Landed homes are auction favourites

KUALA LUMPUR: The lack of land in the Klang Valley is pushing demand for landed homes including those up for auction, particularly terraced homes in matured areas.

Auctioneers have recorded very good turnouts on days that offer a good number of landed homes for auction, said Raj Yogan Pillai, managing director of J Thilagamraj Auctioneers Sdn Bhd.

“People are always looking for a good deal at auctions. This is especially so after the prices of landed residential units hit record highs the last two years. They have been selling like hot cakes,” he said.

He believes the demand will spill over to the fringes of the Klang Valley especially with improvements being made on accessibility and public transport.  
“Due to rising rents, some people from other states who opt to move into the city to work decided to hunt for bargain buys in the auction market. The logic behind their decision is that they would rather spend the same amount (which would have been used to pay rent) to finance a home.”

Raj will be speaking at The Edge Investment Forum on Real Estate 2012 on April 28.

He added that there is still room for growth for the real estate auction market. According to Raj, the biggest challenge faced by auctioneers is the public’s lack of understanding and misconception towards property auctions.

He said many Malaysians are interested and are aware of the auction business but are wary about investing in auction properties due to the lack understanding of the procedures associated buying from the auction market.

He hopes to debunk the negative image associated with the word “Lelong” and at the same time, educate the public about how auctions can be used as an alternative way to sell one’s house via non judicial auctions.

Raj will be speaking more on the topic of buying auction properties at The Edge Investment Forum on Real Estate 2012 on April 28 at the Sime Darby Convention Centre.

Raj established J Thilagamraj Auctioneers Sdn Bhd in 1985, specialising in real estate auctions, and has since been in the auction line for the past 27 years. J Thilagamraj Auctioneers deals with auctions in seven states including Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang, Kedah, Melaka, Pahang and Negri Sembilan. He is also the president of the Auctioneers Association of Malaysia which has approximately 500 members.

This article appeared on the Property page, The Edge Financial Daily, April 20, 2012.