George Loo of Polygon Properties is the Exceptional Project Sales Negotiator (by value) award winner at the 2019 StarProperty Real Estate Awards, the most prestigious annual awards event for practitioners of real estate in Malaysia. In an exclusive interview with StarProperty, he details how he got started in real estate, his agency’s prospects for another win next year, property hotspots around the country, the industry’s hopes for homeowners, and the real estate market outlook in 2020.

How did you get started in real estate?

I was a car salesman before I ventured into the real estate industry. During my time as a car salesman, a good friend of mine explained to me that with the same amount of time spent by selling properties, instead of selling cars, I would be able to earn much more.

What my friend shared with me back then was the turning point and deciding factor for me to venture into the real estate industry after some consideration. I’ve thought to myself that the real estate industry is where I’m able to make the big bucks and it is a far more stable career path in the long term.

In the relatively pessimistic real estate market of 2019, how did you manage to bag the award for the highest project sales in value at the 2019 StarProperty Real Estate Awards?

The gloomy real estate market in 2019 is frankly not an easy ball game to weather. However, I always believed that there are opportunities in every situation and using my personal judgement, I began to market and sell properties for people to live in, rather than pushing them for investment. This, in return, has created a ripple effect that enabled me to get more quality referrals as I noticed the majority of my clients were buying properties for their own stay. I personally believe this strategy has contributed greatly to my success.

What advice would you have for your colleagues that would help Polygon Properties win next year’s Project Sales award?

My advice to my colleagues is to aim for properties priced RM600,000 and above because the recently announced 2020 Budget has lowered the threshold price for foreigners to purchase high-rise properties. This will surely help in driving sales. For local buyers looking at this price range, the quality of the products are definitely up by a notch, so I don’t see why it would be hard to sell properties that fall within this price bracket as there are ample reasons to go for them.

Was there any particular developer or part of the Klang Valley, or the country, that you can credit as being a major source of your sales?

Cheras, Genting, and Mont Kiara. These three areas are where I churned out most of my sales in the local market. The largest contributor from overseas markets came from Hong Kong and China. Cheras has a huge catchment of population, and for first-time homebuyers looking to purchase a property, this is a great area to start looking as it is a matured and established neighbourhood. There are several MRT stations here and the price tag is still rather affordable. Mont Kiara, on the other hand, is a good location for foreign investors, especially with the “Malaysia My Second Home” (MM2H) programme – it definitely helps in sealing the deal with foreign investors.

Do you believe that financial preparedness is the main obstacle to most people’s dreams of homeownership? Or do you perhaps agree, in light of the contents of the 2020 Budget, that other issues such as the widening gap between property price and income may be more significant obstacles?

In my humble opinion, I personally believed it has much more to do with individual financial preparedness. Based on my personal experience and encounters, most of the people that I know manage their finances very poorly – which results in banks rejecting their loan applications.
Undeniably, there are other factors weighing in too – as you have highlighted. But we are able to witness that in recent times, there have been various efforts by developers and the government in helping first-time homebuyers to purchase their properties.

Do you feel that the incentives offered by banks, developers, and the government in 2019 have had the intended effect?

I believe they have, as I’ve seen so much that has been done by these parties. Bank Negara has slashed its overnight policy rate (OPR) rate earlier in May, which makes it easier for people to obtain loans due to lower interest rates.

Developers have contributed their fair share by offering attractive packages, products that are priced within affordable ranges, and building according to what is desired by property buyers these days.

Conversely, I personally feel that the government’s good intentions and efforts have not really been effective. The Home Ownership Campaign (HOC) primarily waived stamp duties for Memorandums of Transfer (MOT) and loan agreements, these costs come into the picture at a later stage – which I feel isn’t truly helping much to aid first-time homebuyers.

What more could be done to ease the journey to homeownership in 2020?

In terms of helping first-time homebuyers on their journey towards homeownership, and perhaps more crucially, for people to buy the balance stock, what could be done by the government is to implement an initiative that will help ease the bank interest rates during the development stage. This will truly help drive homeownership, in my opinion, as the primary obstacle for the first-time homebuyer would be removed.

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