A recent launch of a condominium project at Parklane OUG, Jalan Puchong, KL should be successful, based on its price of around Rm350,000 for a 950 sq.ft., 3-bedroom furnished service apartment, with swimming pool and security.
The ever increasing prices of lands and properties in KL and its vicinity, have the effect of encouraging more people (including those from other states and countries) to invest and contribute to the escalating prices. The above-mentioned project is now seen as value for money, when compared with smaller units at higher prices.
"THE current darlings of the housing market seem to be small-size residential units in commercial developments.
Sometimes known as serviced apartments, other times as Single operator Home of fices (or SoHos), Small of fice Versatile of ces (So-Vos) or Small of fice Flexible of fices (SoFos) due to their commercial nature, what attracted buyers to them were their substantial lifestyle offerings, urban locations and affordable prices of under RM450,000, the latter the consequence of their small built-up sizes that generally range between 400sq ft and 650sq ft..."
More:
http://www.mmail.com.my/story/honey-i-shrunk-house-37662
The term 'affordable' is relative to one's financial situation. For majority of first-timers in work and purchase of property, it is like adding salt to injury because they are unlikely to be in that position. The banks are encouraged to extend their housing loans to 40-year tenure, with some people suggesting further extension to the next generation!
For those who were lucky to have parents, or better still, grandparents, who had invested in landed properties, they are worth millions. A friend joked that with the current prices, almost every house-owner in KL or PJ is a millionaire... depending on whether he is free of debt. For someone who bought houses in the 60s, he could cash out and retire in a cheaper place like Ipoh, living in a more luxurious house like a millionaire. But the reality is that he is likely to have children working in KL, so the thought of moving away from them is not really encouraging. In fact, if the children are living in the old house, selling it is out of the question.
Personally, I find living in a smaller town like Batu Gajah is ideal for growing children and for their education up to Form 5. Many of my friends have children who are very successful in KL, Singapore or overseas. But even for those in KL, it is impractical to have their children living in BG and having their early education here.
We were discussing the high costs of living in KL. A branch in KL of a well known white coffee shop in Ipoh is charging almost twice the price, mainly because of higher rental and cost of labour. And we were not talking about Old Town White Coffee or Papparich outlets.
Sending a pre-school child to Jack & Jill for example, costs more than Rm1,000 a month, and for those elite ones, school fee for Standard 1 in an exclusive private school could cost Rm5,000 pm! A grandparent looking after his grandchild in a pre-school said even children know how to compare their cars. One child actually complained to her mother that she would prefer her dad's BMW and not mom's Kancil! Most of us agreed that no matter what quality education such a place offers, good values are unlikely to be learned.
Anyway, this is a picture (unrelated to the above MM article) which I find particularly cozy...
Link
The ever increasing prices of lands and properties in KL and its vicinity, have the effect of encouraging more people (including those from other states and countries) to invest and contribute to the escalating prices. The above-mentioned project is now seen as value for money, when compared with smaller units at higher prices.
"THE current darlings of the housing market seem to be small-size residential units in commercial developments.
Sometimes known as serviced apartments, other times as Single operator Home of fices (or SoHos), Small of fice Versatile of ces (So-Vos) or Small of fice Flexible of fices (SoFos) due to their commercial nature, what attracted buyers to them were their substantial lifestyle offerings, urban locations and affordable prices of under RM450,000, the latter the consequence of their small built-up sizes that generally range between 400sq ft and 650sq ft..."
More:
http://www.mmail.com.my/story/honey-i-shrunk-house-37662
The term 'affordable' is relative to one's financial situation. For majority of first-timers in work and purchase of property, it is like adding salt to injury because they are unlikely to be in that position. The banks are encouraged to extend their housing loans to 40-year tenure, with some people suggesting further extension to the next generation!
For those who were lucky to have parents, or better still, grandparents, who had invested in landed properties, they are worth millions. A friend joked that with the current prices, almost every house-owner in KL or PJ is a millionaire... depending on whether he is free of debt. For someone who bought houses in the 60s, he could cash out and retire in a cheaper place like Ipoh, living in a more luxurious house like a millionaire. But the reality is that he is likely to have children working in KL, so the thought of moving away from them is not really encouraging. In fact, if the children are living in the old house, selling it is out of the question.
Personally, I find living in a smaller town like Batu Gajah is ideal for growing children and for their education up to Form 5. Many of my friends have children who are very successful in KL, Singapore or overseas. But even for those in KL, it is impractical to have their children living in BG and having their early education here.
We were discussing the high costs of living in KL. A branch in KL of a well known white coffee shop in Ipoh is charging almost twice the price, mainly because of higher rental and cost of labour. And we were not talking about Old Town White Coffee or Papparich outlets.
Sending a pre-school child to Jack & Jill for example, costs more than Rm1,000 a month, and for those elite ones, school fee for Standard 1 in an exclusive private school could cost Rm5,000 pm! A grandparent looking after his grandchild in a pre-school said even children know how to compare their cars. One child actually complained to her mother that she would prefer her dad's BMW and not mom's Kancil! Most of us agreed that no matter what quality education such a place offers, good values are unlikely to be learned.
Anyway, this is a picture (unrelated to the above MM article) which I find particularly cozy...
We must study what happened in Singapore. They stated building apartments in the 70s and they were so small thta we Malaysians used to make fun of them by calling them Birth Control Barracks. But now they are building big apartments and their people can afford them. For those who are short of funds the CPF allows them to use their monthly contribution and that of the employer to off-set instalment payments.
ReplyDeleteMoral of the story: If you start small you are in all likelihood to become big. But if if you start big there is a good chance that you will end up small.