Understanding Aging Districts: Invest or Stay?

Understanding Aging Districts: Invest or Stay?

Aging, Aged and Super-Aged definitions

“Aging,” “aged,” and “super-aged” are stages of demographic change defined by the proportion of the population over 65 years old. An “aging society” has 7–14% of its population over 65, an “aged society” has 14–20%, and a “super-aged society” has over 20%. These classifications reflect declining birth rates and increasing life expectancy..” Source: worldbank.org

The above refers to the population. Thus, if these are the population statistics for districts, then these districts would also be known as aging districts too. Frankly, I have heard of Ipoh being the town of retirees and someone mentioned the other day that Taiping has more retirees than Ipoh. Well, both these were not mentioned in the Emerging Aging Districts presented by PropertyGuru during its Future Built 2025 summit which happened on 30th October.

Let’s look at all the Emerging Aging Districts

There’s Seremban, Jerantut, Kluang, Kuantan, Bachok, Pontian, Subis, Alor Gajah, Keningau and Seberang Perai Selatan. I can safely say for these districts which I have travelled too, the population is definitely not rising as the younger population has gone to the other bigger cities to find work and earn higher salary and get better opportunities too. Thus, percentage wise, of course the older folks would start to become bigger simply because the younger ones are no longer staying there…

I have never been to Bachok in Kelantan (yes, I have been to Kelantan many times), never been to Subis Sawarak (yes, I have been to Sarawak many times too). All the rest, I have been to and I just came back from Keningau, Sabah just 2 months ago. Nice place to enjoy a relaxing life but not the best when it comes to finding high paying jobs.

I do wonder about Teluk Intan and Sitiawan too…

I stayed in Teluk Intan until I was 10 years old and these days, I do drive back occasionally as I needed to get the family home renovated and then rented out. There are still a lot of cars but I feel this is because of tourism instead of just the population. I have very few childhood friends who are still staying in Teluk Intan and I know that many schools are having a lower number of students already as well. The markets are not as busy previously. Maybe due to Covid as well but many of the older stalls are no longer around because the demand is not as high as previously.

Meanwhile I have a high-rise unit in Sitiawan which is currently being rented out but I understand that it’s not easy to get working professionals to rent because Sitiawan offers a lot of landed properties and the rental is either the same or even lower than high-rise units. My tenant will move out by end of the year and I really do hope I could get the next tenant quickly too. We will see.

Tourism is one way to stimulate demand for property and economic vibrancy

Many people travel to Teluk Intan because there are still many attractions. The Menara Condong for example. It was not as ‘leaning’ when I was younger. The river cruise as another example. I used to walk across the bridge too and today, I wonder how could I have been so brave then. It’s actually quite dangerous and the bridge is now closed to public.

Meanwhile in Sitiawan, there’s the local delicacies, there’s the amazing chendol, there’s the Pangkor Island which is a ferry ride away and there’s the seafood restaurants which continue to be busy during holidays. Sitiawan and Teluk Intan is a mere 45 minutes from one another which meant that people could easily travel between both towns too.

Where’s your home town, is it also an. aging district today?

Urbanisation will continue in Malaysia. We are still some distance away versus the developed countries. This is why property investment remains very doable. More people moving meant more demands for property. People say the younger ones prefer to rent. This is why it’s a very good long term investment if we have a property and we just keep renting to anyone until that someone completes the 30-year mortgage payment including all the interests for us.

By that time, we can just sell off the property and go travel the world… or do whatever we like with the money from selling the property. My intention? Hold no properties when I reach 60. Haha. Let’s just stay in hotels maybe.

Happy reading.

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