Inspiration Matters

Zerin Properties’s CEO Previndran Singhe tells Property Insight what it takes to succeed in the real estate industry 

Besides passion, inspiration matters because it motivates you to succeed in life. Some are inspired to be just like their idols, who could be legends in the industry.  But unlike the rest in the industry, Previndran Singhe was inspired by family and this drove him to establish a boutique real estate firm aptly named Zerin Properties.  

“Zerin means gold in Sanskrit and this is also the name of my daughter” Previndran smiles and shares. Presently there are 22 negotiators based in our head office in Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur, 10 more negotiators in Shah Alam and another 10 negotiators in Penang and I might start a new branch in Medini, Johor in the near future.” Although he was born in Kuantan, Pahang, Previndran spent his childhood in Kota Kinabalu, the state capital of the ‘land below the wind’ Sabah.

He speaks of some memorable times in his life, especially what he regards as the highlight of his career when he closed the deal for the Four Seasons Hotels and Resort in Langkawi to prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal bin Abdulaziz al Saud, a Saudi business magnate and investor. Prince Al-Waleed is a member of the Saudi royal family with a personal net worth of USD $24.5 Billion, the 34th richest person in the world (Forbes, 2014). The deal was transacted at USD$110million.

“Singaporeans are seen as the biggest property investors in Malaysia, however that is just an impression. Investors from the Middle East have the largest property assets in this country,” Previndran pointed out.

“I have always admired the beauty of architecture, but I don’t have a flair for art, to me the architecture of buildings seem beautiful and artistic, and I fall in love with the aesthetics” said Previndran, who opted to pursue a degree in Bachelor of Surveying in Property Management (Hons), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia He was winner of the dean’s list and received awards as top and exemplary student of the university.

“I was very fortunate to have started working for Jones Lang Wotton, an international property consultancy firm while I was studying and I spent all my holidays working at this firm,” shared Previndran. He later went on to doing property research for the firm, where he prepared market research for three to four years after which he learned the ropes in the valuation business or another three years which gave him insight into valuating office buildings such as hotels and malls at a very early age before moving on to Burgess Rawson to do residential real estate which he thinks is his true calling.

He was headhunted a few times to join several property firms before he was offered a position to start up a hotel management company called Signforce sdn bhd, where he was the chief marketing officer

managing about seven hotels, and this is when his love for the hotel industry grew.  He worked 14 to 16 hour days and travelled frequently.

“I resigned as chief marketing officer of the company in 2002 after I travelled to Seoul and came back to Malaysia and realised that my son couldn’t recognise me.  I started this firm because I wanted to have quality time with my family. If you are happy at home, you will be happy at work. This is what I believe.” shared Previndran.

Previndran explained that the benefits and the perks of working for big companies were fantastic, but personally it is nothing like starting your own business. “The late architect Geoffrey Bawa’s architecture inspired me to want to know more about buildings and architecture, personally, I feel that he is a master of not just architecture but also landscape. I have been fortunate enough to stay in a lot of his hotels,” said Previndran, adding that his favourite is the Light House in Goa, Sri Lanka.

Size is not an issue for Zerin Properties. Previndran said that he wants to train and mentor Malaysians in the field, therefore he insists on the proper training and the necessary education and qualifications for all his negotiators.

Previndran walks the talk. He is also a certified chartered surveyor with RICS in the United Kingdom and a certified International property and residential specialist accredited by National Association of Realtors in the United States of America.

 

Property market trends

According to Previndran, the Malaysian property market is heavily domestically driven and foreigners only make up five to seven percent of the total market.

There is actually not enough housing supply in the market even though the government targets to have 100,000 houses built each year. The implementation and execution of the plans to achieve the projected housing target is also vital as according to the NAPIC data, only 20,000 houses were built so far this year.

He shared that what is happening in the property market right now is a sentiment issue. “Despite the introduction of the Economic Transformation Plan (ETP), the present political situation does not lend enough confidence for investors to invest hugely in the country,” said Previndran.  

This has resulted in investors both foreigners and locals being very selective when they invest in Malaysian properties. The trend is that the rich are still holding back. There is actually a lot of liquidity in the market and transactions for properties below RM4 million are still very much active.

Previndran feels that at the end of the day, investing in properties generates wealth.  Real estate is a long term investment and not a short term game, this is the best time to go into the market as asking prices have dropped, loans are easily available with a better interest rate and people are willing to sell.

“Malaysians are spoiled and everyone wants to live in a good location.  Did you know that there are still properties in Kepong below RM500,000? I still think the northern part of greater Kuala Lumpur such as Rawang, Selayang and Kepong are very under-rated. There is the MRT 2 extension to Selayang and the KTM commuter station in Rawang.” pointed Previndran.

Property prices have not gone up as much in the southern part of greater Kuala Lumpur, but it will always be a hotspot for investors because government assets are located there, such as the KLIA in Nilai, F1 Circuit in Sepang, government buildings in Putrajaya and the six universities in Cyberjaya. We already have the infrastructure as it takes only 35 minutes via the MEX highway to reach Kuala Lumpur city centre from Cyberjaya.

“Obviously there are a lot of benefits when one delves into property investment as it is a hedge against inflation and people will make money in the long term,” opined Previndran.  He illustrates that if one looks at the top 10 richest people in the world such as Carlos Slim, one will realise that while his core business in telecommunications. about 40% to 50% of his wealth base is actually in real estate. Another example is Malaysia’s, sugar tycoon Robert Kuok who built the first Shangri-La hotel in Singapore in 1971.

After being in the industry for more than 10 years, one obvious misconception he noticed was the need to have a lot of contacts before you join the industry.  He added that the real challenge was in the marketing where one has to target the right product to the right consumer.

 

FUTURE GOALS

Previndran is looking at investing in Shamma Medini, his first investment in commercial property. He sees the opportunity within the hospitality sector although it may be challenging as this depends very much on who the developer and the operator of the hotel developments are. I will take a deal that provides a Guarantee Rates of Return scheme,” shared Previndren.

“I own four properties all in Damansara Heights KL and I choose to invest in this area because it is the best residential address in Malaysia. Most of Malaysia’s rich and famous reside here with homes ranging anywhere from RM25 to RM30 million,” said Previndran.