Motivation for a Malaysia Weekend / Retirement Home:
- Current HDB 4-room flat is quite small for a gathering of extended family of 30 pax
- No space for kids to run around
- Nice thought to have a weekend home
- Cheap cheap (2-storey terrace for RM500k = SGD 180k)
- Alex’s parents can stay there instead of our house. Still in Malaysia, but nearer in JB rather than Ipoh, easier to visit either way.
Interested Locations:
- Nusajaya : Near 2nd link, future High speed rail station between SG and KL, developed with Aeon / Tesco, Educity, Gleneagles Hospital, Medini megamall, Puteri Harbour
- Danga Bay: Near 1st link, JB CBD, developed with eating places, KSL shopping mall, sea views
- Forest City: 3x Sentosa size, will take 20 – 30years to build (more of retirement in future than weekend home)
Problem: Iskandar Malaysia is Only Going One Way – Down
- the main issue with the region – the lack of a critical mass of people, especially locals, staying in the area. more investors than inhabitants.
- Too many empty houses, too few businesses. By right, investments create jobs, jobs attract workers, workers need a place to stay.A disproportionate amount of investments has been poured into housing while forays into businesses have been lagging behind. The only industry keeping pace so far is manufacturing. With many housing projects set to be complete in the next few years, analysts are wondering whether there will be enough rental demand from incoming workers to fill up these completed homes. If there aren’t, current property owners will be fighting over scraps and it’s a race to the bottom of the barrel.What makes the situation difficult to read is the lack of transparency from the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA), who only releases quarterly figures on monetary investment but not job creation or population growth. The only projection is that Iskandar Malaysia is estimated to have 3.17 million people by 2025, of which 66% is of working age.
- Malaysians already have issues trying to buy homes that cost below RM1 million, it’s even less likely that they would be able to afford the high-end properties in Iskandar. At the moment, the resale market is practically non-existent.
- Gamechanger anytime: Malaysia Government and Sultan of Johor.
- Malaysia Budget 2014: foreigners can only purchase property worth at least RM1 million, have to pay more in Real Property Gains Tax (RPGT), and must contend with a 2% property levy
“Let’s wait and see how Iskandar develops. This is an economic field of cooperation in which, you must remember, we are putting investments on Malaysian soil. And at the stroke of a pen, they can take it over.” ~ LKY, One Man’s View of the World
- Sultan of Johor goes Islamic.
A place that is like a chamaleon.
- Malaysia Budget 2014: foreigners can only purchase property worth at least RM1 million, have to pay more in Real Property Gains Tax (RPGT), and must contend with a 2% property levy
- Can’t buy property until May 2020 (when Minimum Occupation Period of 5 years for our HDB is fulfilled).
Next steps:
- Financing: Ask FY to share for weekend home.
- Monitor: Pricing. New developments. Sultan of Johor direction – Islamic or English education? Sg govt investments for businesses in Iskandar. Location of High Speed Rail in JB.
- Location: Ask Tina to advise.