Christian Oh, 27, said he once made well over a million dollars in commissions within 12 months some two years ago, when he was just a rookie property agent.

At that age of 25, he had also amassed an impressive eight properties under his belt — seven local and one overseas — and is still looking to expand his portfolio, he shared. 

In a podcast and YouTube video published by JNA Real Estate fronted by the company's founder Jervis Ng and Oh, the latter spoke more about his journey into property investments.

The director of investments at JNA credits "divine intervention" for his first foray into the industry.

While not a complete rags-to-riches story, Oh shared how his family was "living hand-to-mouth" at one point in their lives, after his dad heeded the ill advice of an agent to purchase two private properties while they kept their HDB flat. 

The purchases happened in 2009 "after the financial crisis", when Oh was only 13 years old and their household income at the time was $5,000.

"At one point, my parents had to finance the mortgages of three properties concurrently. This caused a huge financial stress for them, and they had to sell their BTO flat below market value," shared Oh.

"Subsequently, they also had to depend on credit card debt to finance both the mortgage and their lifestyle".

Downgrading to a 3-room flat

But through it all, his parents made sure that Oh and his sister knew nothing of their financial troubles.

"The pivotal moment in my life came after I graduated from junior college. It was that night when my dad called me into the room, and explained our financial situation.

"It was at that moment I broke down in tears, because I did not know about the tough times they had gone through in order to give us what we had," shared Oh.

His parents had ended up having to sell both condos prematurely to clear any outstanding debt, and downgraded to a three-room HDB flat in Ang Mo Kio.

"There was no one to advise them to rent out one of the condos to collect passive income, and it was left empty while they were busy with their lives," Oh stated.

The realisation piqued his curiosity about real estate — an interest which deepened when he entered university, where he minored in the subject.

"When I looked back at this incident, I saw that the two properties they sold appreciated a total of over $1.7 million combined, while the HDB flat we were staying in depreciated by over $40,000 within the same time span," said Oh.

Crypto failure

Not wanting to add to his parents' financial burden, Oh entered university on a government scholarship.

He also took up multiple jobs and started two businesses — one of which was a tuition agency — "in hopes of bringing income to my family and change their lives".

However, he only got his fingers badly burnt. "All [of my businesses] ended up in terrible failures," he said.

Investing in cryptocurrency too, cost Oh over 75 per cent of his savings then.

During his second year of university, Oh admitted that he "was in the darkest pit" of his life, which prompted him to seek solace in his faith.

That was also when he reconnected with his former schoolmate Ng, who not only welcomed him to church but also inducted him into the business of selling and investing in property.

Oh doubled down and within two years, was making headway in the field, grossing $500,000 in his second year, he said.

"My main motivation was always to give my parents financial freedom. From there on, I never looked back."

Making $1m in a year 

Deciding to make the pivot to real estate meant, however, that he had to break his scholarship. It was an agonising decision as doing so would mean having to cough up a six-figure sum.

But he did so eventually, calling it "a leap of faith".

One year later, his decision proved to be the right one, after grossing over $1 million in commissions in 2021, he said. 

So how did he manage to make bank, plus build an impressive property investment portfolio at such a young age?

Oh shared that it was his income as an agent which started the ball rolling with his personal investments.

The first property that he bought was a two-bedroom unit at Marina One Residences, which was purchased in 2020 after carefully analysing over 200 property developments. 

He took the plunge "due to its attractive undervalued per square foot pricing", similar to that of a unit "on the outskirts of Jurong".

Following his first purchase, Oh acquired three other commercial properties in quick succession, which he's still holding and currently leasing for passive income. 

He shared that the rental yield for those properties are "over 10 per cent, 13 per cent and 16 per cent respectively" a year. 

"Since there was no additional buyer stamp duty, this was a good source of passive income. Their value has also appreciated by 10 to 34 per cent over a period of 2.5 years," he shared.

Losing out on a $870k profit 

But there have been blips as well.

"Sadly, the overseas property was not the best purchase due to the Covid-19 pandemic which impacted the sale progress and price of this property," shared Oh of the residential space in Philippines that he purchased in 2020.

He also couldn't help but share wistfully about "the one that got away" — Peace Mansion at 1 Sophia Road — which was one of the first properties he had been eyeing. The apartment complex and the adjoining Peace Centre mall eventually underwent an en bloc sale in late 2021.

That purchase would have netted him over $870,000 in profit in less than three years, he shared.

Oh also bought into industrial property, a workshop currently leased to an interior design company, which is currently "fetching steady rental flow".  

As for the remaining two condos, Oh revealed that they were purchased under his mum and fiancee's names. 

The former is currently rented out with a yield of more than 10 per cent per annum, and "both units have appreciated in value by 20 per cent to more than 40 per cent".

But Oh is not stopping there.

"I am still on the lookout for the ninth property, a residential condo to park under my sister's name."

Don't over-leverage: Oh

Given his family's painful experience with property investment, Oh is mindful about clients becoming over-leveraged or taking on too much debt.

"I know that one wrong advice from a real estate agent along with pushy sales tactics can lead to the destruction of a family," he shared.

And with Ng's revelation on the podcast that Oh has sufficient assets to basically "retire already", we had to ask, what is his net worth, and is retirement on the horizon?

While he declined to reveal his financial assets, his quick reply to the second question is, "Not anytime soon!"

"Even though currently my passive income can consistently cover the expenses in life, I've realised that life is more than just aiming for retirement.

"I believe it is a calling of mine to make retirement in Singapore through real estate investments possible for every Singaporean household."

Not without risks

But while property asset progression can be a lucrative way to build your wealth, it is not without its risks, detailed Stacked Homes.

These include negative cash sales which would leave nothing in the bank after the repayment of CPF monies used plus the accrued 2.5 per cent interest.

Picking the wrong property for investment and sudden property downturns are other stumbling blocks.

And if you and your spouse are considering buying two separate properties, you would have to consider the impact if one party is suddenly unable to work or has a reduced income. 

Last year, Minister of State for Trade and Industry Alvin Tan had shared how borrowers should exercise caution when buying their homes to avoid having to cut back on other household spending should interest rates rise sharply, reported The Straits Times.

And on Thursday (April 27) came news of the increase in additional buyer stamp duty (ABSD) rates for residential properties.

The new measures are expected to impact about 10 per cent of all residential property transactions and are meant "to pre-emptively manage investment demand", according to a joint press statement from the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of National Development and the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

ALSO READ: Most expensive HDB flat in Ghim Moh sold for $1.22m; sellers may have pocketed impressive $700k profit

candicecai@asiaone.com

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