Here are 4 reasons why our home sweet home will keep changing.
What is a home sweet home? The answer to this question is could have been whether it’s a landed home or a high-rise unit. Most people think of landed home as that home they want or they eventually want or they believe everyone wants. By the way, it does not matter whether landed or high-rise, think about why you need that home. Once it fulfills all of our needs, then it becomes a home sweet home, temporarily. Here are 4 reasons why our definition of home sweet home is really temporary.
#1 When income changes
When we finally got the keys to the very first apartment we bought, my wife and I were extremely happy and proud. It was our home sweet home and we could now do any renovation we like. We could also put up kitchen cabinets and more. That was in 2002. By 2006, we were thinking that perhaps it’s possible to have a new home sweet home. A bigger one with better facilities. More contemporary and within a growing neighbourhood.
While all these were what we were looking for, the trigger was really just the fact that both of us were earning higher incomes and that opened up an opportunity to buy a bigger unit and get more comfortable. That first home sweet home was not as sweet anymore.
#2 When needs change
Someone who loves to be single may prefer a home which is close to the working place and all the usual places one frequents every week. A home sweet home for a couple may just be one where there’s a balcony to watch the sunset every evening. (how romantic…). However, it is no longer the same when this same couple have two babies. They may now need one where there are more rooms, for the babies and for the parents who would visit the babies every other week. When the babies have turned into university students, this same couple may want to do some travelling and prefers a smaller home with good security instead.
#3 When trends change
More applicable to KL city centre but as long as it’s one of the major cities in Malaysia, it would also be applicable too. There were those years when everyone just loved the city centre to buy a home sweet home. It provided convenience, it made perfect sense. Travelling to and fro work should not take 2-3 hours daily, so no one wanted to stay so far away. Most office towers, most of the best jobs and most opportunities were usually within the city centre.
These days, office towers need not be within the city centre. These days, the availability of good paying roles does not need to be centred only within the city centre. In fact, travelling to work does not need to be hours because office was not necessarily in the city centre anymore. This is why homes further away from the city centre could also become a home sweet home too.
#4 When property prices change
I asked this question when I was giving a property talk in KLCC once. “If there was a property launch right across this hall where a condo of 1,000 sq ft within walking distance to KLCC is priced at RM450,000 would all of you want to get one unit?” Majority of everyone put up their hand or nodded in agreement. However, there are no such properties because typical prices per sq ft for such a property would definitely be higher than RM1,500 per sq ft. Thus, a 1,000 sq ft place may be RM1.5 million instead. Or higher for newer places.
Property prices would continue to drive how we define a home sweet home. This is how developments continue to move slightly further away but comes with a more affordable price versus the city centre. Then, the next development moves even further away and comes with the same affordable price as few years ago. This continues and suddenly we realise people have started to accept that buying a RM500,000 property does not need to be a tiny little place in the city centre could be a double-storey terraced home somewhere 35km away from the city centre.
#5 There are definitely other reasons
My parents are not used to high-rise. They feel it’s not convenient. After parking the car, we need to walk to the home. My kids who have stayed in high-rise units and have enjoyed the facilities are not used to a home without facilities. They think it’s inconvenient. A home sweet home for my parents and my kids are not the same but of course could be bridged if we could get a place which is landed and comes with a full-facility club house too. This is why the home sweet home could change all the time. I am not very sure what would be a home sweet home to my kids in the future but I can safely say that it’s likely to be different from what my parents think and what I believe. Happy getting a home sweet home yeah.
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