These days, newer property launches are all touting ‘nearby MRT stations or upcoming LRT stations‘ as key selling points. In fact even the secondary properties would have distance / duration written in the property advertisement for better reference to potential buyers. I shared during my talk the other day that these days, with the MRT, LRT, Monorail, Komuter stations and even buses, it is highly unlikely that there are developments which are NOT connected to one of these. Perhaps it may require a bit of walking but that’s about it. I rate walking of 10 minutes (800 metres to 1km) as acceptable because I am used to it when I visit my friend in Singapore. (In case you did not know, not every HDB flat has a MRT / bus stop right below the flat. Usually, some walking is still necessary. Haha). So, assuming we are now buying a new place nearby one of the MRT stations, what else should we take note of? Let’s look through a few.
Buying to stay or buying to rent out? Buying for stay is straight forward. It should be convenient for everything you intend to do. Close to office, close to your children’s school or even close to the wet market if your parents love to walk there every morning. Buying to rent out means you need to be certain who is your target market. Students? Make sure it’s nearby some universities. Office professionals? Nearby to office towers would be really awesome or the home is near enough for these office professionals to stop driving during weekdays.
Rental study and comparison. Usually, the closer the place to a MRT / LRT station, the more expensive it is. However, instead of just relying on distance, we should check out the rental rates in any of the top property sites. Information is readily available these days. Example: iproperty.com.my, propertyguru.com.my and propsocial.my Check out the rental for an empty unit versus a fully furnished one. This allows us to make a better decision. Buying for AirBnB? Check out AirBnB first. Is your area a popular one? As long as there are LOTS of similar properties on offer and most of them are already seasoned ones, do proceed to buy. It may just give you huge returns.
Price premium analysis. New vs secondary. Newer properties are usually priced higher because it is only going to be completed 3-4 years later. It is usually also nearer to the LRT / MRT stations too. Secondary ones however may have been built earlier and may not be close to the stations. This is why secondary properties are usually cheaper, in terms of price per sq ft. It looks older mah…. If the difference is small and you prefer a totally new unit, then buy from new launches. If you need a place to stay almost immediately, then a secondary unit is much better. Savings can be used to buy some furnitures and electrical goods for example.
I believe a lifestyle incorporating the public transportation is definitely necessary. I think the government would have to exert more pressure for this to happen faster. In some countries, parking are made much more expensive while in other countries, the price of vehicles are made so high that only a small minority could afford them. Getting used to walking a bit more is the hard part. It seems that the weather does not help too. Remember, changes are always uneasy but after awhile everything would just become easy. Happy taking the MRT and buying places to take advantage of all these new stations.
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written on 8 Aug 2017
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