COFFEE TALK | kopiandproperty.com
RM50,000 For A Car Park.
SERIOUSLY?
T
o be very specific,
8 years ago, I paid
RM10,500 for an
additional car park
when I bought my
Penang condo. I
told my brother-in-law and my
brother to buy one. Both did not
eventually as they felt RM10,500
was very expensive just for an
additional car park. Over the years,
the price for a car park has slowly
risen from RM15,000 to RM20,000
followed by RM30,000, RM40,000
and today my friend, Ken Lim of
penangpropertytalk.com told me
that an affordable housing project
in Penang is selling one (1) extra car
park for RM50,000! He called the
developer concerned and the final
conclusion was that this extra car
park was optional. Nevertheless,
128
www.PropertyHunter.com.my
without the network of LRT or even
a monorail, most homes would have
two cars and thus the pinch.
Actually, I seriously believe that
these car parks would become
more expensive. When it was at
RM35,000 I asked my wife to see
the calculations which showed that
if we have that cash, we may be
better off buying that car park than
rent. After all, when you sell your
home, an additional car park carries
a premium of above RM40,000
most of the time. Calculation as
follows:
RM34,286 into the bank and not
touch this amount for a very long
time. Thus, an additional car park
may be worth RM35,000 if the
rental is RM100 per month. Of
course for KLites who are reading
this, you would be scratching
your head. RM100 for rental per
month? My area is already RM150
per month! When I was staying
in KelanaPuteri, I paid RM160 for
a covered car park for my wife
to park. The rental in Penang is
always lower, whether it is for an
equivalent condo or apartment or
even a car park.
Assuming rental of one car park is
RM100 / month. This comes up to
RM1,200 / year. To earn an interest
of RM1,200 with an interest of
3.5%, one would need to deposit
RM50,000 meanwhile is in a totally
different league altogether. This
assumes that the car park rental
would soon reach RM150 per
month? I asked another friend who
owns a condo unit in Straits Quay.
She said it would cost RM70k for
two additional car parks plus a small
storage area. Another agent said
the usual premium for an additional
car park can be up to RM50,000.
One car park is definitely not
enough today. The decision would
be a tough one to make if the
RM50,000 price tag remains. I think
majority would opt not to buy.
When this happens, get ready for a
lot of cars parked haphazardly just
outside the condo. Perhaps any
unsold car park can be rented out
for a cheaper rate to the residents
instead? This can also be a source
of income for the condo committee.
www.PropertyHunter.com.my
129