I came to know of this property sometime back in January. This property came up for auction the week before Chinese New Year. The reserve price was RM202,500. Nobody bought. This property came up in auction again in the first week of March. The reserve price was RM182,300. Nobody bought. This property came up for auction again today. This time the reserve price was RM164,100. I liked the price decided to attend this auction event to put in my bid. This is the first time I buying a property. I was excited.

I woke up early this morning. Double checked my bank draft for the deposit. I made up my mind that my ceiling price will be RM175,000. I didn’t expect anybody to bid above the previous reserve price which was RM182,300.

When the auction started and the lot that I was bidding came up, there were 6 bidders! I was so shocked. I was outbid within seconds. The winning bid was RM209,000. This price is higher than the reserve price first set before Chinese New Year.

Has the real estate industry bottomed? Are potential buyers coming back into buying appetite after staying on the sidelines for months?

I have been following this property for the past 3 months. Now that this property is no longer up for grabs, I am kind of lost. I have to find a new target property. I know good bargains don’t come knocking everyday but I am hoping this economic slowdown will offer more properties below market value.