OCT 2017 ISSUE 152 RM8.50/S$8 10 872006 9 771823 Managing Editor CEO’S FOREWORD Roshan Kaur Sandhu Writers Reena Kaur Bhatt Mira Soyza Malaysia & iProperty.com.my Editorial Coordinators Nur Alia Ahamd Tamezi moving forward, together. Intumathy Nadarajah Head of Creatives What a last couple of months it’s been for Malaysia. Angeline Lim Senior Graphic Designers The International Monetary Fund (IMF) revised its 2017 Wing Wong growth forecast for Malaysia upwards to 4.8%, driven Jason Kwong by favourable economic data and monetary policy. Junior Graphic Designer We saw Bursa Malaysia Property Index return to 12.3% Rechean Soong this year (as of 9th August), outperforming the broad market FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI by about 2%. CEO REA Group - Asia Henry Ruiz And in a recent report, Bloomberg acknowledged the CEO - REA Group Malaysia & Singapore Ringgit was the most stable Asian currency during the Haresh Khoobchandani second half of 2017. Consumer spending also increased General Manager (Marketing) by 7.1% for the same period. These are certainly exciting Wong Siew Lai times for us. It also got me asking, “With all these feel General Manager (Agent Sales) good indicators coming our way, what do real estate agents, developers and consumers Leon Kong want from Budget 2018, which the government will table in Parliament on 27 October?” General Manager (Developer Sales) Sean Liew For me, the answer is, more of the same please. General Manager (Data Services) Premendran Pathmanathan In Budget 2017, the Government introduced a raft of measures to support home Group Regional Finance Director Esther Monks ownership and improve the property industry. The Budget included various incentives Head of Media Sales & Ad Ops and relief measures that relate not only to the real estate and property sector, but Martin Goh also to industries that support it, or thrive because of it. There are already many infrastructure projects that the Government has implemented following Budget 2017, Head of iProperty TV which spurred further development and have had positive spill-over effects. The Jonathan Ong development of LRT and MRT lines as well as new highways that have extended beyond General Manager (Sales & Marketing) Greater KL has provided the opportunity for property development to grow and iProperty.com Singapore flourish beyond the area. Vincent Sim Head of Marketing & Content, iProperty.com Singapore The implementation of the new 600km East Coast Rail Line connecting Klang Valley Leslie Lin to the East Coast as well as the upgrading and developing of 616km roads and bridges in villages, towns and cities across the country will also help improve connectivity and foster urbanization. Future infrastructure additions such as the High-Speed Rail together with the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Light Rail Transit (LRT) line extensions iProperty.com Malaysia Sdn Bhd (600850-K) will continue to be a stimulus to the economy as travelling long distance becomes the Suite 11.01, Level 11 Menara IGB norm. It is therefore no surprise that in a recent report, KPMG ranked Malaysia as the Mid Valley City, Lingkaran Syed Putra best place to purchase property in the world. 59200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Phone: (603) 2264 6888 Fax: (603) 2264 6900 These factors drive REA Group’s confidence in Malaysia and we remain committed to Sales enquiries: [email protected] invest in people and technology in the region to support the long-term objective to Editorial matters: [email protected] General enquiries: [email protected] deliver unique and seamless experience across all platforms, regardless of where you Subscription: [email protected] are in your property journey. Our vision is to change the way Malaysia experiences International Property: [email protected] property and help you make your property decisions, simple, efficient and stress-free. iProperty.com Malaysia Sdn Bhd (Johor) A-2-7, Pusat Komercial Bayu Tasek Regardless of what Budget 2018 unveils, I invite you to join us as we move forward, Persiaran Southkey 1, Kota Southkey together. 80150 Johor Bahru, Johor Phone: (607) 300 0013 Sincerely, iProperty.com Malaysia Sdn Bhd (Penang) Bay Avenue D-25-3, Lorong Bayan Indah 2 Bayan Lepas, 11900 Penang Phone: (604) 645 9899 Fax: (604) 611 1599 Disclaimer Although every reasonable care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, neither the publisher, editor nor their employees and agents can be held liable for any errors, inaccuracies and/or omissions, howsoever. We shall not be responsible for any loss or damage, whether direct or indirect, incidental or consequential arising from or in connection with the contents of this publication and shall not accept any liability in relation thereto. The views by our contributors expressed here are their personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect iProperty.com’s views. HARESH KHOOBCHANDANI Unless otherwise noted, all artwork and ad designs printed in iProperty.com Magazine are the sole property of iProperty.com Malaysia Sdn Bhd, and may CEO - REA Group not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of the publisher. Malaysia & Singapore 2 PB Managing Editor’s note Contents This month’s Special issue covers the much talked about Iskandar Malaysia, whereby we bring you the latest comments and analysis of this region. With the market constantly changing, it is vital to stay current. For that reason in our iPropertyiQ.com section, we feature home purchasing trends in Iskandar Malaysia with Samuel Tan Executive Director of KGV International Property Consultants sharing his insights. Interestingly, iPropertyiQ data 12 20 revealed that within Greater Johor Bahru, Skudai and Kulai are secondary towns which have always 2 been very popular among the locals CEO’S FOREWORD POINTS OF INTEREST recorded impressive price growths 5 EDITOR’S NOTE 38 Co-working spaces: The real estate model moonlighting as a business of 9.4% and 13.1%. These could be incubator explained by the suburb effect – where locals and city centre folk iPROPERTYiQ.COM 42 How will DSR affect my loan approval? are drawn to the cheaper housing 6 Home purchasing trends in alternatives available in these areas. Iskandar Malaysia To gather a further perspective on Iskandar, Reena Kaur Bhatt caught up with property expert COVER STORY Charles Tan whereby he offered a 12 UMLand: There’s something for few suggestions to help bring the everyone in Iskandar Malaysia best out of the economic region’s potential. You may also be interested in FEATURED PROPERTY 38 Crime Safety Specialist, Shamir 20 IBRACO: A force to be reckoned Rajadurai’s advise on effective with measures to help residents keep themselves and their loved ones safe EVENTS on page 46. INDUSTRY UPDATE 44 WCSC 2017: Transforming cities for a better and sustainable living I believe you will find these pages 22 iProperty.com.my – Reimagined informative. Enjoy the read, till next and refreshed month! 23 REHDA property survey CRIME SAFETY CHECKLIST 24 REHDA homebuyer survey 46 Think like a burglar, act to protect your home 27 HAPPENINGS CONSUMER AWARENESS 50 Exterior wall design ideas SPECIAL FOCUS – Iskandar Malaysia: 52 9 best wardrobe organising ideas The rise and opportunities to steal Roshan Kaur Sandhu 30 Iskandar Malaysia: 10 years on 54 5 tips to help secure your dream rental 34 Concerns over Iskandar Malaysia? Keep calm, Rome wasn’t built in a 56 7 cleaning mistakes that ruin the day taste of food Contents 60 66 RESERCH DATA 57 Johor Bahru real estate highlights 1H2017 POINTS OF INTEREST 60 Iskandar Malaysia’s untapped intricacies 64 Legal and physical due diligence checklist 66 Using the “CHI” triangle 71 68 China’s one belt one road and high speed rail across ASEAN 70 Bukit Bintang City Centre: The heartbeat of Kuala Lumpur EVENTS 71 Greater opportunities in 95 Agent Advertising Awards greater KL (AAA) 2017 EXPERT’S VIEWS AGENT’S ADVICE 72 Straight talk with Dr Daniele 106 Setapak: A diamond in the rough 81 Gambero AGENT’S VIEWS 120 RESEARCH DATA 108 Metroworld Realty: CLASSIFIEDS 75 Knight Frank global currency On a mission to the top report 2017 128 SUBSCRIPTION 111 SUPERSTAR AGENTS BOOK EXCERPT 81 Make big money via land - Land feasibility study framework (Part 2) REGULARS 114 HOUSE BUYERS’ ASSOCIATION Let’s face it - House prices in INTERNATIONAL SECTION Malaysia are unaffordable 85 INTERNATIONAL NEWS 118 DATO’ JOEY YAP Happenings 5 Yellow Star is a no-no 88 SINGAPORE NEWS Happenings 91 INTERNATIONAL BRIEFS What I wish I knew before I purchased a property Home purchasing trends in Iskandar Malaysia An analysis of latest transactions, top neighbourhoods and preferred residential products. - REENA KAUR BHATT HIGHLIGHTS Kulai • Terrace homes in Skudai, Tebrau Kulai and Pasir Gudang showed impressive capital appreciation, recording above average figures of 9.4%, 13.1% and 21.5%, respectively. • Asking rental yield for apartments appears promising Skudai Pasir Gudang amid a sluggish property market – the top 5 transacted areas provided monthly returns above 5%. Iskandar Puteri • Properties within the RM260,000-RM340,000 Source: Google Maps price range were most popular among purchasers – Which iPropertyiQ.com data showed that terrace homes appeared as the most transacted begs the question, is this product in the landed residential category in Iskandar Malaysia (IM) while apartments the standard for affordable were the preferred product among purchasers of high-rise residential units. properties in IM? For analytical purposes, we will focus on these two products, of which key figures were extracted for the top 5 performing areas within the IM region, for terrace homes and apartments, respectively. GUIDE • The period of evaluation is from April 2016 - March 2017. • Terrace homes comprise of single, double and triple storey houses. • The price of apartments vary across Johor, in most areas they consist of mid-priced units, ranging between RM150,000-RM300,000.