The winner of the "All-Star Negotiator” award during the 2018 StarProperty.my Real Estate Awards, Jonathan Lai speaks on the subjects of property in Cheras, property under Budget 2019, and being persistent.

Can you please introduce yourself?
I’m Jonathan Lai. Prior to joining the real estate industry, I was in the banking industry for more than 11 years.

What is your current role in CBD Properties?
My role in CBD Properties is a team manager. I manage a team which is primarily focused on residential projects and secondary market.

How long have you been in the real estate industry?
I have been in the industry for more than 7 years.

We understand that you are specialised in the Cheras area. What do you think Cheras’ greatest strengths or selling points are?

Yes, I’m specialised in the Cheras area. The greatest strengths and selling points of Cheras are that it is an area with established infrastructure located between KL and PJ – which make travel from KL to PJ easy. It is a matured area for residents looking to upgrade and the most recent generation of home buyers prefer to buy near their parents’ homes. Prices are still relatively affordable compared to other developed areas. Public transportation is highly available with the many bus routes, taxis, and MRT stations on the Sungai Buloh - Kajang Line. Plus, there are more highways coming in the near future with the EKVE (East Klang Valley Expressway) and SUKE (Sungei Besi -Ulu Kelang Elevated Expressway).

What are some of the common misconceptions among the general public when it comes to looking at properties for rent or sale?

Some general misconceptions of buying properties are that the costs of acquiring properties are high and that getting financing is a difficulty. To overcome these misconceptions, we need to find types of property and locations to match the buyer’s needs and to determine whether those needs are in terms of investment or for their own occupation. From there, we will understand their needs better – which allows us to provide suggestions or solutions. For example, many potential buyers don't realise that they can withdraw from their EPF Account 2 for initial down payments.

Since the tabling of Budget 2019, do you believe that there has been enough done to make affordable homes available to the average Malaysian?

With Budget 2019, the government is taking the initiative to ensure that the average Malaysian can own their first home. At the same time, the government is making an effort to build more affordable homes and to provide higher financing for first home buyers with household incomes of RM 4,000 or less. However, most of the first home buyers are now facing difficulties in getting financing from banks as most of them will be tied down with commitments like car loans, credit card repayments, and personal loans.

What was the biggest crisis you have encountered? How did you overcome it?

During my early days in real estate, most of the challenges that I've encountered would be a mismatch of buyer needs and expectations. As a newbie in the industry, I did not have many listings which matched buyers' needs. After months of trying, I decided to focus on one area which I’m familiar with to get as many listings as possible.

At that time, our founder Dato Adrian Wang also guided me. He gave me advice on how to get new listings from owners and developers. He was also willing to share his past experience in targeting buyers – which has proven to be helpful and effective.

I also went to training, conducted internally by our company, and external training conducted by MIEA. I consider myself lucky as I managed to learn from senior RENs within our company as well as seniors and leaders from other agencies. They have been very helpful and more than willing to share their success stories. From there on, my journey in real estate has been much smoother.

As the winner of the “All-Star Negotiator” award during the 2018 StarProperty.my Real Estate Awards, in your opinion, what traits should someone possess to become a good agent?

Throughout my journey in real estate, I’ve always held to five main principles; passion into real estate and servicing, perseverance in the industry in order to succeed,  persistence in daily activities and sourcing for new listings or buyers, patience in identifying clients' needs, and keeping a positive attitude to overcome challenges and obstacles.

How do you predict the real estate industry will evolve in the next few years and decades?

As MIEA works closely and actively with BOVEA in eliminating illegal brokers, I believe that the real estate industry will be getting more regulated – this will raise the standard of Real Estate Negotiators. PropTech is growing in Malaysia, this will eventually be assisting real estate agents or RENs to become regional players in the coming years.

What is your advice to any new entrants coming into real estate this year?

As new entrants to the real estate industry, firstly he/she must have passion. He/she must be able to identify their focus segmentation and stay focused on their targeted segmentation – for example, residential, land, industrial building, or commercial building.

Ideally, new RENs should farm within their geographical targeted area and be specialised in that area. Continuous learning or improvement is one of the factors which ensures that they stay in the industry for the long run. Last but not least, they must also be focusing on service after sales as a happy client will start giving referrals. Rewards will be waiting for those who are persistent and perseverant in the industry.

What is your target for 2019? What would you want to achieve the most this year?

I would like to grow my current team and assist them to achieve their goals.

Get the 2019 edition of the First Time Home Buyer Guide here, or read about other real estate practitioners and winners of the StarProperty.my Real Estate Awards here.