Landed Property VS Condominium / Apartment

In my previous post, I have shared some property market knowledge on Landed Property below RM1mil in Penang Island. While today in this post, I would like to share some property information on the differences between investing/staying in condominium and apartment and landed property in Penang Island.

When you have the capital to allow you to choose whether to invest/purchase landed property or condominium/apartment, what would you choose and which one is better? It is a GOOD HEADACHE TO HAVE!!!

There is actually a few factors should be taken into consideration when making your decision such as investment, size, security, parking space, maintenance and facilities. Whatever it is, it depends on your investment portfolio, preferability and the purpose of owning it.

Investment

Generally in the Penang Island, the rental return for landed property (~2%) is much lower comparing to condominium/apartment (3~4%), however the capital appreciation for landed property is more superior. Secondly, condominium/apartment is easier to rent it out comparing to landed property due to various reason. In other words, if your investment portfolio is short term gain or flipping, landed property would be a better choice, while if your investment portfolio is for long term gain or buy to rent, apartment and condominium would be a better choice. 

Eg. Greenlane

Double Storey Terrace House

Value: RM1.1mil to RM1.2mil

Rental Return : RM1.800 to RM 2,100 per month (1.8% to 2.3%)

Flamingo Series

Value: RM650k approx

Rental Return : RM1,500 per month (2.8%)

Size

Practically, landed property would have bigger size comparing to condominium/apartment due to extra car porch area, however it is not necessary the case. 

Eg. Greenlane

Double Storey Terrace House

Value: RM1.2mil to RM1.3mil

Land Size: 1,600sf

Built Up: 2,000sf

Central Park

Value: RM1.2mil

Built Up: 2500sf

As you could see from the above comparison, at a similar investment amount, the built up size for the condominium are bigger than the landed property. In other words, landed property is not necesary bigger in interior size, however landed property do have a benefit of having car porch or extra land. People who love spending their time doing gardening and land scaping would prefer landed property.

Security & Privacy

Generally, condominium/apartment is more superior in term of security and privacy comparing to landed property. In today new condominium/apartment development, generally it would provide atleast 3-tier of security, guarded entrance with security guard, gated lobby with access card and own house lock. Nontheless, there are lots of new and upcoming condominium/apartment provides great privacy and security for house owner such as private lift lobby, access card to only your own floor, CCTV and etc. Moreover, condominium/apartment usually have 1 entrance only, making it more secure and harder to break in.

In the other hand, with the new concept of Gated & Guarded community for landed property, some might argue that it is equally secured comparing to condominium/apartment, however with landed property having more entrance and easily accessible windows, it would always be less secured comparing to condominium/apartment. 

Parking Space

One of the most common issue face by house buyer in Penang when purchasing a condominium/apartment is parking space. At current trend, usually there will be atleast 2 cars in a household. For a standard terrace house, you would have no problem parking 2 or 3 cars in and in front of the property. However, for condominium/apartment, the property usually come with only 1 or 2 parking spaces and it would be very troublesome if you have 2 or 3 cars. Other than being not convenient to park the car outside the condominium/apartment compound, your car will be more vulnerable to theft too.   

Maintenance

There is a quote by some of my elder client, "pay maintenance until die' as long as you stay in the same condominium/apartment. It is true that living in condominium/apartment, you have to pay a certain amount of maintenance fee and sinking fund. Maintenance fee is a very important fee that must be paid by house owner to upkeep their condominium/apartment. The amount of maintenance fee is depends on the services, facilities and the density provided by condominium/apartment. Aside from maintaining the condominium/apartment at a good condition, a well maintained condominium/apartment would sometime enhance the value the condominium/apartment itself. However, if there are too many defaulter within a certain condominium/apartment, the condominium/apartment might not be well maintained and it might decrease the value of the property. Hence, it is important for condominium/apartment owner to pay the maintenance fee.

While for non gated & gated landed property, it is true that maintenance fee is excluded, however some maintenance work also needed to take care of by the owner himself. Roofing, ceiling, gardening, car porch, external wall are some of the things should be maintained and checked frequently to keep it in good condition. A landed property needs more maintenance if it is left empty for sometime as it is more prone to termite and weather attack. 

Facilities

In the upcoming trend, there many developers offer gated and guarded community when developing a landed properties and it many of those development comes with club house facilities which include gymansium, swimming pool, community hall, garden and landscaping. However in Penang Island, most of the landed properties are non gated & guarded community. 

Condominium/apartment with facilities is key selling point when purchasing a property. If you are a person who does not use facilities much, you might opted to purchase a landed property or non or little facilities condominium/apartment. If you are the kind of owner with plenty of your families enjoying swimming, working out in gym, relaxing in sauna or jacuzzi and a sport enthusistic person, condominium/apartment with plenty facilities should be taken in consideration. 

Always bear in mind, having more does not necessary mean it is better as maintenance fee might be higher. 

~ Thanks for reading. If you have any disagreement or some point to add in, do feel free to drop me an email for better improvement.

Have a Nice Day & Happy Hunting!!!

Please do 

contact me at +6016-494 4986 OR

drop me an email at ewejintung@gmail.com

Cheap Property in Penang Island

Penang, also known as The Pearl of the Orient, is located in the Northwest of Peninsular Malaysia. Penang is divided into 2 parts, the Penang Island and the Province Wellesley (Mainland) with the size of 293 sq.km. and 753 sq.km. respectively.

In recent time, Penang has become one of the most sought after location for house buyer and both local and foreign investor. Hence, for the past 3-4 years, properties prices in Penang Island has hike up by leaps and bound, certain type of property in strategic location has increased by more than 100%, making it difficult for local genuine house buyer to purchase their 'home sweet home'. Eg. back then in 2011, a standard double storey terrace house in Greenlane is value at approximately RM560k-RM650k, but now the value has gone up to approximately RM930k-RM1 mil in just a short 3 years.

In this post, we would share some comparison of the property market in Penang Island and the type of properties and the whereabouts, a potential buyer would able to purchase with a certain investment amount.

Landed Property below RM 1mil

If you have RM 1million and you would like to purchase a landed property, where could you find it in Penang Island? When purchasing a property, it is always about location, location, location. The reason the word 'location' is often mentioned 3 times is because it is the most important factor that determine the market value of a property. Here are some idea of what type of property and location you able to purchase with a budget of RM1 million.

Balik Pulau

A standard double storey house at Balik Pulau area would cost approximately RM500k to RM550k. Balik Pulau is one of the remote area in the Penang Island. It is a place where you could find peace and tranquility, pretty much suitable for people who are looking to find a place as their retirement home yet would still like to be staying in the island. Common amenities such as hospital, school, market, police station are located nearby too. Hence, you do not have to worry about lack of amenities. There are couple of development completed and ongoing in the Balik Pulau, namely Palmyra and Botanica CT.

Teluk Kumbar

Teluk Kumbar is located in the most southern part of the Penang Island. It is another location in the Penang island where you could find cheap landed property. A standard double terrace house at Teluk Kumbar Height is selling at approximately RM650k to RM700k while a double storey semi-detached house at Verona 32 is selling at around RM900k to RM950k. Teluk Kumbar is suitable for people who are working in factory area and would like to stay in landed property yet could not afford the property price at Bayan Baru and Sungai Ara. It is located just a 10 minutes away from FTZ, Penang International Airport and Penang 2nd link Bridge.

Sungai Ara

Sungai Ara is another established residential area where people who are working in the factory area would favour. It is located just a mere 7 minutes away from FTZ and airport. A lots of amenities is located just nearby such as school, market, shops, hawker centre; shopping mall such as Queensbay Mall, Sunshine Square, Giant Supermarket and BJ Complex are also located just a short 10 minutes drive away. A double storey terrace house located at Sungai Ara is selling at approximately RM850k to RM950k, while those new development by SP Setia (3-Storey Terrace) and Ideal (2-Storey Terrace) are going at RM1.2million.

Bayan Baru

Due to it's proximity to factory, banks, shops, restaurant and shopping mall,  Bayan Baru is the most sought after location for people who are working in the FTZ. Bayan Baru is another township located at the south of Penang Island, amenities such as both local and foreign bank, restaurant and hawker centre, Queensbay Mall, Sunshine Square and BJ Complex are located within Bayan Baru, while FTZ and Penang International Airport are just located 5 minutes away. Furthermore, amenities such as school, tuition centre and market are also available within the town of Bayan Baru. Currently, a double storey terrace house at Sunway Tunas is selling at RM900k-RM 1mil.

Greenlane/Gelugor/Jelutong

Greenlane is one of the most sought after location when landed property is under consideration. Greenlane is strategically located in the centre of East Penang Island where it is more developed. Greenlane is also strategically located within just 5 minutes away from Penang Bridge, making it a very idea residential location for people working in northern region (George Town, Tanjung Tokong), southern region (Bayan Lepas, FTZ) and also Butterworth. Together with Greenlane, Gelugor and Jelutong are neighbours of Greenlane which offers similar strategic location. Banks, Primary & Secondary School (Chinese & English), University, market, hawker and restaurant and Tesco are located within a 5 minutes drive. With an investment amount of RM1 million, you are able to purchase double storey terrace at Greenlane for RM950k (timber) to RM1 million (concrete) or a single storey terrace for around RM850k.  

Farlim

Farlim is another good location for people who are looking to purchase a landed property below RM1mil for ownstay. Some people might argue that Farlim is little too high density and crowded, however, one may argue that most part of Penang Island today is crowded too. Farlim is strategically located in the middle of Penang Island. Banks (PBB, HLB, CIMB, AM, MBB & Alliance), shops, restaurant(All Season Place), hawker centre, market, school and supermarket are just within a 5 minutes drive. You could find a double storey semi-detached at slightly below RM1 million only instead of above RM1.5 million at Greenlane. The only downside of Farlim is, most of the properties are leasehold property.  

Air Itam

Similar to Farlim, Air Itam is located in the centre of the Penang Island. Air Itam is a good location for families who have members working in different parts of the Penang Island as it is strategically located within 20 minutes drive to most part of the Penang Island. Whether you working in George Town, Tanjung Tokong, Pulau Tikus, Bayan Baru or Bayan Lepas, you are just 20 minutes away from your work place. Asides, you could easily find primary & secondary school in the near vicinity, banks, market and supermarket are also within a 5 minutes drive. Currently, the market for single storey terrace and double storey terrace in Air Itam are going at RM800k and RM900k approximately.   

*prices are guided price on January 2014

Please do 

contact me at +6016-494 4986 OR

drop me an email at ewejintung@gmail.com

Thanks for viewing!!!