Buying Ipoh Property for retirement?

My colleague asked me just a few days ago, ‘Should I buy Ipoh property’ today? I was thinking Ipoh might be a good place to retire since KL properties are becoming so expensive. Penang is even higher priced since it is just an island.’  I told her if she really like to retire in Ipoh, she may want to buy today because prices would continue to increase. Despite the fact that Ipoh is a secondary property market when compared to KL / Penang, if the prices in KL / Penang continue to increase, do you expect Ipoh property prices to be exactly the same without any changes? Be reminded that Ipoh is only 148km from Penang and 189km from KL. Think objectively, this is not a city in the middle of nowhere. This is a city which is easily accessible by both places. It means if you stay in Ipoh, it is possible to do a day trip to KL / Penang; best of both worlds!
Secondly, while Ipoh city itself is already 643km2, majority of everyone wants to stay in areas where majority of the people love to stay. Thus, the prices in areas such as Tiger Lane, Canning Garden, Ipoh Garden South are rising a lot. Of course, if you intend to buy in places where Ipohans shun, then prices would be cheap, today. You can still buy a terrace double storey house in Bercham for less than RM300,000. Log on to http://www.propertyguru.com.my, search under Ipoh and see for yourself. My parent’s semi-detached single storey house which they bought for RM85,000 many years ago is now worth no less than RM350,000. Conservatively, price increase of just 5% per year meant that the price would double in less than 15 years. If it is for retirement planning, I think buying now is certainly better in order to hedge against the continuous increase.
Thirdly, Ipoh would always be in the middle of Penang and KL. This means even if it continues to increase in prices for both cost of living and property, it will always be cheaper than the two cities. This makes it always a great choice. When you add in the huge diversity of good food, tertiary institutions, availability of private hospitals, much lesser jams, much wider roads, lower crime rates and of course, friendly Ipohans, the choice is clear. Ipoh is a clear winner.
Think about it. Drive around, eat good food and stroll through all the heritage areas and take great pictures. I think Ipoh has the necessary ingredients for a good retirement.
written on 30 Jan 2014
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