying credit systems from malaysia ... like the ccriss and ctos ... the only bad thing is the flexibity once your commited to the loan. i.e. many countries give u an option to revaluate your proerties every certain amount of years .. so u can borrow more if the value of your property has risen .. or revaluate your interest if you have been a good master or if your principal has been paid off pass a certain percentage. ... anyway over innovative banking products and reserve bank rulings are what killed the US so i guess there;'s a pro and cons to everything ...

I disagree with u on almost all fronts here.  Let me be frank to you: 

1.  BNM does not have standard "credit policies" for all banks.  By the way, credit policies and liquidity/ capital management are two different things here.  That's what Basel 2 is for - to regularize and harmonize the way banks manage capital - i suggest u read up on it.  In fact, Basel 2 is the approach which will attempt to standardize bank's lending - not BNM. 

2.  M'sia has the best credit system in the world? Wow - i've been in banking for some time....first time i've heard of this statement.  My friend, buying credit TECHNOLOGY and programs are different from Credit POLICIES / PROGRAMS.  Policies are the DNA of lending.  In that sense, M'sia is still light years behind time.  It is only in recent years, that local banks have been introducing credit scores.  Behavioural scoring is no where close to even becoming an industry standard.  For the record - CCRIS is so badly updated and backword compared to FICO Scores.  Why do u think banks have TONS of other credit checks ON TOP of CCRIS checking?  Please do your research on credit first.

3.  Yes - I agree with u that there are pro's and con's to everything.  The US screwed up because of over-relaxation of Credit policies, depsite their superior policies, scoring and technology.  My statement earlier was with rgds to HEDGING of long term funds to offer 30 year fixed rates and beyond.  Do not confuse yourself with the subprime boo boo here.  They are two separate issues.

hahah .. okkk today i learnt something new ... hear say should not be published as info0rmation ... mind giving more insight into hedging of long term funds to offer 30 year fixed rates and beyond?

Sure....

Before I get into that.....let me answer your question by asking u a question.

why do u think AIA / ING can give fixed rate loans for 30 years? What's holding our local banks back? An understanding here would point us in the right direction.