CNY Property Investors Networking Dinner

CNY Property Investors Networking Dinner

3rd February 2010: Last Night was a night to remember as SwhengTee's 2010 CNY Networking Investors Dinner was held. More than a 110 participants comprising of developers, property speakers, laywers, researchers, bankers, architects and investors gathered not only for the networking opportunity but also to celebrate Gavin Tee's Birthday at Berjaya Hall, Bukit Kiara Equestrian Park.

The event started with Gavin giving a welcome speech and making the introductions of his VVIP Guests, including Dato Yap, Ho Chin Soon, Juanita Chin and Chris Tan.

Guests could be seen mingling and chatting among each other as new friends were made, not only for the potential business opportunities but also to share their investment experiences. The time came for Gavin's talk titled "2010 - Real Estate Market Forecast & Opportunities". It was conducted superbly as the prominent speaker and real estate investment consultant conversed in both Chinese and English simultaneously to cater to the mixed crowd.

"The Year of the Tiger promises great success for the property circle in Malaysia, whereby an investor can still make great returns provided the right tools are being used. These tools would include Capital, Interest, Networking and Action," he added

He emphasized on the potential of the Malaysian Property Market by doing comparisons with the neighboring countries. "Malaysia is still seen as one of the least likely places for huge investments due to several key factors. Hence our property values are still way below its potential. If we are able to solve these issues there is no doubt that Malaysia can be the new haven for local and foreign investments," he added.

Celebrations were at full swing as the cake cutting ceremony was held along with the lucky draw prizes. Overall it was a fantastic night filled with social networking & learning; and made possible by Gavin Tee and Amcity Capital Sdn Bhd.

Gavin's Presence in Penang

30^th January 2010: The Penang property market was

to be a strong force in the very near future. Thus, it

was no surprise that investors were already speculating about its market potential. Gavin Tee, the Real Estate Investment Consultant was once again traveling up north where he was invited as a speaker to participate in Juanita Chin’s ‘The Property Investment Club - 2010 Seminar Series’

Participants gathered intently as Gavin presented his speech titled 2010 – The New Property Cycle with Opportunities Begins

“The new year would definitely bring certain opportunities if you look out for them. Penang is definitely a market which I will study further as it has the potential to be a World Class Tourism Spot. By looking at its characteristics and recent property trends supported with the right developments, I believe that Penang can be a hot tourist destination,” he said.

Gavin went on with sharing his predictions and the property types that will be in demand for 2010.

“If an investor does his homework and analysis, he or she would be able to point out the High-end condos, landed and commercial properties that will give returns in the long run.”

“You must be ready to invest for the long term, as quick returns would be limited and with an estimated holding time of one year. I foresee that the property market would only adjust itself again and rise up to its natural state within 3 years,” he added.

It was a bright and sunny day in Penang, where participants were most satisfied with the sharing opportunities provided by Gavin Tee and Juanita Chin.

2010 – A Beginning of another Real Estate Cycle

Gavin thinks it is a year to start Investing

2010, a year whereby the world’s financial market is recovering, and believed to be a new beginning of the property investment in Malaysia. If we look into the real estate investment cycle, this year (2010) can be considered as a new start. Gavin Tee, a Real Estate Investment consultant and speaker believes it is a good year to start your real estate investment again. However, he advises that, as the way of recovering is so much different from the last Asia financial crisis (1998), investors are recommended to adjust their investment strategies accordingly.

The 2010 budget has been an upset to the property market. However, Gavin believes the government would come out with some incentives and new policies to boost the market in the month of April to July. He strongly believes that real estate transaction will be really active in second and third quarter.

Last week, Prime Minister Dato Seri Najib announced to amend the proposed RPGT to apply only for those who resell the property within their first 5 years of purchase. This is the sign that shows the government’s concerns and understands the importance of real estate towards the economic recovery to the country. This is a good start for 2010.

Gavin Tee is a registered real estate agent and also the Principle Investment Consultant of Amcity Capital Sdn Bhd. He specializes in conducting real estate investment courses and marketing research. He has been conducting or invited as a guest speaker for more than 30 real estate seminars and courses in 2009.

He said, “The real estate market will start very slowly in the first quarter as the result of the announcements of RPGT, the increase of interest rates and less favorable bank loan packages. Besides, the festive seasons will also attribute to the slow market in the first quarter.” However, Gavin thinks that investors should get prepared to invest in property after Chinese New Year.

Nevertheless, Gavin thinks investors should draw out their long term plans rather than expect a short term gain as the property market could just grow slowly in the next 2 to 3 years. It will be difficult to get FAST return investments.

Gavin believes that there is good news in 2010 for the real estate market but there wouldn’t be many surprises. The world economy is just in the beginning of the recovery stage and the key investors of the respective countries ( ie, US, Europe, Japan) shall be focused on the opportunities in their own homeland. There may only be an influx of foreign investments within the second to third year’s time. In addition, Malaysia has never been the first choice for foreign investments; therefore, the direct impact on economic recovery to our real estate market is relatively insignificant. However, the real EFFECT shall take place particularly in the High-End residential and commercial markets in the end of 2011 or 2012. We expect the cross-border investment to significantly push up the Malaysian real estate market and the country shall be on its way to become the investment haven to the world.

Basically, Malaysia is still the lowest for investments in the region and with a huge potential. The slow real estate market is mainly attributed by the earlier world economy conditions, the government policies and oversupply problems. However, investors with longer term planning would be able to get the huge profit out of it.

Gavin forecasts that the market in 2010 will turn to the secondary market. The new launching projects have hit another high price lately and most developers will no longer offer incentives. These are one of the reasons for switch of investment trend. In addition, the big number deliveries of new completion projects also attract the secondary market transaction. The strong competition in this area will create more opportunities.

High End condos in KLCC and Mont Kiara have a great number of completed units delivered within 2006-2009 and flooded the market supply. The owners are expecting a hard time in renting out their properties and therefore affecting the market price. This is a good opportunity for investors to catch up on the OVERSUPPLIED units as long as the investors have a ready plan for the next 3 years.. Gavin believes the oversupply will be absorbed by the market within 3 years time. As the supply and demand balance up, the market price should be able to go back to the level of RM1000 to RM3000psf (a 50% to 100% increase in price)

Gavin thinks it is very strange that there is currently an oversupply of residential units in the city centre and on the other hand, an oversupply of commercial units in the suburban areas (which is normally otherwise). This is the first time in the Malaysian real estate market history. And this is the reason why Gavin thinks the adjustment of prices will take place and generate a huge investment opportunity.

Shop lots and Offices in the city centre district will continue to be strong in 2010. However, there will be a huge oversupply problem in the suburban areas as well as new housing projects. The high launching prices and oversupply problem will be the main issues faced by the owner on rental. These include Puchong, Kota Damnasara areas, Subang and Bkt Tinggi, etc. However, there are still some good commercial properties in the same areas continuously enjoying good returns. Good commercial property will normally not be affected by oversupply problems anyway.

On the other hand, The Resort Properties and Green Buildings will begin to be the investment choices for investors. You will find that there is a growing interest on these properties. The world and our government will be the main forces creating the awareness on the importance of such properties. Although it may grow slowly but there is big potential in profit gains within 5 years. Thereafter it will grow rapidly. However, there are not too many choices in 2010 as there are limited buildings and projects with the above characteristics are available in the market.

With regards to the experiences from the last crisis which offered a period of 4 years to acquire goods and low property pricing, Gavin thinks 2010 is different:

1. The interest rate is so much lower compared to 1998 to 2003; we can almost say the highest to the lowest

2. The oversupply (which are mainly medium cost houses) happened in the outskirt and suburban areas in the last crisis while it currently occurs to the prime properties in the city and prime areas

3. The market will be able to absorb the oversupply much faster than the last crisis

4. There are not many auctions and bad debts (NPL) in this crisis

5. Today’s market in Malaysia is more “Globalised” and the property cycle is shorter

For the reasons stated above, WAITING is not a good strategy to apply like last time. Gavin believes we may only have ONE good year to invest.

If we are able to manage such trends and draw out a comprehensive long term plan, next year will definitely be a good year to go into the market, and 3 years later would be the harvest year where it shall be a good time to sell.

Gavin Tee's Great Finale for Year 2009

4^th-6^th December 2009 : “Be Rich & Happy - Dealing with Investment Problems”. This is a topic that teaches us to appreciate the many other aspects in life apart from wealth; it explains that being rich alone does not guarantee happiness.

That was one of the many lessons learnt during The SwhengTee 3 Days 2 Nights Real Estate Investment Course at Cinta Sayang Resort, Sungai Petani. Gavin Tee, the prominent Real Estate Speaker took 22 participants on a special trip to Kedah, where he focused on teaching his participants in a relax free environment and away from the city.

As Gavin’s last event for the year 2009, he devoted himself to deliver his presentation wisely and with confidence, giving a combination of topics like property trends, legal frameworks, landlording knowledge, etc. He chose a mix of participants with different backgrounds to enable a unique networking platform for his participants to learn from one another.

The topics for the 3 days Property Course include “Speedy & Steady Journey to Reach Retirement, Mastering the Market Trend to determine your Investment Target, Investment Opportunities of Green Building Index, Safeguarding Your Investment” and others gave a much needed insight and knowledge towards the participants. We also received a special guest appearance from Juanita Chin to present us with her Success Story.

Our hosts, Cinta Sayang Resort and EUPE Corp Sdn Bhd, the developer for Sky Residences provided us with various activities such as a welcome dance, night city tour, horse riding, archery, golf, Sky Residence Condo tour, and much more. These activities were in line with Gavin’s teachings; where an Investor is not rich without Happiness and that work and wealth alone does not guarantee a successful lifestyle.

Overall, it was a tremendous weekend; a memorable experience as Gavin and our hosts went all out to give us the best training experience possible for year 2009.