Property Malaysia

We think the full name of this small luxury development is “Duta Kensington Park@Hartamas“. Quite a mouthful, we must say. But the short (and official) name is Kensington Park. This 77 unit exclusive enclave is almost sold out, and almost complete to be handed over to the purchasers, but we’re reviewing it here, since we’ve viewed it and more than a few units will bound to surface in the second-hand market (due to the spiraling property prices…).

Its down the road from Hartamas Regency 1 and 2 (read our review here), which are all developed by the same company PJ Development Holdings, which are also currently selling units at the exclusive Laman Oakleaf (read review here) and Endah Puri apartments (review coming soon). Access to Jalan Duta, Segambut, Jalan Kuching, and Sri Hartamas is a breeze.

This part of Sri Hartamas is still not as densely developed as Mont’Kiara. But there are some a retaining wall near the development (sparating two sides of the main road) which doesn’t really detract from the homes (it might, depending on the buyer, so it’s bestseparating two sides of a road) to check it out yourself)

They are emphasizing on the ‘park’ concept of the place, they have a thematic central park which is beautifully landscaped. The other prominent feature is the security aspect of this place, which is quite easy to control considering the small, contained development. It is gated and guarded, and high-walled and top-notched security features.

So what is a “park home”? In this development, it’s basically luxury two-and-a-half storey and three-storey linkhouses, albeit the plot size is slightly shorter (not to be confused with a ‘trailer park home’).

The two-and-a-half storey linkhouse has a plot size of 22’ x 65’ with a build-up of 2,364sq.ft. The corner unit is slightly larger at 2,785sq.ft. The ground and first floor are quite normal, but the third floor has a huge family hall (with attached bath) and a tiny study room. Actually, because of the shorter plot size and with the extra floor, the build-up actually works out with the same as a regular double-storey linkhouse. The master bedroom is quite short, though. And the other rooms are also not as big as they should be. Anyway, there are 4+1 rooms, but if you convert the huge family area upstairs, you get another room as big as the master bedroom.

For the three-storey park home, we find it to be more sensibly laid out. The build-up is obviously larger (3,085sq.ft, 3,487sq.ft for corner unit). You want rooms? They have 5 bedrooms, plus one family room (it’s actually a walled room) and a study room. So if you make them all rooms, you have 7 rooms (my condolences to your long-suffering maid). There are two master bedrooms, but strangely they are at the back of the house facing the yard.

Actually for both the unit types, there is ample space, but we found the layout a bit constricted for our liking. Perhaps with so much space, a more luxurious design could have been done, instead of the usual wall-room-wall-room configuration.

But obviously, there are enough people who appreciate it, judging from the sales.

Conclusion: Good location, good mountain-cut soil, very exclusive, unconventional park homes concept. Downside – stiff pricing, less-than-appealing layout.

Some other developments (mostly condos) in the same area:

Changkat View
Hartamas Regency 2
Kiara 1888
Kensington Park
Kiaraville
Kiaramas Ayuria
Hijauan Kiara
The Verve Suites
Tiffani by i-ZEN
Boulevard Tower, Solaris Dutamas
Mont’Kiara Meridin

We recently reviewed Ken Damansara 2 (Ken 2), which was a few days before the launch of Ken 3. We knew it was going to sell well, on the back of its good location.

Looks like they really did sell well.

According to their press release in the Star, they reported 65% sold on the opening weekend, with people queuing up at 5am and buying up to 3 units. Wow, you’d think the economy is still so-so only these days.

The units are priced from RM153 to about RM210 per sq ft, with purchase prices tagged at RM180,000 to a maximum of RM290,000.

According to the article,

‘’Over 1,000 people came that day and we had a lot of very happy buyers as they managed to get their choice units despite having to queue for almost three hours.”

There are some more launches lined up by the Ken group.

‘The group has lined up several new projects that include the KEN Bangsar Serviced Residences in Bukit Bandaraya in Kuala Lumpur, and a bungalow project by the beach at Penang’s Batu Ferringhi tourist belt.

Like the Americans always say, the first three rules of real estate are: location, location and location.

Mention new homes in Puchong by established developers and two corporations come to mind – SP Setia (Pusat Bandar Puchong and Taman Wawasan) and IOI Properties (Puchong Jaya and Bandar Puteri). Then YTL’s Lake Edge and I&P’s Bandar Kinrara.

But one major developer that isn’t always mentioned is Bukit Hitam Development with their Bandar Bukit Puchong and the sequel (!) Bandar Bukit Puchong 2. In this review both the interconnected phases will be referred to as BBP.

Bukit Hitam Development is a joint venture between the semi-governmental Selangor SEDC (PKNS) and The Ayer Hitam Planting Syndicate Bhd (TAHPS). It’s the best of both worlds, SEDC provides the security of a government-linked company (GLC) experience in financing and development, TAHPS provide the precious ex-plantation land (and more importantly, NOT ex-mining land).

There have been many staggered launches of units (mostly linkhouses) since the mid-nineties, and Nilam Puri is probably the first condo to be launched in the sprawling piece of land.

To get to the condo site, you can use either of two interchanges on the LDP, but the nearer one would be the dedicated BBP interchange just before the last toll to Putrajaya. From the interchange, it’s just a short distance past the industrial lots. At the moment, the condo is under construction and is expected to be completed August 2006.

At the moment, units in block A & C are for sale, there are a total of 5 block, the other 3 will be launched at a later date. Block A and B are low-rise 4& 5 storey towers, the other 3 go up much higher.

There is basically one type of layout for sale at the moment, a 915sq.ft unit apartment. which is viewed to be an ideal size for a pilot apartment project in a large new development. A little variety in the sizes and layout would have been welcome.

There is a choice of with or without balcony. We don’t really fancy balconies (unusable space you’re paying for), but this balcony is quite big and may appeal to those interested in serious interior designing.

The internal layout is quite appealing, with a huge master bedroom and two smaller rooms. The living and dining is also quite well-sized. However, the kitchen is open to the dining and living, there is no separating wall. All the fumes from the kitchen will go into the living area and into your furniture. Further more the yard and kitchen is quite small, but without the wall, there isn’t really a boundary between the two spaces.

Most of the homes in BBP is of good construction quality, something quite uncommon in Puchong. We expect Nilam Puri not to be much different (but we’ll have to see). Based on their past phases, we were also impressed by their thoughtful and sparse town planning. Potential buyers are advised to visit any of their older phases to assess these points themselves.

Aside from that, the location is good in the sense that most facilities are within reach (shopping centres, highways, commercial centres, universities, which will translate to student rental market). Since this is the first apartment in a relatively new development area, the pricing is very competitive.

In conclusion, we’re impressed. Good track record for developer, good location, good ex-estate land, good ground condition, reasonably priced. At the moment may be slightly far from shops, but later phases will be developed soon. Public transport may be lacking in first few years of new area.

915sq.ft 120800 132

Following our earlier article on Websites for Malaysian Property Developers (read it here), we present here six pointers for making a good website to suit the Malaysian public.

First and foremost, most of the rules here pretty much apply for any kind of entry-level website, not just for real estate only. But the important thing to remember here is that a some of Malaysians seeking info on houses and developers may not be very Internet-savvy. It may even be their first or second using a search engine. So with that in mind, developers should take heed to note the following advice:

First rule – Get a website! If you don’t have one, that is. We’ve searched for dozens of local property developers, only to find that they do not have even a simple website. Instead, the public may be directed to your competitors, or even worse a forum or personal website that may not present favourable or accurate info about your company or product. Do a simple website adhering to the principles outlined here (and also in our previous article here).

Keep it simple – Most people who come to your site want to know the basics – your contact number, what are your projects, and where your office is. So make it easy for people to find it. Don’t hide it under layers and layers of sub-pages that require 5 minutes of navigating. They don’t really need to know the too much details of your new condo project – that kind of query is best handled by your sales staff at the show unit.

Don’t make them wait – No need to have fancy flash presentations. More apps mean slower loading time. Most people don’t have the luxury of broadband at home, so if they can’t see anything after 5 seconds, they usually click away. If you want to dazzle everyone fantastic graphics and movies, give them an option to view a non-flash site or to skip all the bells and whistles.

Update it regularly – having an impressive website is not much use if you don’t update it regular. You don’t need to do it everyday (like here!), but every time you have new info like new launches, latest promotion and change in contact numbers, you must update it. For developer websites that act as a portal (like myioi.com and ytlcommunity.com) they also include other relevant info like property news, stock info, forums, notice boards, etc.

Check your mail and reply fast – if you have one of those contact forms, or have a e-mail for reader query, check it regularly and reply fast. It can do wonders for your public image. In this age of the super fast broadband connectivity, please aren’t content to wait more than a few days to have their query replied. People are annoyed when are put on hold while on the phone, what do you think they would feel if you did not reply their e-mail query for days?

Consider more advanced features – once you have the website running and have incorporated the above pointers, you may want to go the extra mile and incorporate extra features for the benefit of your potential buyers. Some websites have interesting articles on home ownership, loan calculators, your share price indicator, links to other resource sites (pertaining to real estates, of course), community message board, and whatever you think that can add value to the site while increasing your public profile. If you do it well, your site might become the one stop portal where everyone goes when they think of ‘good developer’ and buying homes.

Previous article in the series:

Websites for Malaysian Property Developers

FIABCI has just announced the winners of the Malaysia Property Awards (MPA) 2005 in a colourful event officiated by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Syed Putra Jamalullail who presented awards in eight different categories.

The winners are as follows:

Sunrise won the most interesting category for us here at Property Malaysia, which the Residential Development category, with their Mont’Kiara Damai project. Sunrise is well-known for their quality and innovative products.

A new category was introduced, which is the Property CEO of the Year. The inaugural award went to Tan Sri Muhammad Ali Hashim, which the Edge reports:

Receiving the inaugural award was Tan Sri Datuk Muhammad Ali Hashim of Johor Corp. Having to helm an organisation with more than 28,000 employees in some 200 active companies in the group is no mean task, but Muhammad Ali takes it in his stride.
“It keeps me young,” says the 58-year-old CEO known for his gift of the gab.
Asked on how he felt being name Property CEO of the Year, Muhammad Ali said he’s mostly embarrassed by it, because whatever he has achieved was done in the name of Johor Corp as an institution.
Nonetheless, he is glad to accept it on behalf of his colleagues, both present and past, as it is indeed a great recognition and honour.

For the Property Man of the Year, it went to Datuk FD Mansor of Glomac. Glomac is currently riding high with their Suria Stonor project.

For full details, check out the Edge and the Sun.

This year, Yahoo! celebrates 10 years of cyberspace. Google is celebrating 7 years this week. In Malaysia, the webspace boom took off a little later, but once it started, everyone caught on to the Internet being the most powerful medium of communication, PR, advertising and information.

Which brings us to our point. A surprising number of property developers in Malaysia still don’t have their own website. In today’s fast world of e-knowledge and cyber-marketing (somebody stop us before we use another internet clichéd buzzword!)

To set-up a simple website won’t cost them much. Just get a designer, give them the important info to put up, and in a few days, it will be done. Then you’ll get one of those address you can put in all your ads and name card. For only a few hundred ringgit.

With that small step, the company has just opened their doors to millions and millions of Malaysians and people all over the world. You don’t have to put up much on the page, just your contact, some info on your company and projects, the same thing you put up in a static billboard or newspaper ad.

Out of the 30 top developers in Malaysia, all of them have their own websites, except one. These corporations have realized the potential of web presence, some of them have very impressive flash-driven sites (like this one). Others are quite basic, but still adequate.

But for them, they are already well-known developers. For the small emerging developers, many of them are still non-existent on the Internet, thereby missing opportunities in terms of potential customers, public interest, branding, publicity and information at people’s fingertips.

In the course of looking for homes (for the last 10 years) and researching for this website, we here at Property Malaysia have encountered dozens of small developers who have no websites. In our opinion, this is a great loss of opportunity for them.

For more excellent developer websites, check these out:
BRDB
E&O Property

These look a bit old-fashion, but still packed with useful info:
IGB Corp
MK Land
Naim Cendera

The few didn’t really catch our fancy:
Sin Heap Lee Consolidated Bhd
Uda Holdings
Talam Corp

Tomorrow: Some simple tips on good website design for property developers in Malaysia.

Last week the Edge, reported that SP Setia announced a net profit of RM44.7million for the third quarter ending July 31. SP Setia is one of the premier quality developers in Malaysia (check out our developer profile here).

This financial result is up 12.4% from RM39.80 million a year ago, on the back of their projects in the Klang Valley and Johor Bahru.

According to the report,

It said that earnings and revenue were mainly derived from the property projects while its construction and wood-based manufacturing activities also contributed to the earnings.
SP Setia said the board was confident the current year’s performance would be better that the previous year.

Further on it also noted that:

It also said it would recognise the profit on the disposal of land to Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Selangor upon completion of the sale in the last quarter of the financial year ending Oct 31, 2005.

It looks like the good times are definitely rolling on for SP Setia. For the full report, you can read it here.

Ooof. Once awhile we get these projects we know has its qualities, but just can’t help feeling jaded looking at it (and writing about it). Maybe we’re just being petty, so we’ll keep this review short and no-frills (We have this huge bone to pick with the sales person, but let’s just keep to the facts about the apartment).

Probably everyone who’s apartment hunting in PJ would have seen or at least heard of this place. The earlier Ken Damansara sold really well, and there is a third condo was just launched last weekend (we’re received 5 e-mails in one day. Talk about SMS spamming). They are all next to each other, and they marketing it as the Ken Damansara trilogy (please insert your own LOTR or Star Wars joke here.)

Right. We’re keeping this short. The price is affordable (RM196psf. to RM240psf.). The location, fabulous (right between Damansara Intan, Damansara Kim, Damansara Utama, Damansara Jaya and SS2. Oh look, we only mentioned Damansara four times…). The developers are calling this the “Golden Triangle of SS2” (We learn NEW things on the job everyday…!)

Most young adults who are working in the suburbs or KL want a cool, new place to stay where it’s convenient to move about. No hassle of a big home for the mobile generation, plus there are facilities like pool, gym, convenience store right at the doorstep. It’s a yuppie dream.

Access to the condo is via two alternatives, one KL on the Sprint highway, or through Jalan SS2/72, which is basically through the existing linkhouses and older part of SS2. The access road to all three Ken condos is quite narrow and tight, one wonders with the roadside parking for other nearby condos and Damansara Intan, how will it be in the future.

(Location map will be uploaded soon, thanks for being patient!)

For Ken II, there are 271 units, including 8 penthouses, and 4 ‘ultra-exclusive’ super-penthouses. For typical units, there is a choice of 3 layouts, 1,291sq.ft, 1,439sq.ft and 1,565sq.ft.

Type A (1,565sq.ft) is the largest typical unit. It comes with a large balcony, and 3+1 rooms. There are 2 baths, and the yard is quite large, forming an ‘L’ shape. The dry kitchen is open to the dining and living, and the wet kitchen is quite small. We suppose it’s a trade-off with the yard.

Type B (1,439sq.ft) is similar, but the living and dining is smaller. Type C (1,291sq.ft) is proportionately smaller, but without the maid/utility, leaving only three rooms. All 3 units are nicely laid out, no major complaints here, appealing to families and students renting. With two towers, each tower has two wings, each wing has only 4 corner units.

One note, though, potential buyers are advised to study the dimensions of the spaces and rooms in the unit properly to get a feel of the sizing.

They are giving a few renovation packages such as more power points and air-conditioning wiring, all at fixed prices for the convenience of the buyer.

The main draw of this place is the quite affordable price, going for RM196 to 240psf. The marketing people have come up with this almost convincing plan to show your immediate returns on this property, touting about 30% returns. We suppose the good location is a major factor.

In conclusion, not much to complain (except our experience there), may interest investors. After all, prime land left for development in SS2 is extremely scarce, and existing property prices are nothing less than astronomical.

Okay, we’ll tell you how it started. Some readers had requested us to look into the recently launched Hartamas Regency 2, so we called up the sales office to ask for directions. We must have caught the receptionist on a queer day, she was mumbling something in what sounded vaguely like English, all we heard was “Masjid” (we’re assuming the Wilayah Mosque), “Income Tax” and “Lembaga Peperiksaan” (Examination Board, both were located nearby).

Fine, we roughly knew the area and tried to find it ourselves. After 3 rounds of turning at the Duta roundabout, we finally found it. It’s actually down the road from Duta Tropika. Except ‘the road’ is narrow construction road. But you can also access it from the Jalan Duta and Segambut. So that’s our take on the location.

Hartamas Regency 2 (HR2) comes after the prequel (called, surprise, surprise, ‘Hartamas Regency 1’) which is located right next door. The earlier HR1 was launch to resounding success, only a few units are available now.

The two symmetrical towers are arranged in an almost ‘U’ shape, enclosing the swimming pool on the amenities podium. Speaking of amenities, they have above average facilities like sauna, pool, gym, shops, squash, etc.

The first 4 floors are the parking floors. Each unit is given 2 parking bays (3 for duplexes), it’s imperative to clarify this nowadays. The podium floor, as we said, is for the common facilities, including the function halls. Then for from the 1st floor right until the 8th floor are the single units. There are 20 units per floor, and every unit is a corner unit adjoining only one other unit. From the 9th floor until the 16th floor are the duplexes.

All units are either ‘pool view’ or ‘not pool view’. ‘Pool view’ has a higher premium. Simple to market, isn’t it?

Let’s look at the single units first. There are 5 different designs, ranging from 1,315 to 1,996sq.ft. All of them have 3 + 1 rooms, two rooms with attached baths, plus one powder room. We feel the ideal units here are Type C (1,675sq.ft) and Type D (1,887sq.ft). All the quarters are reasonably sized, and the living and dining is comfortable. There is also quite a big balcony. The largest type (E), is a obtuse angled unit, with a very spacious living but quite small master bedroom.

For the duplexes, there are also 5 types it’s basically a double-up of the single unit, plus an introduction of a double volume living room. We like double volume designs and so we’re impressed. As you would expect of duplexes of these types of sizes, there are plenty of rooms (5 + 1, the largest unit has 7 bathrooms!) and lots of space to decorate and impress your friends. We like type I, it has a long balcony and a very big open air terrace for parties. Its even bigger than most people’s living room.

The finishes are quite impressive and are a notch better than the earlier HR1. A lot of freebies are thrown in like cabinets and wardrobe, please check with sales office for details. The price has also increased from the earliest phase, but at about RM400psf., it is still very competitive among its neighbouring development. There is a chart comparing the per square foot price all HR2 against some of their competitors, and is worth studying if you’re interested.

We would say the location is a good selling point, as far as Mont’Kiara / Sri Hartamas condos go. There is a choice of many exits, unlike those within Mont’Kiara (like Kiaraville and i-Zen). There is still a decent view of KL is you choose the right unit, but it would be a matter of time before the surrounding empty forested lots will be developed. Already Hartamas Heights is coming up on an adjacent lot. But like we said, it’s quite a good location within a congested area. Another plus point is the tight security for all units and perimeter. Something about sensor beams.

Hartamas Regency 1 & 2 is developed by PJ Development, which also is also developing Laman Oakleaf (reviewed by Property Malaysia here) and Endah Puri condominiums (review coming soon) and has projects all over the country.

You are encouraged to check out the following reviews of the other developments in the vicinity.

Changkat View
Hartamas Regency 2
Kiara 1888
Kensington Park
Kiaraville
Kiaramas Ayuria
Hijauan Kiara
The Verve Suites
Tiffani by i-ZEN
Boulevard Tower, Solaris Dutamas
Mont’Kiara Meridin

We weren’t planning to drop by since most of Team Property Malaysia were committed to prior arrangements, but in the end we did pop by for about one and a half hours before it closed on Saturday. (For details, read our earlier posts here and here)

At first impression, there seemed to be a lot of booths packed into a sizeable hall, but after a quick recon, we were able to visit almost all the relevant exhibitors (well, those that caught our fancy, anyway).

The range of properties on show were from affordable sub-RM100k apartments to upper-middle class luxury bungalows and villas. Mostly were below the RM350k bracket, though. I guess Homebuyer Expo 2005 is more suitable for those above RM500k. Most were developments were in the Klang Valley, a few were in Nilai/Seremban growth corridor, and one or two out-of-towners (Ipoh, Kuantan…)

After a brisk round, there actually not as many developments on show, there were many financial institutions exhibiting, too (like Citibank, HSBC etc).

All in all, there were a few new and interesting projects that interested us, which we will be reviewing in the next few days. Many more have actually been reviewed here, like Heron Residency, SP Setia’s projects, Sterling@PJ, USJ 1 Avenue and Dana 1 Residence.

The expo is still on today, so there’s still time to for you to drop by if you’re interested.