PROPCAFE Review : The Manhattan @ KLCC By UED

A new crest in the Kuala Lumpur Skyline – Rise Above all at The Manhattan at Residen 61 Raja Chulan.

The Manhattan is a commercial title Residential Property which offering 139 units at small piece of land (0.47 acre). It is not difficult to find the site if one is working around KLCC area. The Manhattan is located at Jalan Raja Chulan right beside Menara MPL or opposite Menara Affin. The nearest famous landmark would be KL Tower. It is about 8 to 10mins walk to Pavillion KL and Raja Chulan monorail. However to walk over KLCC it probably requires addition 5 to 8mins walking time. There is no direct access from the back of this project but need to go through Menara MPL site to the backlane of Changkat Bkt Bintang for dinning and pubs.

This location is a bit extreme from my point of view. During weekday, the frontage of this site is a very busy road as all office blocks are here and to cross this two lanes and two ways road is major headache. However, during weekend, the road is total dead. I prefer KLCC properties that is “Visible” from main roads surrounding KLCC (not hiding from the backlane from main road) and this site meets the requirement, BUT it is lack of “human – Qi” and another way of saying this is during weekend the frontage is not happening or vibrant enough. Of course, there are many kind of tenants in KLCC. My limited knowledge (expat friends or colleagues) tell me that those who choose KLCC living is normally more adventure and happening who like to have cosmopolitan feel. Unfortunately when it comes eekend, this stretch is like abandoned city.

Technically, the Manhattan only has KL Tower view as KLCC is blocked by St. Mary Residence. In addition, there is news that Menara MPL is up for sales and another side of the Manhattan currently uses as car park will be developed in later stage for sure i.e. potentially no side view in future since those lands are small and developers will max. the land with space for the unit. Do expect the building will be very near to each other in future. On the flip side, It may work well for the Manhattan future market value if those lands develop as residential properties with higher Psf.

Current psf of the Manhattan is not cheap in the first glance as almost all units are priced at 1700+psf above. One can see the pricing are almost the same in term of psf from low to highest floor (which only varies in size). This Singapore based developer knows that it is not easy to sell such boutique development with the price of Rm1700psf especially as a first timer in Malaysia, it offers 8% discount on SPA price and 5% rebate on down payment. So net psf is around RM1500++psf which is now sound reasonable compares to recent KLCC bound property launches. As I mentioned earlier psf wise is not much different, smallest units are the first to go. So far, only about 30% units are sold and mostly the small units that under GRR scheme. The 5% GRR (10th to 19th floor – Fully Furnished) only valid for two years and developer will not continue to take care of the units after that. Good thing is every unit (even small unit) comes with carpark which is not given by many KLCC developments.

The one bedroom 588sf type (only 7 units, all corner units facing backlankt Ceylon) is the best value units and as usual sold out. The price tag is around RM1.08m before discount.

Next is 603sf (intermediate unit facing Bkt Ceylon) , the pricing is cheaper than 588sf in absolute term (around RM1.04m) because this type is non-corner with a dark living hall (without window/balcony). Well, it is not my cup of tea to have closed up living hall. See below. Due to the affordability. this type is also almost sold out when I last visited the sales office.

The show unit at the site is the two bedrooms Type C1C (946sf) that comes with Lanai. The price is around RM1.6m. The master bedroom is quite narrow and small with the odd design of lanai stucked at the end corner of the room. In contrast, I feel that the kitchen is too luxury in term of size for this type of small apartment. The architect should have done better to utilise the space for buyer.

The other show unit is the one bedroom type A (729sf – 34 units) west facing Menara MPL. To compensate the facing, it has KL Tower view. The unit provides reasonable size powder room that can link to master bathroom. Squarish layout means it is always a better layout for me. This type comes with RM1.02m price tag before discount.

Another interesting layout is the 1 bedroom double volume penthouse (958sf or 998sf) which only priced at 1700+sf. This double volume unit allows you to build another small rooms to expend the unit’s build up area. The 1.7+m price tag is similar or not too far away from low floor 9xxsf type (also around RM1.7m), of course the penthouse is not in the GRR’s list but for me is a value buy compare to other mid size units.

Since there is no official website, i attached herewith the different type of layout for you all to refer. All priced around 1700+psf regardless which floor of this building.

Penthouse – Other types

Other Type B

Other Type C

The façade of the Manhattan is acceptable as a KLCC bound property but it is a bit disappointed as one would expect it to be closer to Singapore condominium standard given the developer is pretty established in Singapore. The side emergency staircase is exposed substantially to external view (What?) and couldn’t imagine when it is heavy downpour in KL.

The facilities are very common which come with Sky deck and Sky pool at 8th and 9th floor respectively. I wouldn’t call it “sky” pool or “sky” deck because it is not up at the sky, it is at 8th and 9th floor!

Maintenance fee is currently set at RM0.40psf, with approximated average size of 800sf for 139units, the monthly collection is only about RM45k. Anyone involves in JMB or MC for strata title property before would know that it is certainly not enough. The fee of security guards itself will easily cover half of the total collection. Therefore, buyer should prepare to fork out more or price in more in the rental to pay additional maintenance fee after two years.

The show unit furnishing quality is very disappointed. It is certainly not the quality for RM1700+psf apartment. The chunky wardrobe and kitchen cabinet is not better than 400psf type of apartment show unit and the owners of GRR unit should not expect more on the quality of the furnishing when it is ready in 3 years time (if the developer only deliver what is showing in the show unit).

There are many condominiums at the back of Jalan Raja Chulan which are asking half the price of this development. To be fair, those are supposed to be one or two grades lower than this development but from the site visit and the material given, I don’t see the Manhattan is two grades higher based on what I have seen at the site and show units. We are no longer at the KLCC BBB era anymore and it needs more efforts to sell KLCC bound properties.

I am not surprise those sold units are mostly under GRR scheme I,e, low floor. If one has the age to leverage for more than 20 years loan, the GRR 5% may sufficiently covers the installment of LTV70 loan with positive cashflow. For those LTV90 loan, it may just enough to cover the installment without including the maintenance fees. The sales of 30% are rather slow given this location. However, the developer is very confident to sell the remaining units as they intend to bring this development to sell in Singapore . Yes, with indication of higher selling price than the SA is showing you now.

Developer Profile and Specification of this project

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PROPCAFE™ Guide: Theme of Property Market 2019

Introduction

Time flies so fast! 2018 had passed and for many of us, 2018 turned out to be unforgettable year. For the first time in 61 years, we are having a new ruling party as government with the fallen of Barisan National led by ex-PM, Najib Razak. The new government is led probably by the eldest Prime Minister in the world and not only that, Tun Mahathir Mohammad is second time Prime Minister. Probably a record that will not be broken by any true democractic country. Since then, the new government has opened many can of worms such as 1MDB, country’s debt and liabilities, FGV etc which created ruckus in our economy.

Bursa Malaysia experienced heavy capital outflow of RM1Ob (click the link
here
) and the KLCI the index has plunged from 1887 prior GE14 and by end of 2018 has closed at 1669, a whopping of 11.5% drop. Many blue chips the price has plunged and wiped RM174b or closed to 10% of whole Bursa Malaysia Market Capitalization (click link
here
 )

The new government is led probably by the eldest Prime Minister in the world and not only that, Tun Mahathir Mohammad is second time Prime Minister. Probably a record that will not be broken by any true democractic country.

Since then, the new government has opened many can of worms such as 1MDB, country’s debt and liabilities, FGV etc which created ruckus in our economy. Bursa Malaysia experienced heavy capital outflow of RM1Ob (click the link
here
) and the KLCI the index has plunged from 1887 prior GE14 and by end of 2018 has closed at 1669, a whopping of 11.5% drop. Many blue chips the price has plunged and wiped RM174b or closed to 10% of whole Bursa Malaysia Market Capitalization (click link
here
 )

Anyway this is not a political or economy article. However the reality is  the politic and economy policies of current government, performance of Bursa Malaysia will have significant impact on the Property Market.

For example, a new government will have different priority such as shelved MRT3 and ECRL and postponement of HSR project. A new government will also have new housing policy.

For property market, a recent published NAPIC report is showing unfavorable supply situation where 3
rd
 QTR 2018 overhang supplies and values was reported increased by 48% and 56% respectively compared to a year ago (Read the link
here
).

This of course not a great news for most of the stakeholders either government, developers, agents, investors, banks, professional services, contractors and to certain extend even home buyers.

All stakeholders will be affected either one way or another if property market remain in conundrum.

So what should we look forward in 2019? Would we ever seen any positive recovery in 2019?

If there is, what would be theme of the property segment for 2019?

Read on to know PROPCAFE’s view.

Affordable housing

Follow from previous administration, affordable housing is still the main focus and concern of the new government. Home ownership especially among B40 is still low due to high prices and unaffordable among the Malaysians.

In its 2015 report, Khazanah reported that area like Kuala Lumpur is seriously unaffordable with the median multiple affordability of 5.2 (Read the link
here)

In the market now there are few schemes for affordable housing such as Pr1ma, PPA1M, RumahWIP and Rumah SelangorKu. The pricing for such scheme is generally below RM300K which is within the affordability range of median population.

The scheme are general targeted to first time homebuyers due to the stringent criteria such as resale and rent are prohibited within the first 10 years of SPA.

For developers who develop the affordable housing on their land, they are given attractive concession such as  favorable plot ratio. Famous developers such as Aset Kayamas with its projects such as The Henge @ Kepong, Parkhill @ Bukit Jalil, The Holmes @ Bandar Tun Razak, Desa Sentral @ Taman Desa etc.

Some developers also jump into the affordability bandwagon however the development without the RumahWIP component. For example, MahSing has launched MCentura in Sentul and MVertical in Cheras and similarly MahSing with its Maxim Majestic in Cheras.

These developments are sharing few similar characteristic. The flat look alike façade, few layouts selection and very high density/plot ratio with basic finishes (no free goods such as kitchen, aircon etc).

The whole idea is to drive the pricing as low as possible and yet the developers are still make decent profit.

For the homebuyers, these developments offer them attractive opportunity to purchase own home where the price is significant lower than market price.

However
for investors, these can be double edge sword
. No differentiation of units either the layout, façade, view and very high density.

One analogy is buying  commodity such as cooking oil, milo, sugar, salt where no differentiation in the market.

Due to nature of the development, buyers/tenants would shopping around to find the best deal. And If no sufficient liquidity/ demand and investors do not have strong holding power, they will throw price to attract buyers and tenants. This is the
main risk despite the attractive developer price
.

However if you are doing sufficient research (reading and subscribe to PROPCAFE is one of them of course 🙂 ), there are new development that are quite affordable and in the same time good facade looking, variance layout and within good proximity to public transport.

One such project is Aster Residence @ Cheras Hartamas. The facade is clean and glassy and the development comes with impressive facilities such as Olympic size pool, indoor half basketball court, futsal and badminton courts, gym etc.

Olympic Size Swimming Pool

Futsal, Badminton and Basket Ball Court

Not only that, the development comes with  multiple and efficient unit layouts to cater from different segment market. The icing on the cake is the development linked with MRT1 Station and priced from RM380k for 2 bedrooms. The monthly installment starts from RM1,600 which is sweet spot for most middle earners and young family.

Readers can read the PROPCAFE review by click
PROPCAFE™ Review : Aster Residence Cheras By Amber Homes – Home has a Heartbeat [Part 2]

PROPCAFE™ Review : Aster Residence Cheras By Amber Homes – Home has a Heartbeat [Part 2]

Affordability associated with repayment of loan in the form of monthly installment. Many of home buyers are fixated of finding lowest price to ensure the installment stay within their affordability and ignoring other aspect of purchasing decision.

However bear in mind, income grows inline with the experience, skill and knowledge.

Sometimes, your income will grow exponentially inline with the newly gain skilled. There are many schemes currently in the market offered by developers that allow home buyers to defer the payment to the future.

IOI Properties for example has
Pay Later Buy Now
 scheme where with low downpayment as low as RM1K, homebuyers could immediately move in and settle the deferred payment in 5 years!

IOI Pay Later Buy Now Scheme

Participating projects ranging from Condominium, Townhouse and Semi-D in Puchong, Puchong South, Bangi and Putrajaya.

Conezion in Putrajaya

For more information of IOI’s participating project, click the link
Pay Later Buy Now
.

Location X 3!

The mantra will never gets old. Location such as
Petaling Jaya, Bandar Utama, DPC, Mont Kiara, TTDI, Bangsar, Subang Jaya
 will remain as favourite either as home and investment.

The
scarcity of

new supply
,
demographic of residents
, e
xisting amenities and infrastructure
 remain the main factors why these are remain as evergreen among property hunters.

Obviously the price remain as high concern. For example the newly launched development in PJ Seksyen 13 is priced from RM800psf onwards. In Bangsar, the new launches such as 38Bangsar and Bangsar Hillpark are rumored to be from RM1200psf.

However the truth if buyers are looking for newly launch in this area, there are scarcity due to availability of undeveloped land.

The new launch by Sime Darby Property in Subang Jaya was well received (read the link
here)
 despite it was priced from RM950psf. Apart from its location, developer reputation and product, the project was selling well due to organic demand and almost no new launches in Subang Jaya with exception of Grand Subang in the past 2 years.

The beauty of owning property in these area is
the stability, organic growth and demand
. The new supply is predictable and usually well absorbed by ready buyers.

Developers are confident to sell out their projects since the new supplies are limited, prospect buyers usually have no choice but to buy from them.

For property owners, it is holding the property and let the power of organic demand and inflation work its magic.

This is evergreen theme and in PROPCAFE’s opinion, this strategy wouldn’t go wrong
if you enter the market at the right price
.

Public Transport Play

MRT play was one main theme with Najib Razak’s policy to improve the public transport in Klang Valley. As we already known, KL-SG HSR is postponed and operation is targeted to start in 2031 where else the Circle Line (Better known as MRT3) is shelved and government will revisit it again after the completion of MRT2 in 2022.

MRT1 has been completed since 2016 and the ridership is below the target and  the maximum capacity of MRT1 which is approximately 400,000 ridership perday. This is understandable and similar to LRT Kelana Jaya line, it needs years for the line to mature.

The maturity is associated with factor such as
change of consumer behaviours
 (such as moving from car ownership to public transport and preference stay in urban rather than rural), completion of existing development (Kwasa, TRX, for example), connectivity and migration of population etc.

PROPCAFE™ Guide: 10 Common Mistakes That Make First Time Property Buyers Stuck!

However gauging the impact of the MRT1 to the development MRT-related, so far it seems pretty muted. Few development which located close to MRT1 stations as D’Sara Sentral @ Sungai Buloh, Ascencia @ TTDI, Q Sentral @ KL Sentral, SwissGarden Residences @ Pudu seems to have stagnant capital appreciation post MRT1 operational.

The only exception PROPCAFE observed was Tropicana Garden @ Kota Damansara where the Arnica appreciates approximately 40%  from developer price. However it also remain to be seen whether the subsequent blocks such as Bayberry, Cyperus and Dianthus will have such healthy appreciation upon VP.

For MRT2 and LRT3 after negotiation with government for cost reduction in exchange of reduced scope of work, the project is on course for completion in 2022 and 2025. Many buyers have purchase property within the close proximity of the stations.

Two of the covered projects by PROPCAFE are Rica Residences @ Sentul within 220m away from the station and TR Residences where the entrance is just across the road.  Refer to link
here
 and
here
 for the review.

Public transport will increase the traveling mobility and reduce reliance of private mode of transport. From tenancy perspective,
MRT/LRT will increase the liquidity
 to find tenant as well as rental rate due to accessibility and mobility without relying on private mode of transport.

However, the rental yield will depends on
the entry price
.

Most of the time, developers already include the premium in their development.
Aster Residence
 @ Cheras Hartamas, an affordable MRT linked development which launched recently from RM380K for a 2 bedrooms property are well received by property buyers due to the affordable pricing and 56mtr link bridge to MRT Taman Connaught Station.

Hence, MRT/LRT remain as relevant play however it is not the only factor. There are
other factors such as pricing, location, accessibility, demographic
 to be considered by buyers.

Some of the newly launched project along MRT1 such as Aster, Netizen and ParkLand are sold at very attractive pricing especially its close proximity to the MRT stations. PROPCAFE followers should do proper due diligence before they put their hard earned money in these developments.

Follow the Infrastructure

Highways are the main artery of many new development and  for certain townships, they are forking out own capital to build dedicated interchange to existing highway. For example, EcoWorld has built direct interchange from LEKAS. Similarly EcoWorld will improve the access from EcoGrandeur to LATAR highway.

This is the attraction as the highway will cut short the traveling time to main part of Klang Valley. Few of the new highways are under construction now such ask SUKE and DASH. Some shrewd developers have purchase land along these new highways and for existing townships are awaiting for these to be completed (such as Puncak Alam).

Another infra play is big development such as TRX, Bandar Malaysia and PNB118. Many developments are marketed and pitched within the close proximity which will prompt the future catalyst and demand.

Continew (Can read the PROPCAFE review
here
) for example, was sold within the walking distance to future TRX.

Razak City was sold just across the Bandar Malaysia where the project has been shelved indefinitely due to political sensitivity surrounding 1MDB.  Where else for PNB118, the targeted completion is 2024 where Opus will be completed in 2019.

Timing
 of the property completion is very important. If you buy a property while the infrastructure or the development is still in the infant stage, you need a holding power while waiting for infrastructure to be completed.

Township

Township theme is one of the most relevant and will stay relevant in
foreseeable future
. The attraction is obvious – township come with
single developer who control the supply and mix of launch
. Not only that, developer is committed to build the infrastructure and amenities such as school, recreation club, police and fire station, shopping malls, shop etc.

The well planned and newer township will come with security feature such as patrol guard, FnG and GnG within each precinct for the added security. The street is well landscaped and some premium phases will come with immaculate landscaped backlane for the lush resort feeling.

However in Greater Klang Valley context, most of these township rely on the highway as main traveling mode. Township such as Setia Alam / EcoPark / Bukit Raja / Bukit Jelutong / SetiaEcoHill / EcoMajestic rely on highways where nearest public transport is probably 10-15km away.

Hence, the residents would rather drive to the destination rather than detour to nearest public transport. When the township is getting mature, the highways will be choked with traffic. This is experienced by 15 years township like Setia Alam / Bukit Raja where the jam at the toll can be up to 20-30min.

PROPCAFE™ Guide : Townhouse Living Concept

Township is probably one of the favorite spot among homebuyers and investors however for residents, traffic jam in peak hour at the main highways will be constant debate and consideration and for some residents, it is a small price to be paid for the living in a well-planned township.

However PROPCAFE feels that government should invest in enhancing connectivity in these townships however given that our current dire financial situation, mega projects probably a small probability now. However PROPCAFE also feels what buyers should do is invest/buy property with public transport connectivity. Area such as Sepang, Putra Height, Cyberjaya, 16 Sierra and Warisan Puteri – there already and will have stations from ERL/LRT/MRT.

Currently the under construction MRT2 line will traverse through 16 Sierra @ Pouching South by IOI Properties. One station will be built inside 16 Sierra which will provide connectivity to the residents of 16 Sierra @ Pouching South.

To read PROPCAFE review of 16 Sierra @ Puchong South, click the link
16 Sierra
,
6 Sierra
 and
Lyden @ 16 Sierra

Development in 16 Sierra such as La Thea, Lyden, Akira, N’ Dira are eligible for IOI’s Pay Later and Buy Now scheme.

Conclusion

There is no right or wrong in every investment and it is depends on your personal criteria, what is your objective, what is your preference and finally risk versus reward of your appetite.

Similar to all property stakeholders, PROPCAFE would glad to see a rebound of property market in 2019 which will bring confidence to all stakeholders.

Till then, have an abundant of joy, wealth and happiness in 2019. Happy Hunting!

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PROPCAFE™ Guide : Top 10 Considerations When Buying Property In Malaysia 2017

Most of the time we don’t know what we want in our life. Life can be quite confusing when it come to decision making especially when buying a property. When you ask your partner a question whichis as simple as : what would you feel like having for meal? , where do you want to go? or what would you like to do? – Most of the time if not you won’t get any direct answer to that questions. I believe day to day situation like this is familiar to you.

When come to buying a house for own stay, I believe many consideration factors will come to your mind and thing can get even more complicated if you would want to discuss with your partner especially when they have no idea on what they want in buying property regardless for own stay or investment. The most challenging answer I had encountered was “I want everything” , am I the only one who is facing this kind of dilemma? On average PROPCAFE receive at least 10 – 20 emails per month ranging from ” Do you think it is a good buy ? ” to ” When will you do a review for Project XXX?  and would like to hear your review prior making the decision ” . From the corresponding with my readers, I realise that there is one thing in common ; most of them already have made their decision but just need some “push” or “validation” to execute it.

For those who are attached or married, trust me …. one of the consideration in decision making is to make your partner happy but my advice is not at the dispense of your own happiness. Pleasing your partner is as important as your own health and happiness and I hope for those who are reading this perhaps could take a deeper consideration and making a compromise to face the reality together with your partner with mutual respect when making a decision in purchasing a property for own use. There is a saying “Happy Partner Happy Life”.

If you don’t know where to start or what are the main consideration when buying a property in Malaysia is fine and with this article I hope it would give you some insights on what typically Malaysians want when buying a property.

What are the latest trend of Malaysian’s top considerations when buying property in Malaysia? To make it sweet and simple, I will just elaborate on the top 3 consideration when buying property in Malaysia. According to a property survey done recently by PropertyGuru [ I wished they could have give an indications of  the correspondents’ gender who took part in this survey 🙂 ] ; the top 10 considerations are :

1. LOCATION

Location, Location, Location – Property Investment 101 and this hardly will goes wrong. But not many people can understand the fact that Location come with
cost
. Today even not favorable location also commanding an unfavorable price tag. People simply still don’t get it that if you want good thing , it comes with a “struggle”, pain or a cost. If you want happiness, it comes with a cost. If you want a nicely tone 6 packs abs , you have to endure the pain and the sweat.  If you merely want something and not willing to take pain, you can just continue “to want” for the rest of your life. This goes same to property, if you want a good location property, you have to endure the higher “pain or struggle or cost” otherwise you will be forever “just want” and by the time you start to accept that happiness does come with a cost, somehow you already ended up buying property some where you could not even imagine in your life. If you still don’t get it, I suggest go to have a read on
The Most Important Question of Your Life
 – By Mark Manson

Happiness Come With Pain

“E
verybody wants what feels good. Everyone wants to live a carefree, happy and easy life, to fall in love and have amazing sex and relationships, to look perfect and make money and be popular and well-respected and admired and a total baller to the point that people part like the Red Sea when you walk into the room.

Everyone would like that — it’s easy to like that.

If I ask you, “What do you want out of life?” and you say something like, “I want to
be happy
 and have a great family and a job I like,” it’s so ubiquitous that it doesn’t even mean anything.

A more interesting question, a question that perhaps you’ve never considered before, is
what pain

do you want in your life? What are you
willing to struggle
 for? Because that seems to be a greater determinant of how our lives turn out”. – Mark Manson

2. Safety & Security

M Residence 2 @ Rawang by MahSing

I am not surprised that Safety & Security has moved up to the Top 3 spots in consideration when buying a property. Safety & Security has been Malaysian’s Primary Concern. How’s not ???When we have some super brilliant MP here said
‘Ok for rape victims to marry their rapists’
 . If this kind of thing keeps on happening, soon SAFETY & SECURITY will be the NO 1 Top Consideration when Buying A Property In Malaysia.

Safety & Security is top 2 consideration when buying property in Malaysia

3. Size

Sentral Suites @ KL Sentral by MRCB

Size directly affects the absolute pricing of the house and lead to affordability. In this survey it was not mentioned clearly that whether is sizing down or sizing up. I presume Malaysians prefer the “Right” size in balance of price and comfort. Perhaps now our generation buyer – Gen Y and Z perceives the BEST size as the
RIGHT Size
 and Not the BIG Size property. Size is not only main consideration when buying property but also important consideration to Developers in Malaysia understanding what the trend of market demands. If you build something that irrelevant with what the market would like to absorb then this is really a big problem. The trend of property size is heading to “Right Size” where the next wave of purchasers value personal life experience, lifestyle and freedom more than the size of the property itself. Those are the keys deciding factors for the next wave of purchasers in the context of Property Size regardless for marriage or own stay. The paradigm shift towards ” I ain’t going to be the working slave for the next 30 years for the bank due to the house mortgage debt . I only live once in my life” – this TIME Value perception is rather imminent . You will ask me, what is the “RIGHT” size then? I will leave this to readers, only yourself knows the best what you want and if you don’t, then don’t rush to buy.

4. Infrastructure and Amenities

5. Reputation of Developer

6. Future Developments in the area

7. Tenure of Property ( Leasehold or Freehold)

8. PSF (Per Square Foot) Price

9. Accesibility to Public Transport

10. Facilities Within Properties

Top Consideration When Buying Property [Source PropertyGuru]
This resembles a marked difference compared to 2016 when
Location, PSF and future developments in the area
 were deemed top considerations when making a property purchase decision.  As compared to 2016, location remains the top factor in key decision making when buying a property in Malaysia , however we can see that Safety or Security and Size have become the primary factors.

Other important factors were availability of infrastructure and amenities, developer’s reputation and future developments in the area – ranked 4
th
, 5
th
 and 6
th
 respectively. Surprisingly, rental yield, only reached 13
th
 on the list – a potential indicator of more owner-occupiers in the market than investors. According to PropertyGuru’s Sheldon Fernandez, the changing factors are a reflection of the current mind-set and expectations of property buyers.

“The results provide insight into the minds of potential property buyers in 2017. As people look to new areas outside of the city centre that meets their budget, location remains a priority but with safety and security growing in importance. Living further away, people generally want the benefit of space. Hence, the emergence of these three factors at the top. But importantly, the minds of Malaysians is to secure a property; to get a roof over their heads whereas before they would probably also be thinking of potential rental yields and capital appreciation. There is certainly a mind-set shift in 2017,” said Fernandez.

He also added that the survey results are consistent with the increased number of searches over the past six months for properties on the outskirts of Selangor and the city centre.

Emerging Property Hotspots in Suburban Selangor

According to the Consumer Sentiment Survey, the outskirts of Selangor is gaining traction with 29% of potential homeowners (25% in 2016) now regarding the location as their preferred choice. This indicates the emergence of new property hotspots in suburban areas of Selangor – between 20-40km from the city centre such as Rawang, Sungai Buloh, Semenyih, Ulu Kelang, Ampang and others. Not surprisingly, high-rise strata homes consisting of both apartments and condominiums are the top choice followed by landed terrace homes. Demand for bungalows and semi-Ds however continue to dip.

Average Property Budget in 2017

With regards to budget, close to 40% of respondents intending to buy within the next six months indicated they would spend between
RM300,001-RM500,000 in 2017

to buy a property. Higher priced properties of RM700,001 to more than RM900,000 are likely to see fewer buyers with only 18% of respondents looking at these niche segments.

Top Consideration When Buying Property Chart_2 [Source : PropertyGuru]
“It indicates the sweet spot of what the majority of Malaysians are willing to fork out for a home. This is consistent with market trends, where properties priced RM300,000-RM500,000 have done well. Properties priced between RM500,000-RM700,000 will also see some movement. But 2017 is unlikely to see a recovery in the higher-end market. Properties closer to the RM1 million mark will generally be hard to sell though there will always be exceptions,” said Fernandez.

Ya, it is true that according to the stats, majority Malaysians willing to spend on property priced RM300,000-RM500,000 but as an investor we should not forget the supply and quantity of property priced RM300,000-RM500,000 available in the market. I would have to say this is not the indicator of what price range of property you should invest in especially if there have been external force distortion to the property market. Simply said, it just doesn’t work as it how it used to be. On the contrary, even though higher priced properties of RM700,001 to more than RM900,000 are likely to see fewer buyers with only 18% that does not means all these properties will be over hanged. If the supply of the product in this range is not many combined with few more other factors, this could be an opportunity here. I believe in every segments of property , there will be an opportunity balanced well by its risk.

We need to understand the difference between River Fishing and Sea Fishing

Overseas Property Demand Declines

On a separate note, the survey also showed a continued drop in appetite among Malaysians to acquire overseas properties despite Brexit and other global developments. Australia remains the top choice for overseas properties with high rise homes being the top choice, followed by landed houses. Among the top reasons cited for overseas property buying were for retirement (43%), better environment / surroundings (42%), capital appreciation (38%), rental yield (37%), suits migration plans (36%) and children’s education (36%).

The Consumer Sentiment Survey measures property sentiment and expectations amongst Malaysians with regards to the local property market. It polled 1013 respondents online. Similar surveys are carried out concurrently in Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. The goal of the Survey is to help consumers gain an insight into the local property market to make better business and buying decisions. The survey was conducted in collaboration with Intuit Research Consultants, a well-respected international research agency.

The End.

[BM Version] Faktor Utama Pembelian Hartanah di Malaysia bagi 2017

Rakyat Malaysia dilihat semakin bijak dalam menyesuaikan diri dan menerima realiti keadaan pasaran hartanah semasa secara berperingkat. Sejajar dengan senario ini, portal hartanah paling berpengaruh di Malaysia dan Asia Tenggara, PropertyGuru kini mendedahkan beberapa perubahan faktor pelaburan hartanah utama yang disaksikan sejak enam bulan kebelakangan ini.

Bagi rakyat Malaysia, tiga faktor penting yang dipertimbangkan ketika membeli rumah adalah
lokasi dan diikuti oleh keselamatan persekitaran dan saiz hartanah
. Perubahan ini cukup ketara memandangkan faktor lokasi, harga hartanah dan pembangunan masa depan di kawasan hartanah lebih diutamakan oleh para pembeli pada tahun 2016.

Faktor-faktor lain yang tersenarai dalam kedudukan keempat, kelima dan keenam termasuk jenis kemudahan dan infrastruktur yang ditawarkan, reputasi syarikat pemaju dan pembangunan masa depan di kawasan tersebut. Lebih mengejutkan, faktor pulangan sewa hanya tersenarai dalam kedudukan ke-13. Ini sekali gus bererti pasaran hartanah tempatan bakal dikuasai oleh golongan pembeli khususnya pemilik kediaman dan bukannya pelabur hartanah.

Menurut Pengurus Negara PropertyGuru Malaysia, Sheldon Fernandez, faktor perubahan ini memberi gambaran jelas terhadap harapan dan mentaliti golongan pembeli hartanah hari ini.

“Hasil tinjauan ini mendedahkan harapan bakal pembeli hartanah pada tahun ini. Meskipun para pembeli kini lebih menggemari kawasan baharu yang jauh dari pusat bandar dan memenuhi bajet masing-masing, faktor lokasi masih diutamakan. Aspek keselamatan juga dilihat kian diutamakan. Lazimnya, pembeli juga mengutamakan aspek ruang jika lokasi yang jauh menjadi pilihan. Justeru, tiga faktor ini kini adalah aspek terpenting bagi para pembeli,” kongsi Fernandez.

“Bagi kebanyakan rakyat Malaysia, kejayaan memiliki rumah adalah lebih penting. Membeli rumah untuk kegunaan peribadi lebih diutamakan sebelum memikirkan soal kenaikan nilai hartanah atau pulangan sewa yang lumayan. Tahun 2017 pastinya menjadi saksi kepada perubahan mentaliti para konsumer,” tambah Fernandez.

Tambahnya lagi, hasil tinjauan tersebut juga konsisten dengan peningkatan jumlah pencarian hartanah di kawasan Selangor dan pusat bandar menerusi portal PropertyGuru sejak enam bulan kebelakangan ini.

Kemunculan Kawasan Hartanah Popular di Subbandar Selangor

Berdasarkan Tinjauan Sentimen Konsumer PropertyGuru, kawasan luar bandar di Selangor kini kian mendapat perhatian. Berbanding 25 peratus responden pada tahun 2016, sebanyak 29 peratus responden yang juga bakal pembeli melihat lokasi tersebut sebagai pilihan kegemaran mereka. Ini sekali gus membuktikan kemunculan kawasan hartanah popular baharu di luar Selangor yang terletak sekitar 20 hingga 40km dari pusat bandar seperti Rawang, Sungai Buloh, Semenyih, Ulu Kelang, Ampang dan sebagainya.

Seperti yang dijangka, kediaman strata bertingkat seperti apartmen dan kondominium merupakan pilihan utama dan diikuti oleh kediaman atas tanah. Permintaan terhadap hartanah jenis banglo dan rumah berkembar dua juga kian merosot.

Purata Bajet untuk Pembelian Hartanah 2017

Dari segi bajet pula, kira-kira 40 peratus responden berhasrat untuk membeli rumah dalam tempoh enam bulan akan datang. Bajet yang diperuntukkan untuk membeli rumah pada tahun 2017 adalah antara RM300,001 sehingga RM500,000.Hanya sebanyak 18 peratus responden berhasrat membeli hartanah mewah terpilih yang berharga dalam lingkungan RM700,001 sehingga RM900,000. Kategori hartanah khas ini dijangka hanya mampu menarik perhatian sejumlah kecil pembeli rumah.

“Keadaan ini menunjukkan nilai perbelanjaan yang sanggup ditanggung oleh kebanyakan rakyat Malaysia untuk memiliki rumah. Sejajar dengan trend pasaran hartanah, hartanah yang berharga antara RM300,000 sehingga RM500,000 amat laris. Manakala hartanah yang berharga dalam lingkungan RM500,000 sehingga RM700,000 juga semakin mendapat perhatian. Namun, pasaran hartanah mewah dilihat tidak akan pulih pada tahun 2017. Hartanah yang berharga sekitar RM1 juta biasanya kurang mendapat sambutan tetapi mungkin ada pengecualian dalam soal ini,” kata Fernandez.

Permintaan Terhadap Hartanah Luar Negara Semakin Berkurangan

Sementara itu, tinjauan tersebut juga menunjukkan rakyat Malaysia kini kurang berminat untuk membeli hartanah di luar negara sebagai pelaburan biarpun dengan fenomena Brexit dan pembangunan dunia yang lain. Australia terus kekal sebagai destinasi utama pelaburan hartanah pilihan ramai. Kediaman bertingkat menjadi pilihan utama para responden diikuti dengan kediaman atas tanah. Antara sebab utama pelaburan hartanah di luar negara menjadi pilihan termasuk persaraan (43 peratus), persekitaran yang lebih baik (42 peratus), peningkatan nilai hartanah (38 peratus), nilai sewa yang lebih lumayan (37 peratus), pelan penghijrahan (36 peratus) dan pendidikan anak-anak (36 peratus).

Tinjauan Sentimen Konsumer bertujuan untuk menilai harapan dan sentimen rakyat Malaysia terhadap pasaran hartanah tempatan. Seramai 1,013 responden telah mengambil bahagian dalam tinjauan dalam talian ini. Tinjauan serupa juga dijalankan secara serentak di Singapura, Thailand dan Indonesia. Objektif tinjauan ini adalah untuk  membantu golongan pembeli memperoleh pandangan bernas tentang pasaran hartanah tempatan bagi membuat keputusan pelaburan dan pembelian hartanah yang lebih bijak. Tinjauan ini dijalankan dengan kerjasama agensi penyelidikan antarabangsa terkemuka, Intuit Research Consultants.

[Chinese Version]
2017
年大马人购买房地产的首要考虑因素

随着越来越多大马人适应了房地产的市场现况，并逐渐回流房地产市场，马来西亚和东南亚领先房地产集团PropertyGuru指出，
消
费者在购买房产时的首要考虑因素在过去6个月出现了变化。 大马人的三大考量依序为
地点
、
安全
/
保安
，以及
面积
，这与2016年以地点、每平方尺价格（PSF），以及有关地区的未来发展为购买房产优先考虑因素的现象，出现了明显的差异。其他重要的考虑因素是基础建设和设施、发展商的声誉和该地区的未来发展，分别排在第4、第5和第6。令人惊讶的是，租金收益率只排行第13位，似乎暗示市场上有意买房子供本身居住的人士，比投资者来得多。 PropertyGuru马来西亚区经理谢尔顿（Sheldon Fernandez）指出，考虑因素的变化反映了房地产买家当前的心态和期望。

谢尔顿分享说，“这个现象让我们进一步了解2017年潜在房地产买家的想法。尽管人们开始在城市中心以外的新地区寻找符合他们预算的房地产，但地点仍然是优先考虑的因素，而安全以及保安也日益重要。人们住得远一些，一般上是为了换来更大的空间。因此，这就是为什么这几个因素跃升为三大考虑因素。”  他补充说，“然而，更重要的是，大马人的首要想法还是要确保能拥有房产，以便有栖身之所，相比起之前，他们考虑的可能是潜在租金收益率和资本增值。因此，消费者的心态的确在2017年出现了转变。” 他还说，这项调查结果符合PropertyGuru网站用户在过去六个月里，增加了对雪兰莪和市中心外围地区房地产搜索次数的现象。

雪兰莪郊区的新兴房地产热点

根据PropertyGuru消费者信心调查，雪兰莪郊区的吸引力日益增加，有多达29％的潜在购屋者（2016年为25％）视这些地区为首选。这显现了雪兰莪郊区新兴房地产热点的崛起，这些地区距离市中心20至40公里，如：万挠（Rawang）、双溪毛糯（Sungai Buloh）、士毛月（Semenyih）、淡江（Ulu Kelang）、安邦（Ampang）等等。

毫无意外，高楼住宅是潜在购屋者的首选，其次是有地排屋。独立式和半独立式洋房的需求则继续下降。

2017
年的平均房地产预算

在预算方面，近 40％的受访者有意在未来六个月内，也就是在2017年花费30至50万令吉购买房产。介于70万至90万令吉或以上的高价房产的买气则偏低，只有18％的受访者表示有意物色属于这个价位的房地产。

谢尔顿表示，“这显示了大多数马来西亚人愿意为了拥有家园所付出的带价。这与市场趋势一致，因为价格介于30万至50万令吉的房地产表现良好。价格介于50至70万令吉间的房地产也有一定的买卖交易。但是，我们在2017年不太可能看到高端市场的复苏。价格近100万令吉的房地产通常难以出售，不过还是有一些例外。”

海外房地产需求下降

另一方面，调查还显示，尽管面对英国脱欧和其他全球性因素，马来西亚人对购买海外房地产的热衷程度依然持续降温。澳洲仍然是人们在海外置产的首选，其中又以高楼住宅最受欢迎，其次是有地房屋。海外置产的主要原因包括退休（43％）、更好的环境（42％）、资本增值（38％）、租金收益率（37％）、配合移民计划（36％）以及孩子教育（36％）。

PropertyGuru消费者信心调查评估马来西亚人对房地产市场的信心和期待。这项调查通过互联网访问了1013人。类似的调查也同时在新加坡、泰国和印尼进行。调查的目的是为了帮助消费者了解当地房地产市场，以做出更好的商业和购买决定。这项调查是PropertyGuru 与备受尊崇的国际研究机构Intuit Research Consultants合作进行的。

[Source : PropertyGuru’s Consumer Sentiment Survey]

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PROPCAFE Peek : Topaz SMD Good View @ Sungai Long By SHL

It has been a while since we last review on landed house, this review is a development in Sungai Long, some says its somewhere Sungai Long is Kajang, to some, this place is near to Mahkota Cheras.

To this writer, it is none of the above, this is RED BRICKS TOWN.

Welcome to the land of red bricks.

Where, the flats

The school (under-construction)

The hospital

The shoplots

And the houses, even with guard houses are in red bricks…..Red, red, red bricks…

Location

Sungai Long needs no further introduction, it is serene town located 20km from KL city centre.

It has all amenities that satisfy local day to day needs, schools, banks, fast food, petrol kiosk, hospital and college, as well as short drive robust commercial scenes at Mahkota Cheras.

It is reasonably well connected to KL with Cheras Kajang Highway, and Besraya highway.

The development

This development consists of 108 units freehold 2 Storey semi-detached homes, Built then Sell development storey semi-d development Sg Long location in SHL Consolidate Berhad, priced from RM1.238 million

The site

The site is sitting deep into Bukit Sg Long, but with walking distance the new Chinese primary school.

The floor and and foot print

Plot size 35×80, built-up 2670 sqft

The built up 25ft in width and 49 ft in length, 20 ft for the car porch and 10ft back and side land.

To the writer it is, this is the minimum requirement for a landed house to call a semi-d, anything smaller be deemed smaller semi-d. Never mind smaller semi-d, nowadays semi-ds are overused anyway, semi-d in the sky, every unit is a semi-d…you know who they are.

The layout are practical with no element of surprise, or creativity.

Each room is quite spacious, with guest room on ground floor.

The selling point:

Gated and guarded, 2 tier security level, linear garden with lakes, first in this part of the town.

most units are >70% completed, you can actually walk around to choose your desired unit.

the lakes, yes teh c themed lake

lush landscape, first in Sg Long

guard house 1

guard house 2

Ground floor ceiling height boast with 11.5ft. Generous ceiling height can do magic, adding grandeur effects to your living space.

The façade

There is nothing to shout about on the façade, boring, and uninspiring. Some argue this design can stand the test of time While, it looks old now, and it certain still looks of kinda old 2-3 decade later, like an VW old bettle, 30 years on still an old bettle, see my point!

I don’t like these pillars, but can fit 2 cars.

Front of the house

Front of the house

The pillars, are red too, but then can fit 2 cars comfortably

Finishing

As this is a BTS project, WYS is WYG. Finishing is average, not fantastic.

For those require refine living standard, you may need to spend abit to make up this baby.

Final Thought

Landed project are like gems nowadays, rare and precious!

The write always admires developers who make the efforts to build on-site show units, to enable buyers to have look and feel of the project before signing the dotted lines.

What more such sizeable development that is BTS, with close to 80% completed.

It is very encouraging to see developer putting up some great efforts to have the units build up to 70-80% and then launch it to the public, effectively eliminating the most material risks for all under construction project-
ABANDON
 project. Therefore almost
 Zero Abandon Risk!!

Buyers can basically cherry pick the best unit for own stay!

Last but not least some selection of actual site pictures for your viewing pleasure.

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PROPCAFE™ Guide : Trends in Malaysian Property Market

In another few more hours we will welcome 2016 into our life, let’s embrace 2016 with grace! At this point of time, usually we will sit down at a quiet corner and listing down our New Year resolutions and some of us will try to recap all the moment taken place in 2015. What will be yours New Year resolutions and how was your 2015 had taken you so far? 🙂

For me, throughout the year of 2015 has been a mixed feeling of ups and downs. There were happy moment yet it came with a package of sadness. Life is not always about smooth sailing journey; sometimes it can be very rough and tough too.

In the year of 2015 itself, back to back I had seen the separation of love one; be it whether is beyond your control such as sickness and accident or the course of actions that leading to the decision made.

The experience of encountering such an intense moment in such a short period of time span really inflicted some permanent scars on my heart and this leave me to question what is life again.

For those who had gone or still going through such a painful moment, hang in there and be strong.

Be Strong like him

“If
you
‘re
going through hell
, keep going.” –
Winston Churchill

Walk into the light

It is the entire rough, tough and painful journey will
carve your character today – a stronger and wiser person.
 Believe me believe you, the sky is the limit and all of us are unique and own some special potential.

This is your own journey which you have to walk yourself to discover it. This is life.

Let’s go back to the property.

I am feeling grateful and blessed as being able to sit down in a café (in one piece  🙂 ) writing my last article of 2015 while enjoying my hot coffee and I hope while you are reading this, you are enjoying every this single splendid moment with your family and those who are maters to you counting down for 2016.

In this last article of 2015, I am trying to sum it up all the moment what PROPCAFE had gone through in the year of 2015.

No doubt the property market of 2015 is soft as compared for the past few years. We heard and read quite a significant write-ups from the media or gurus on how bad the property market today and the outlook of property market in 2016 is not that really promising.

So how all these news affected us? Do we stop buying? The winter is coming, so do we stop hunting and hibernate during this season?

For me property investment is a long journey of self-discovery and similar to life; there are up and down, the good and bad moment, the tough and the easy moment.

PROPCAFE did not stop here and until today PROPCAFE is still learning. In order to be one fundamentally strong and shrewd property investor, you don’t quit or stop learning during the bad time.

The market is soft but it is not something unusual to PROPCAFE. If you got yourself the
right product, good or bad time is irrelevant
. Do not let the fear stopping you from moving forward.

It is during this time where it separates
the boy from the man
.

It is during the bad time you
 learn the most
.

It is during the bad time you can
differentiate the good from the bad
.

It is during the bad time, the most
unorthodox creativity and innovation
 will surface from its shadow of darkness.

It is during the bad time, you able to see what it takes to be
really in love with property
. (or SO, partner, business partner, friends)

It is during the bad time, you don’t have to fight with the rest, and you can have your own sweet time to think and make a decision, no need to queue overnight, pampered with choices, freebies and treated like one true customer.

So back to the question does it affect us? Yes, in a good way. Over this winter time, I had seen how PROPCAFE members re-structure their
buying trend
, in term of product, location, investment horizon, financing and the list can goes on to the extent of studying the
trends in Malaysian property market
.

Along the way, out of desperation and depressing market, PROPCAFE moved out from the
comfort zone
, explored the unexplored, made few hard head bangs on the wall and REALLY learned a lot.

Talking about banging our heads on the wall, now we learned to wear helmet now!

In the year of 2015, PROPCAFE members acquired 13 properties with approximate value of RM$7.25m comprises of new launch, sub-sales, auction and also semi new launch (dropped out unit which is near to completion).

One of the highlight moments of 2015 was 6 out of 13 properties were done in the last minutes year end shopping; inked on the dotted line in December 2015 itself.

More often if not that we read or hear about the property market outlook. Seldom as it is, we hardly hear about the trends in the Malaysian property market.

For those who have been long enough in the property industry should be able to spot on the changes of the trends in Malaysian property market.

Unlike fashion or lifestyle trends, the evolution of the trends in Malaysian Property Market is rather slow and sometime is almost unnoticeable but it does exist.

So let’s has a brief touch on the topic of “TRENDs” this time

Malaysia Property Market Trends – Back in October 2015, I came across this digital article about
 trends in the Malaysian Property
 by theedgeproperty.

Quite an interesting article though. Have a click on it if you do have spare time. After reading this article, “The Force within me was Awakens” – the word of “trend” been in my mind until today and then other words such as trendsetter, trendies, fashion trend, coffee trend, food and drink trend, market trend and somehow my mind gone a little bit wild to dark side of sex trend of 2015. 😳

Sex trends for 2015?  😳 Kid you not; there is Sex Trends for 2015! Opps.. wait a minute, sorry wrong picture here. Not going to talk anything about intimate topic here although I am quite open about it, perhaps I will leave it to my next write up. What I meant was The SEX+Y Trends for property market in Malaysia.

I started to ask myself a question, how these all other trends are interrelated and to what extend it will influence the property market trend?

Why as a property investor we need to understand and study the trends in Property Market?

And I discovered all these trends regardless of market, social, fashion, food and drink and not to forget sex and property having one thing in common –

“time + human behavior”

There will be a point in the market where the
baby boomers ( > 52 yo)
 as the major purchasers will starts to shrink slowly due to factors such as aging, health, financing limitation, retirement mindset and lesser risk appetite will be replaced by the next younger generation.

There will be a transition where the Generation Y and Millennials emerging as the biggest pool of property buyer in the property market and this is the nature universal law of property market

Fast forward 5 to 10 years from now, think about it as who will be the next first home owner?
Generation X ( age between 35 – 52)
 by now should already own their first home. ( you should be worry if you are Gen X and still does not own one yourself)

So who will be the next wave of mass market buyer hunting for their first home? This is one of the most difficult conundrums for the experts. 🙄

I am not an expert and I am making few assumptions here where most people
start
 to buy their first property after graduated and started to contribute in the workforce for average of 2 – 5 years of service ( where their income becoming stable and ready to settle-down
 ) and not withstanding the fact that one of the main driving force for getting their first home is
due family or marriage
.

This group should fall within the
age range of 25-34

and this group of buyer is the
today’s Millennial
. 💡 (age between 20-34) .

Now look around you and see whether you know or can identify any of the millennial 😀

Source of reference :*Below link will be a bit technical. Click only if you are interested to digest it 🙂

Young buyers in the property market
by the borneo post

Property development: The influence of demographic
change
s on the actors and the Malaysian housing
demand (preferences)
 – preliminary findings (housing
consumers)
 by
Hafiszah Ismail
1
, Abdul Hadi Nawawi
2
, Zainal Mat Saat
3
m,
Centre of Postgraduate Studies,
Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveyi
ng,
Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM)

Future Trend in Malaysian Property Market: Going to be Vertical by Daniele Gambero

As a developer and property investor, how much do you really understand the Millennial? If you want to stay ahead in the game for a longer horizon, understanding the trend and behavior of purchasers in property market is equivalent important as others factors.

I am not saying that this parameter outweighs others common factors that we already known such as demographics, demand vs supply, price, location and accessibility but I am merely trying to highlight that *trend in property market ( *influenced by human behavior due to change of environment)  is one of the hidden factor in the equation of property investment that most people tend to omit.

So let’s start with a simple illustration below to find out more what their characteristics

Illustration Source : uxc professional solutions

And if you want to know the
top 50 brands for millennial
 .

You will be really surprised. Actually I am expecting #facebook and #instagram to be in the top 3 position.

Now we understand, in the near future, the Millennials will be the new blood and major force in the property market scene. We have to learn  to understand thing is changing over time, trend is built over it regardless whether you are willing to accept it or not.

The baby boomers and Gen X preferences or successful formula is no longer necessary applicable to this little unique daring ( or darling ) Millennials.

Nevertheless there will be still some common basic ground despite generation gap in the methodology of property hunting. Understanding  the behavior of Millennials will do you no harm but giving you some extra edges in your property investment over the long term horizon.

Let’s see where the trends in Malaysia property market will be heading to as we are moving forward from now on.

Based on the article about trends in the Malaysia Property by theedgeproperty.com.my – I am doing a cover version for the trends in the Malaysia Property Market and this is what I gathered here :

1. Mixed-use developments (aka Fully Integrated Lifestyle Development)

The upcoming Millennials will be the mass force behind the property buying scene. Their behavior is more towards lifestyle and wants all
“NICE”
 things within their one-arm length that come with service like a hotel.

“It is so cool, your new place got
 everything,
 got so many happening cafe, nice restaurant, cinema, gym, awesome shopping center, cool offices and a beautiful park too! How I know? I see many people shared it over #facebook and #instagram!”
 🙄  😆

Picture Credit to The MOG – The MakeOver Guys https://www.facebook.com/themakeover.my/

Lifestyle – Shopping

Lifestyle – Coffee Culture

Dining Experience

Healthy Lifestyle

Example of few current mixed-use development project : KL Ecocity,
REV.O Bukit Jalil
 , Pavilion Bukit Jalil,
Tropicana Gardens
 , Pavilion Damansara Height ,
Sunway Velocity
 ,
EkoCheras
, and Tropicana Metropark

2. Aged care facilities

The baby boomers are getting older. Matter of time that this will create demands on medical health care facilities, aged care facilities and elderly friendly lifestyle property to maintain their independence and lifestyle as kids nowadays hardly stay with their parents anymore when they had grown up. So now staying near to hospital is not bad after all.

“Oh God, my lovely wife..no one will care for old people like us anymore, our kids now all grown up and having their own family, we don’t want burden them, but don’t worry my love, I will be with you and grow old together, let me look for a new home for our retirement together” 😆

True Love Has no Expiration Date

According to an article by PropSocial ,
the top 3 retirement homes of Malaysia
 are

The Green Leaf by Gracious Homes Sdn Bhd

AraGreens Residence by HSB Development Sdn Bhd

GreenAcres by TI Homes

More Read Up on senior/elder/retirement home friendly

i.
Models of senior living for Malaysia

ii.
How to make your home senior-friendly

3. Smaller intelligent homes

Picture Credit to The MOG – The MakeOver Guys https://www.facebook.com/themakeover.my/

Size is getting
smaller
 to
accommodate mass market affordability level
 but with the
advance of technology
 innovation (booming of tech apps), creative practical layout, innovative design concept or some creative furniture and
“SMART” ID
, new generation likely to be able to accept the smaller size being compensated with technology.

Maybe the tagline is ” Size does not matter but “Smart” does matter”  😛

4.
The dual key concept

Contradicts to No:2 , this is for those who die die want to have a few generations staying together where a common practiced culture by the Asian or for those

“Kid, you stay with me because you cannot afford a house by yourself” 🙂 I love Asia! But there is another Chinese old saying that ONE mountain not able to store TWO tigress  ( Direct translation : There is no way two women able to live under the same roof )

This picture is solely only for illustration purposes . It does not represent the family is happily staying together with the dual key concept home. But we shall give them the credit for those who atleast try their best 🙂

The dual key concept is the concept of living allowing the flexibility of two or more families/couples/tenant staying together under the same unit yet maintain some privacy due to the layout design concept where mainly having
separate entrance
, master bedroom, living, dining and kitchen. In the event if there is any argument or fight, this will enable you need not to see his/her face daily yet you can maintain your daily activity but well definitely not for long term though.

You might want to consider this option, if you fight with your partner or your partner’s family most of the time and yet your partner wants to stay together with his or her family 😆  😆  ( Okey I am just joking )

Example of dual key concept project :
The Duo @ USJ 1

5. Green homes

The Incredible Hulk Type; even Rolex also came out with Green Colour Submariner and it is one of the highly sought after color in the submariner series albeit at a premium price than the conventional model.

It seems like the Green concept is getting more acceptable despite the higher cost of owning one. Honestly I don’t have any comment on this. Well but to some extent, the Millennial today likely to be more health and environmental conscious but then again the price of mother nature is subjective to individual.

It will remains as an open debate at least in Malaysia till the day when a lower cost of alternative solution able to untie this knot.

“Please give me one Green Latte with my own cup and need not the plastic bag”

However from the excerpt of THE GREEN HOME CONCEPT – ACCEPTABILITY AND DEVELOPMENT PROBLEMS A. Alias*, T.K. Sin, W.N.A.W.A. Aziz Centre for Studies of Urban and Regional Real Estate (SURE) Faculty of Built Environment, University of Malaya

Differences in Designs between Conventional Home and Green Home
The main difference between a conventional home and a green home is that
the conventional home used up 30% more energy compare to green home
. Green home which was developed by YTL is situated at an environmentally friendly place which is at the
Maple of West Sentul
, where it is surrounded by the greenery. This allows for the green home to maximise its exposure to the sunlight to generate the required energy. Conventional home can be built anywhere. The trees and shrubs surrounding green
home can act as the natural shades to cool down the house.

Definition of Green Home
Most of the respondents answered ‘an energy efficient home’ as their answer for the definition of Green Home. This is evidenced by 68% respondents answering the question positively. The rest of the respondents answered this question negatively i.e. ‘is the same as the Green House’ and ‘home which has lots of plants’.
This happens because the respondents do not know what actually a green home is
.
The exposure to green home is still low in our country. Some of the Malaysian might have heard of green home but they do not have any idea and adequate understanding about green home. This eventually will
lead to low demand of green home in Malaysia and them developers who develop green home will face problem to sell this type of houses.

Some of the example of green homes concept development :
Setia Eco Glades
,
Sunway Rimba Hills
, Ken Rimba, Bandar Rimbayu and The Light Collection

Which is your preference among all the five mentioned above? Being the greedy me, I wish to see more property development which comprises of ALL the five trends above.

That’s all folks, I hope you all enjoy reading it.

Before I pen off here,  PROPCAFE would like to say a big thank you to all our readers who have been supporting us and wishing everyone Happy New Year! – let’s us embrace 2016 together with loads of joy and happiness.

Special thanks to our two millennial angel for their lovely photos :

#chelseachang –
fb :
chelsea chang
  ig : @chelseanothome

#victoriayinyin – ig @victoriayinyin

and some awesome ID picture credits to our infamous ID guru
The MakeOver Guys
#MOG

Other photos credit : Google Images

This is JJ the intern of PROPCAFE
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PROPCAFE Peek : Trillion @ Jalan Tun Razak KLCC By Sim Lian

Propcafe is proud to bring you first hand information ahead of KL Trillion Serviced Residences official launch that is expected to be on this week!

Fronting Jalan Tun Razak

Location

Trillion is located at 338 Jalan Tun Razak, zone 2 KLCC.

Product

KL Trillion is a combination of a Green Building Index grade ‘A’ office block, five levels of commercial space, and two 39-storey serviced residence blocks.

The 368 units serviced residences are sitting on a 4.45 acres freehold land, with units sized from Type A-963sqf 2 bedder, Type B-1,485sqf 3 bedder, Type C-2,065sqf 3+ study, Type D 3,101sqft 4+Family, and penthouses from 4,225sqf to 6,274sqf.

Closer look at the facade

Backing Ampang elevated highway

Site Plan

Office Block on the left and 2 residential block on the right

Developer

KL Trillion is developed by Perumahan SLG Central Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Singapore based developer Sim Lian Group Limited (‘Sim Lian’)

Ah
Sim Lian is pretty well known name in Singapore Property scene, it started as a construction company, as its core competencies are developing HDB apartments and mass market condos in Singapore.

Facilities

Level 5 of the development houses a whopping 2 acres of resort like facilities.

Plenty of facilties!

Furnishing

High and low kitchen cabinets, built in wardrobes to all bedrooms, split unit airconds to all bedroom, ducted air-cond to living and dining, hot water supply, gas hob, induction hob, cook hood, oven, microwave oven, washing machine cum dryer and fridge….sufficiently furnished! Just like a Singapore new condo!

Layout

No surprises, on the layout, they are generally practical.  This writer prefers Type D, only if it shrinks by another 1000sqft, and don’t play play, private lift with private garden!!! For Type D units!!!

Left is Block B Right is Block A

Type A and Type B

Type C and Type D

Price

Maintenance is 40sen per sqft inclusive of sinking fund.

The asking price for KL Trillion serviced residence starts from RM1.48mil, for 963sqf Type A unit from level 6. Type B from RM2.03mil, Type C from RM2.6m and Type D from RM3.3mil. Smaller units comes with 1 car park the bigger ones with 2.

The writer was told, there is no up front rebate for this project, to sign off SPA, buyer has to fork out 10%. But…

As we observed the KL Trillion is on advance stage of completion, the multi-storey car park is likely to be completed very soon, this also means the completion of earth work and foundation for the development are claimable!

However, like many other kind developers in KL, the developer is giving 10% rebate on the 2nd 10%, aka the foundation claim!

Do up the calculation, KL Trillion is 90% off the list price, and now it starts from RM1.3xmil…

So, is this a right price for KLCC zone 2 properties?

We would like to hear the answer from you…..

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PROPCAFE™ Review : Trion @ Sungai Besi by Binastra

Introduction

KL City Centre is synonyms to where Petronas Twin Tower located and often quoted as the COG of Klang Valley, being the focal of the commercial activities and where most of the wealth are created. Petronas Twin Tower is also the home of Petronas, the sole Malaysia Company in Fortune 500. Many of the public listed companies also set the base here and not surprisingly some of the most expensive real estate are located here. You can read PROPCAFE™ Guide on the link
here
 to have general understanding of KLCC residential market.

The arteries leading to KLCC such as Jalan Mahameru from West, Jalan Kuching from North, Jalan Ampang from East and Jalan Loke Yew/ Sungai Besi from the south are bringing thousands (if not millions) of cars into KL City on daily basis. Obviously being such prominent spot offer attraction to acquire available land. For example in 2007 MahSing bought a 4.76 acres land along Jalan Sungai Besi for RM52mil which developed to what we know today as SouthGate. In July 2015, Binastra has acquired the 4.07 acre freehold land which used to house Volkswagen Show Gallery for RM96m. For more details clicks the link
here
. Recently Binastra has pre-launch the development, Trion. Read on for PROPCAFE™ Review.

Developer background

Binastra used to be contractor and built condos such as The Treez for Exsimz. They turned to be developer themselves and being a cash rich company, Binastra develops their project without bridging loan. This gave assurance to the buyers their financial muscle to complete a project without relying heavily on the sales. Binastra previous launches such as Green Residences @ Cheras, Citizen 1 & 2 @ OKR and The Reach @ Titiwangsa were well received by buyers. For The Reach @ Titiwangsa review by PROPCAFE™, you can click the link
here

Being the private company, the information of the company is quite limited and would rely on hearsay as well as media release by the company. Nevertheless Binastra seems to be quite a solid developer and has been delivering for the past projects.

Now Binastra is developing their most ambitious RM1.3b GDV development so far, Trion.

Location, Accessibilities and Surrounding

Located approximately 6.5km away from KLCC, Trion is located along Jalan Sungai Besi. If you know where Southgate and Wisma MahSing is, the site which used to be ex-Volkswagen Show Gallery already demolished and currently busy with Trion construction work.

Trion Location

Google Location of Trion

Jalan Satu, Dua and Chan Sow Lin are famous with small medium industrial area, workshop and service center, hardware shop and even a self-storage warehouse. The roads are narrow with vehicles haphazardly parked along the road. The MRT2 which is currently under construction also does not help the traffic around the area.

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Trion Accessibilities

If you are coming from KLCC, Trion is easily accessible as it is simple turning off Jalan Sungai Besi. Even though the 3 blocks Trion will be prominent landmark, it is much trickier if you are coming from South, PJ or KL Sentral, as you cannot make U-Turn at Loke Yew Roundabout. The best bet would be relying on Waze.

Direction and distance to major location

Masterplan, Concept and Façade

From the website, Trion has loading up plenty of the USP of the development

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Propcafe likes the GBI idea on mixed development however developer needs to elaborate what is value proposition to the purchasers. Developer needs to fulfill GBI requirement in order to obtain the certification. It can be time and effort tedious however the reward the building to be more energy efficient. However upon the completion and to maintain the certification, JMB needs to pay the fee which can be quite expensive affair.

Mercure Hotel being part of the mixed development, will also offer house-keeping, laundry, event and catering to the residents. The concept is promoted in luxury or branded condotel however Propcafe wonders how many residents will need such novelty service given that it is quite expensive.

There are 3 blocks in total in Trion. 2 blocks of 66 storeys serviced apartment and another 57 storeys block consists of 37 storeys serviced apartment and 19 storeys Mercure Hotel. In total there are 1344 units of serviced apartment spread across 3 blocks and 235 hotel rooms. The density of Trion easily worked to be 330 units, on par (or higher) with development such as M Vertica @ Cheras and RC Residences @ Sungai Besi.

Trion factsheet

The first 7 storeys will be 38 retails and more than 2000 carparks to serve the needs of residents and hotel guests.

Developer has mitigated the high density units by providing quite a generous lift ratio for each building. Developer has split the lifts to low and high zone like what UOA did with SouthView and Southlink for more energy efficient and better lift management.

Block

Total Units

Passenger Lift

Lift Ratio

A

536

6

89

B

592

6

99

C

216 hotel rooms

4

54

C

235 hotel rooms

4

59

Each block will have a service lift

PROPCAFE™ was not impressed with the façade. Despite the effort to weave the facilities deck located on level 8, 55 and 66
th
 on block A & B and Level 21 on block C, the façade was too busy probably due to the high plot ratio.

Trion is expected to be landmark in this part of Kuala Lumpur as they are no other 66 storeys building (The tallest residential in Kuala Lumpur so far is Four Seasons with 65 storeys). Hm.. At this location where surrounded by industrial area…

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Do click the link
here
  for the developer’s Trion promotional video.

Amenities

The developer brochure lists plenty of impressive amenities ranging from healthcare, education, shopping malls, major landmark etc. However the landmark seems to be neither here and there. Chan Sow Lin LRT station (post 2022 will have MRT station as well) is easily 1km away and given the current road condition, it is not and conducive walking condition. Approximately 300m away from the LRT Station the walkway will be covered.

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Developer offers shuttle service however again… the cost involved in maintaining the vehicle as well as driver. If developer just supply one MPV it may not be sufficient to cater for 1344 serviced apartment and 235 hotel guests especially during the morning and evening peak hour.

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The nearest shopping mall is Mytown which is approximately 2km away. However do not be easily deceived as the Jalan Tun Razak is famous for congestion especially the traffic light in front of Jalan Pasar. Propcafe
TM
 would suggest prospect buyers to perform self-due diligence by exploring the locality of Trion.

Facilities

Facilities in Trion are spread over 4 levels across the 3 blocks

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Ground Level

Level 8
th

Level 54
th
 on block A and 55
th
 on block B. Both are linked with sky bridge

Level 66
th
 on each block A and B

Level 21
st
 on Block C

On the ground floor, there are 38 units of retails to serve the residents and hotel guests. Each block will have dedicated lobby and drop off area with theme Bolt, Neo and Sheen.

 Drop Off Area Bolt

 Lobby Bolt

 Drop Off Area Neo

 Lobby Neo

 Drop Off Area Sheen

 Lobby Sheen

Landscaped plaza also located on the central of the ground floor

Landscape Plaza

Myriad of facilities available on Level 8 to keep residents of 1344 units occupied. Notable facilities such as Olympic length swimming pool, Lagoon Pool, Multipurpose cum 2 badminton courts, Amphitheatre and Half Basketball Court

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Artist impression Facilities on Level 8
th

Level 54
th
 on block A and 55
th
 on block B is linked with Sky Bridge. Developer has incorporated Viewing Lounge and Floating Cube to take advantage of the majestic KL Skyline view

KL Skyline View

 Sky Bridge

 Floating Cube

Artist impression Facilities on Level 55
th

Developer has sacrificed penthouse by building rooftop garden and starry lounge for the enjoyment of residents

Artist impression Facilities on Level 66
th

Unit Layout

There are 27 variance unit layouts in Trion however it can be simply grouped to 7 layouts (including type D1) with minimal variance between them.

Unit layout overview

The size is ranging from 689sqft (2 bedroom, 1 bathroom) to 1055sqft (3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms). 2 bedrooms 1 bathroom forms quarter of total units and 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms take up another 60% of total units. The balance 13% are 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms variance.

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The layout in general is squarish and efficient. Most of the bedrooms are facing outside except intermediate variance A where the bedroom will be facing the airwell.

What caught PROPCAFE’s eyes is wide living and dining area which allow more natural light to permeate through the unit. Most layouts also dual keys ready where minimal renovation for the conversion.

The show units from brochure for type A~F.

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This is the generic specification for each unit. Developer will provide all relevant points (water heater, aircon etc), tiles on bedroom. Nothing fancy. The unit is partly furnished by developer with standard such as aircon, water heater and kitchen.

Pricing

The net PSF quoted to PROPCAFE is from below RM700psf with generous rebate scheme is offered. For KL City Skyline view, additional 5% premium loaded on type C. The maintenance (inclusive sinking fund) is targeted at RM0.36psf. for type A, the fee is worked to be less than RM250 per month.

Conclusion

The targeted completion for Trion is 3
rd
 quarter 2024, easily more than 5.5 years away despite construction is ongoing now.

A long way for an under construction property (as well as the progress interest). There are plenty of facilities offered and Binastra is trying to impress the prospect buyers. Or we can interpret the developer is working hard to make Trion a better development in order to make up for the lack of location and surrounding? Hm…. Some of the service such as shuttle may turn out just to be gimmick IF just one shuttle Van provided, it will not able to cater for the crowd in peak hour.

By end of this review, PROPCAFE still couldn’t “visualize” twin 66 storeys building on this location and neighborhood.

Till then, Happy Hunting Folks!

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PROPCAFE 360 Degree View : Tropicana Avenue @ Tropicana by Dijaya Corporation

Tropicana Avenue is a mix residential and commercial project developed by Tropicana Corporation Berhad (“Tropicana”).

Tropicana Avenue components consist of one office tower, ground to second floor the retails and shops, and one tower of residential service apartments. Tropicana Avenue is nestled along Persiaran Tropicana and located right opposite Casa Tropicana.

Tropicana Avenue was launched in early 2012 and recently VPed and once again PROPCAFE TEAM is very pleased to receive invitation for lawatan Sambil Belajar at Tropicana Avenue, we couldn’t wait to show our field work to you in our Tropicana Avenue 360 Degree View.

Here’s our take on Tropicana Avenue.

Pros:

Location, mature, PJ address.

Nearby up and coming new international school

Commercials will come in handy to serve the Tropicana folks in PJ, residents at Tropicana Avenue can practically walk down to run groceries errand, coffee, drinks, makan.

Good workmanship  with quality fittings and minor defects noted, fibre ready upon VP, water and electric connected at VP.

Good value for 650-700psf launch price project, the end product is aesthetically pleasing and fit well with Tropicana neighborhood, generous gym & equipment, good landscape features, what else, scroll down and see what we meant.

Cons:

Traffic during school hours (start & end) can be a nightmare.

Units at Tropicana Avenue near or facing NKVE can be noisy.

Access at Tropicana in general, now with presence of Tropicana Avenue and other similar future residential development, access has hardly have any improvement over the years. We very like to imagine when it rains heavily and when water level raise at the famous tunnel, go figure.

The artist illustration & actual for Tropicana Avenue is relatively near, unlike other development, total 360 degree change after VP.

This is the tennis court.

Tropicana Avenue has an half basketball court, no bad right, time to practice 3 pointers….

Looks at this, cantik kan?

Let’s check out the gym shall we?

Concluded the gym is spacious, and pretty well equipped. (Unlike some other gym
here
). Let’s look at the surrounding views.

Tropicana landed view, best!

NKVE view and noise, CMI! Avoid it if you can .

Casa Tropicana just right opposite, wave and say hi to neighbors.

Tropican Grande View. Let’s peek into the multipurpose hall.

Tropicana Avenue is fibre ready. Let’s look inside the unit.

Check out the retails and commercials, more to come, more to come.

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PROPCAFE Review : Tropicana Gardens – Bayberry @ Kota Damansara By Tropicana

Tropicana Gardens
 – Bayberry ~
What gives ?

The hottest launch this weekend is no doubt, Dijaya Corporations’s Tropicana Gardens Phase 2, aka
 Bayberry
.

Located along the perpetually jammed Persiaran Surian in Kota Damansara, you will either love it, or hate it.
Love it
, because it is located along the
Golden Mile
, where you can find everything from banks (CIMB, Public Bank, Stanchart, UOB, HSBC, Maybank, Hong Leong, etc) to groceries (Village Grocer), to hotels (Tune Hotels), coffee shops, restaurants, etc
Hate it
 ? Obviously you’ve not driven along Persiaran Surian during peak hours, traveling from Sunway Giza to Pelangi Sentral can sometimes take more than 30 minutes along that 1.5km stretch.

Phase 1 was called Arnica, and was launched in October 2012 – pricing from RM700psf upwards was considered ‘expensive’ at that time.

As usual, back then – the studios were the first to go, all sapped within a blink of an eye by investors, some taking multiple units even (hence the limit of 2 units per purchaser during Bayberry’s launch).

But Dijaya rightly (or wrongly if you are the aggrieved DPC member), kept some units for Saturday when it was open to the mass public during Arnica’s launch.

So what about this time around ?

As you can see, Dijaya has nicely set up seats to cater for the morning’s balloting process (or number taking process) ; as well as every Malaysian’s favorite – free food.

Price is a whopping RM1000psf upwards, when I was there around 1pm – there were 2 units of 983sf left.  One of which was going at RM1.1mio before discount. That’s RM1,120 psf!

Some pictures from the launch.  As the cliché goes, a picture tells a thousand words, all the units were snapped up.  This round the buyers were told to write a cheque payable to a lawyer after they sign the Option to Purchase form.  Previously, the buyers had the option of swiping their cards immediately on the spot , i.e. literally outflow of money on day 1.

As mentioned, layout are identical.  Smaller studio units face east/west, and I am sure the west facing units were the fisrt to go, as they face the internal facilities and pool as well.  The larger 983sf face north (i.e. faces the elevated LRT tracks).  And south facing are the 2 crème de la crème large sized units (of the 3-bedder 1,274sf and 3+1 bedder with 1,573sf).

I can see the investors going for the smaller unit, with smallest absolute value, whilst the larger units will be taken either by families for own stay, or by the orang kaya Tropicana for their weekend home..

Whilst previously the Arnica tower was up to 38 floors, Bayberry is taller with 43 floors.

Unit orientation, size, and layout are all the same as Arnica’s.

At RM1000psf upwards, I honestly don’t know how to read this.  I should have interviewed some of the buyers to find out what’s in their mind.  But I can sense quite a few were buying for the next generation.

For a studio unit, roughly RM600k, and with a 30-year loan, you are looking at minimum of RM3,000 to break even , after loan repayment and maintenance.

For a studio, in Kota Damansara to rent out at RM3,000 ? Hmmm, despite the MRT access – one could rent similar units within the KLCC vicinity.  If you don’t need the MRT access, then there’s always this nearby Tropicana Avenue with a less stressful environment.  The investors/owners of Sunway’s Nexis, Encorp’s Strand Residence, and Mitraland’s Cascades, must be smiling and rubbing their hands with glee on hearing this latest pricing news.  Bear in mind, neighbouring Casa Indah is only asking roughly RM600psf  Work has already started on the project, and Phase 1 buyers have already signed the S&P end of last year.

+

a rare integrated commercial, MRT, residential development – cannot think of any other projects with the exception of KL Sentral and KL Eco City

the latest ‘wong’ area in PJ, reminds me of the SS2 square as well as the DU Uptown area.

More legs to run with subsequent Phase 3 and Phase 4 launches

–

 pricing is prohibitive, excessive – hard to make sense of it

 price point is a benchmark in the PJ vicinity, reminds one of KLCC pricing or Mah Sing’s Icon-ic pricings

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