Property Malaysia

It’s been awhile since our last poll, this one will run for a week until next Tuesday 7 July 2009.

There’s been a lot of speculation that the recovery in the construction and property market has started in the last few months, signalling the worst of the economic crunch is over. Then there are those who says its a false dawn, the real recovery can only been seen a few more months at least. I would love to know what you think, please vote and get your friends to vote here too.

Cheers to everyone and thanks in advance for voting.

Ever since its inception, Shah Alam has always maintained its lowkey approach to development. In its early years, besides being the administrative capital of Selangor, it was more known as a quiet, low density residential area surrounded by enclaves of small to large industrial zones. But in the last 10 years, due to the population boom and folks migrating from more developed areas such as Petaling Jaya and Subang Jaya. The attractions are obvious - Shah Alam offered cheaper homes, a well-planned infrastructure and obviously less densely populated that its neighbours.

But the one thing it was lacking was in terms was the sparse commercial centres and with it, entertainment outlets. This has been the policy in Shah Alam all the while, the commercial areas were limited to the shopping malls in city centre and surrounding shops, and pockets of shoplots at every section of housing areas. Any other large commercial outlets were generally not available.

But changes are on the horizon, slowly. In an effort to attract foreign investment, the city council have are greenlighting the knowledge-based i-City development project, which will contain the city’s first cinema.

According to the Star,

The cinema is part of the final phase of the i-City, which comprises a shopping mall and a citywalk which are scheduled to be completed in 2015. The intelligent centre is located at Section 7 of the state capital.

“We are making an exemption for the i-City to encourage international companies and franchisors to invest in the intelligent centre,” Shah Alam mayor Mazalan Md Noor said.

“But they still have to adhere to the existing rules and regulations, especially on the operating hours,” he said.

(source)

While its still some time away from completion, this looks like a positive development for the ever growing population of Shah Alam.

These photos were taken a few weeks ago, so the works on site have probably progressed a little bit as of the current time.

SunSuria is a commercial development integrated with a sports complex in Kota Damansara, just beside Sunway Damansara. If you exit off the NKVE you will definitely see the massive sports hall on your left.

If you drive along the LDP from Puchong toll towards Shah Alam and USJ/Putra Heights, you would definitely notice a large tract of cleared land, there rfor the last 2 years or so. There is a large lettering sign announcing it to be USJ Heights. We remember reading about the launch some time back, there were advertisement in the papers showing the concept of the different precincts in USJ Heights.

Fast forward to the present, and the very first precinct out of the total of 6 precincts in USJ Heights has been completed and will be handed over next month. While prospective buyers may have trouble envisioning the whole concept of USJ Heights during launch, when all they have to go on are plans and scale models, now you can actually see the units and how they look like upon execution. Part of the reason this is important is because unlike Sime Darby properties’ earlier launches like Putra Heights and Pinggiran USJ, this one places a big emphasis on the overall design appeal of the masterplan. With a distinct design concept and landscaping, they are making USJ Heights more upmarket and with larger more luxurious units compared to their earlier developments. Which is a natural progression if you think about it. This is a prime location, on the northern side of the LDP unlike Putra Heights which is on both sides of the LDP. And its also probably the last tract of large development Sime Darby Property has in the area.

Perhaps when more phases of USJ Heights are visible we may do an overall review of USJ Heights, but today we are reviewing Kayangan Putera.

As mentioned this is the maiden precinct to be launched and completed, if you go to the site now, they can bring you directly to the actual unit for viewing. Kayangan Putera consists of 83 units of super link homes, either two storey or two and a half storey. The plot size is a minimum of 26′ x 80′ and it is freehold.

There are two types of units available, Type A which is a two storey link home and Type B, with and additional half storey at the top. Type A has 5+1 rooms. There are 4 rooms on the first floor, (3 of them are pretty small) and a guest room downstairs, and a maid’s room at the back. There is also a longe beside the living room. The intermediate unit has a build-up area of 2,710sq.ft., and land area of 2,077sq.ft. Some of the end lots have larger designs, additional garden space at the side. It definitely adds value to the end lot compared to the traditional design of having your wall right next to the road. The gross build-up is slightly larger, at 3,140sq.ft. and land area can go up to 4,200sq.ft. Corner units are even larger, nut basically the general design is unchanged. Land area can go up to 6,300sq.ft.

Type B employs a slightly different design to offer some variety. The standard lot size is no different this type does away with the lounge, giving a bigger living area which we like better. The extra half storey is taken entirely by a 2nd master bedroom ensuite with bath. Altogether, there are also 5+1 baths, but due to the larger build-up (3,160sq.ft.) the rooms are bigger compared to the cramped ones in Type A. The other master bedroom is at its usual place on the first floor. While most family rooms on the first floor (especially in intermediate units) suffer from poor ventilation, this one has double volume to improve on circulation. Similarly for the end and corner units, there is larger gross floor area and land area. This Type B has a long bath for the two master bedrooms.

The units are priced from RM798k onwards for the 2 storey units and RM838k above for the larger 2½ version. From we are told at the moment only the 2 storey units are left for sale.

In line with these being luxury homes, the finishing and design reflects this. They have a very contemporary tropical design that emphasizes natural light through the oversized windows. The finishings are also above the norm, and they have provided some freebies together with the unit such as Alarm system connected to Central Monitoring System, automatic gate system and lightning protection system.

Obviously, Sime Darby Properties are targeting the luxury market with this project, and the pricing shows that it is not accessible for most of us. But if you are looking for a landed property in this area and don’t mind owning a home with a larger build up instead of the typical link home, this may be a viable option. The whole concept of USJ Heights is of course, a plus point, certainly a low density and lushly landscaped project that is a welcome departure from some of the competition here. But of course the price is the inhibiting factor, and later phases may prove to be even more so.

News has been streaming in via twitter and the online news websites. Part of Jaya Supermarket, a prominent landmark in Section 14 of Petaling Jaya, collapsed earlier this afternoon during demolition works. At least five construction workers are still trapped, with two having been rescued. One body has been recovered.

According to the latest on the Star’s website,

A resident living nearby said he heard trapped workers shouting “Tolong, tolong (Help, help)” for a while, but there now was only silence.

More than 100 rescue workers are on the scene. Selangor Fire and Rescue Department director Soiman Jahid said rescue workers pulled out the first worker at 5:45pm, followed by the second at 6pm.

Both were rushed to Universiti Hospital where they are reportedly in stable condition. Other workers are being examined by several medics on the scene.

At 6:44pm, rescuers pulled out a body of a construction worker, the first confirmed fatality, Soiman said.

“We believe that five more workers are still trapped under the debris, and we’re using tracker dogs to try and trace them,” he said.

The building has six-storeys, including the basement. Most of the workers were on the ground and third floors when the incident, whose cause is currently unknown, occurred.

The collapsed part is at the back of the building. About one-quarter of the building has collapsed, observers say.

At one stage, the remaining part of the building was teetering dangerously, reporters on the scene said, with bits and pieces still falling off.

This is one article that has been in our drafts for a few weeks. The source is from the Star, here.

Many years ago, SS16 was mainly known to be where Subang Parade and Wisma Tractors are located. And the land office, if you ever needed to go there. Later came Carrefour. But in the past couple of years, a few condos and service apartments have along the road parallel to the Federal Highway. The area has always been designated as commercial use, but it was only recently that developers realized the potential of highrise residential units on the edge of the predominantly landed homes around the area.

Some of the condos in the area are listed below here. Click on them to read the original reviews:
Empire SOHO
Saujana Residency
Tiaraville

One concern that has surfaced is the traffic situation here.

THE landscape in SS16 Subang Jaya is set to change dramatically once the entire stretch of commercial development sitting on land between the Carrefour and Subang Parade shopping complexes and along the Subang KTM Komuter station is fully completed.

The strip features fewer than 10 projects comprising high-rise serviced apartments and office suites.

While not all are ready, grave concerns have already been voiced about future traffic condition in the area.

The daily crawl on the Federal Highway is affecting Subang Jaya (and other parts of the Klang Valley) with traffic backed up into the township and extending over to USJ.

While the Federal Highway, with its high volume of traffic, takes the bulk of the blame, the mushrooming of development projects, also inadvertently lead to congestion.

To read the full article, see here.

For those who know, its located beside Koi Kinrara.

For those who don’t know, well, here it the description of the location. Along Jalan Puchong coming from the massive elevated viaduct interchange at IOI Mall (where you can go to Sungai Besi and Bandar Sunway toll). In a short distance, you will come to a traffic light junction just after a green and white Telekom building (The entrance to Taman Tenaga is on the other side of the road). Manouvre into the internal roads for a distance and you’ll cross the bridge across the KESAS highway and come to hilltop facing Bandar Sunway, populated by a few condominiums (and a few more coming up soon).

The address of the project says Bandar Puchong Jaya, but its actually slightly off the jurisdiction, probably at the edge of what we can term as Puchong. But its not a bad thing at all. Its location works in its favor, with good connectivity to Kesas, LDP (jam notwithstanding) and to Old Klang Road. The surrounding areas of matured landed development (Bandar Puchong Jaya) will provide the shops and amenities, and ensure that there will not be too many more condos in the future. But the access road from Jalan Merbuk is a little narrow, its unsure if it can cope with the future traffic in later years.

That’s for the location. Now for some formalities.

Atmosfera has been in prelaunch mode for a few months now - they were at the MAPEX back in early March, and have been doing quite a bit of prep work at the site recently.

The condo consists of two blocks of apartments, Rosella and Ixora. At the moment they have opened the first one for booking, Ixora. They plan to open up booking for the other block Rosella since the take up rate has been positive during launch. The site is pretty large, covering about 6.5acres, with a lot of space devoted to landscaping, common facilities and ancillary parking structure, in addition to the tower blocks. With the parking structure, there are covered bays for the resident, some open air bays are reserved for visitors.

There are two basic types of typical unit layout designs available Type A and B. Each of these have slight variants (Type A, A1, A2 & A3 and Type B1-B5), but the general layout design is the same. The build-up is at 1,282sq.ft. for Type A and a slightly bigger Type B at 1,455sq.ft. Both employ a slightly more unconventional design, the living room is at the centre of the unit, bedrooms are on both sides. Both designs have 3+1 rooms, and 3 baths. They also have a large balcony, more squarish in shape to make it possible to have a breakfast area there. There are also larger duplex units available at 2,775sq.ft., please check with the sales office for details. They are basically a double up of the typical unit. There are 8 of these duplex units per tower, and at the time we visited the place, they seem to be going fast. With only 2 types of typical unit, and a minimum build up of 1,282sq.ft. its pretty clear which market they are targetting - the serious investor and larger families that can afford a bigger apartment, and those looking to upgrade. Each floor has up to 12 units, in a L shape layout.

Price starts from from about RM290k onwards, the most expensive penthouse unit tops Rm700k (corrected). While the rate is at a competitive RM230psf, the large build up makes the final price tag higher than their competitors around here. But it does have its pros that others don’t, so it will go on its own strengths in this picky market.

The facilities are impressive, due to the space available. Besides the usual pool (which is quite big), playground and security, they have a Jacuzzi, sauna, and sport facilities for futsal, badminton, basketball, squash and gym. Maintenance fee is at 18sen psf, please check with the sales team for details. Each unit comes with 2 parking bays, except for the penthouse duplex units, you get three.

The developers are Villamas a relatively new player who are currently have ambitious growth and expansion plans. Two of their most recent projects reviewed here before are Villa Park in Taman Bukit Serdang and Villa Pavilion in Seri Kembangan. They also have a landed project in Kepong, and another apartment project in Puchong Jaya called Villa Mas.

Atmosfera takes a few risks to be different and it pays off well. We like it, it should have an awesome unobstructed view when completed (if you buy the unit at the correct side, that is) that will add value to the unit. We liked it, hopefully the empty land around the condo (and around Koi Kinrara) will be beautified and not left to be an unofficial parking area as it is now. That would really make a difference to the entrance statement here.

Just a look at the lighter side of life… not to be taken seriously.

only for 4WDs parking, i think.

Important to keep an eye on the back of the monitor…

Definitely no entry.

Maybe they were going for a modern art look.

Watch your head.

Now you see me, now you don’t.

How small is that train that passes by our house? And how DO you get out, anyway…?

Ummm… let check the building set back line again.

How the bank discriminates against short people.

This is like those 3-D optical illusions.

… and this last one should be the winner.

Looks like there is no end in sight to the dispute over the proposed access road for Paramount View Condo. In the earlier posting here, residents around the condo under construction were protesting on the access road for the condo. (you can read the article here).

Now the protests are going on regarding the new access road which is on TNB reserve land.

Residents protest over access road to be built on TNB land

ABOUT 50 residents from Jalan SS1/26, 28, 30, 32, 34 and Jalan 21/27 in Petaling Jaya gathered to protest against the access road leading to the Paramount View Condominium.

They are concerned about the road that will be built on Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) reserve land which already has high-tension cables and is only 7.3m wide.

The residents claimed that the illegal entrance will cause more congestion to the existing narrow roads in the residential area.

The residents also pointed out that once people started to live in the condominium, traffic and parking congestion will be a daily problem.

According to the SS1/26 pro tem committee member Kok Yoon Lee, the TNB had obtained an injunction preventing the construction of the access road.

He said the developer of the condominium was going to fight the injunction.

“They are going to build it right under the pylons, which is not only unsafe but against the guidelines.

“We have also yet to see the approval for the road, which the developer claims to have obtained from the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ),” he said.

Kok also said the residents were never consulted over the access road.

StarMetro has been highlighting the issues over the 233-unit condominium, which has caused a stir over the placement of access roads leading to the project.

The 15-storey condominium project developed by the Sri Aman Development Sdn Bhd is located at the old squatter area of Taman Aman, near the Paramount Garden LRT station and is near the Section 22 and SS1 residential areas, as well as the Sri Aman Flats.

You can also check out the original review of Paramount View Condominium here.

We’ve been listening to BFM quite a bit recently, a refreshing to the other radio stations we have here, especially when you’re stuck in the notorious KL traffic. As you know the talk radio station covers a wide range of subjects, basically anything related to finance, business and money. The other day we heard this pretty good interview - ‘Selecting and Securing Tenant for Commercial Properties’, you can listen to it onthe BFM website here. Quite interesting, especially for newbies looking for tips.

(strangely i am unable to embed the podcasts here)

The podcast section of the BFM homepage lists all the interviews that they’ve had so you can actually scroll through them to find the one you missed.