Property Malaysia

We saw this project being advertised along the Seri Kembangan main road and decided to drop in one fine day. It turned out to be far deeper into Serdang Heights from the main road than we expected, and it passed through some narrow and congested streets before we reached the site.

Aman Heights is a high density affordable apartment project at the edge of Seri Kembangan, at the moment it is surrounded by green forests at one side, and on the other, there is the sprawling older houses of the once-New Village. There are 3 towers housing 798 units, currently they have launched Block A, the first tower. The second two will follow shortly. Other than the three towers, there are 3 separate multi-storey parking structures (one for each block), a large clubhouse and a central common facilities area enclosed by the three towers.

There one thing very different for a development of this size - there is only one type of unit. The corner units have a slightly bigger master bedroom than the intermediate ones, but the rest of it is identical. We aren’t sure if these two almost alike designs will be repeated for the other two towers, but the salespersons told us that it would most likely be so.

This design is quite traditional, given that it is the ONLY one type to choose from. The size is 1,238sq.ft for the intermediate unit and 1,268sq.ft for the corner variant. There are 3+1 rooms, and the rest of the areas are quite adequately sized, considering it’s more than 1,200sq.ft. There is quite a large square balcony. There are 10 units per floor, and two units share one lift. The units are either pool view, or non-pool view (in this case, they’ve called ‘Putrajaya view’. Very cute.)

Pricing starts at RM156,800 to RM228,888,which comes round from about RM127psf to about RM180psf, which makes it quite affordable as an entry level home. The developer is offering some discounts at the moment, making the starting price RM148,800 (although you should with them regarding the availability of these units and the validity of the discount). They are also offering some upgrade packages which include some furnishing, and built-in items.

As for facilities, they have the usual lot – swimming pools, gym, sports facilities, shops, housekeeping services, security, etc. One parking bay available for each unit.

There is also a small tract of land earmarked for future development of shoplots.

Generally, we see the biggest market for this place is actually from the surrounding Seri Kembangan / Serdang area. There are a few new condos coming up in the area, and judging from all their marketing strategy, they are also targeting the same narrow market. It is ideal for young couples and families to stay, with all the convenient facilities provided at your doorstep. For people from other areas, you may want to look closely at the location and the traffic condition turning out to the main road of Seri Kembangan (its busy at most times, a little chaotic even…). For us, it a good place for locals to upgrade and invest (some potential in the student rental market).

This is the developer’s maiden project. According to the salesperson, they were building contractors previously with experience in high-rise projects for other developers (try asking the salespeople which developers they worked for…)

This is another recent launch by Sunrise Bhd. in the Mont’Kiara Meridin. At the moment, they are also marketing Solaris Dutamas nearby, which is a service apartment concept. Next in line is the launch of MK10.

Meridin is quite a low density development, offering 31-storeys of 216 apartment units, with sizes of 1,787, 1,973 and 2,513sq.ft. There are also 12 units of Cabana suites, 4,487sq.ft. in size. These exclusive Cabana suites are set on a separate block from the main tower, overlooking the pool and other facilities.

For our views on the location, accessibility of the Mont’Kiara and larger Sri Hartamas area, you are encouraged to read our earlier postings on the other developments in the area which are listed at the end of this article. We won’t all the pros and and cons of the this area, but we strongly advise anybody who is interested to stay or invest in this hot property area to study the location. The two most important concerns of late is the proximity to the power lines and the highway.

Location wise, it is sited along Jalan Duta Kiara, just at the sharp corner where you turn right to go to the deeper area where you can find Tiffani, Kiaraville and a few other projects under construction. We call it the ‘great Mont’Kiara construction site’. While this is further away from the older apartments developed by Sunrise, it is still nearer out than those at the end of Jalan Duta Kiara. But having said that, when the two proposed exits out are completed, things may be better for everyone.

Meridin is set on a small and narrow strip of 2.3 acre land, so they have optimized pretty much most of it for the development without overdoing it. There are two wings to the apartment tower, with 8 units per floor. All units are aligned to the 4 points of the compass, so some units are facing west directly, with no other view. Although the build-up of the units are fairly large, they have opted for the long and narrow concept, with the living and dining areas enclosed on the common party wall area, while the rooms are on the other side of the units. We won’t go into the detail of the units, but basically, all units either have 3+1+study or 4+1. They all also have a ‘lanai’, and the master bedroom are exceptionally large.

Details of the exclusive Cabana units were not available.

Sunrise are very experienced in knowing what they buyers need and want. With the experience they have after successfully developing, launching and selling dozens of other condominium in Mont’Kiara and in other areas. So with this project, they have gone for a fair balance of right pricing, good quality finishes and right aesthetics. This experience also shows a lot in the facilities they have provided. We really liked the recreational deck where the private lounge and the children’s pools. Another feature that is different is the so-called ‘floating gym’ built within a 50-metre lap pool. Other amenities are quite standard like tennis courts, indoor sports facilities, BBQ deck and children’s playground, no less than what the competition is offering.

Incidentally, the Meridin is named after a kind of palm species, with leaves shaped liked a fishtail. Also, the developer has emphasized that Mont’Kiara Meridin is the ‘newest in a series of … projects that is named after a plant’.

Other projects in the vicinity of Mont’Kiara and Sri Hartamas that we have reviewed:

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

The government has just announced that there will be an increase of electricity tariffs:

The Star
Thursday May 25, 2006

Electricity tariff in the peninsula will go up by 12% from June 1.
However, the increase will not affect the low to medium income group which uses less than 200kWh of electricity per month as the existing rate of 21.8 sen per kWh remains unchanged.
Announcing the Cabinet’s decision yesterday, Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik said those unaffected by the tariff increase made up 60% or 3.036 million of the 5.1million households in the peninsula.

An associate of ours was complaining about it today. He says that any household with an air-conditioner would definitely see a huge increase in their monthly electricity. According to him, he turns on the air-conditioning for at least 5 to 6 hours every night. He says it’s too hot to sleep without it.

Another associate commented that after the electricity tariff increase, water rates and other utilities will bound to follow soon. We’re not too sure about that, but we understand the concern. As our country get more affluent, there are more and more electrical appliances in our homes as compared to say, ten years ago. Not only, appliances like TV, washing machines, computers and home entertainment systems are consuming more and more electricity without us even realizing it.

The government is also emphasizing that the increase is inevitable due to external forces like the rise in fuel prices, and they are continuing their efforts to negotiate with the IPP in the country. While this is ongoing, the 12% hike on consumers are very likely to stay.

Perhaps most Malaysians are immune to these increases in our cost of living, especially in the last few years, like consumable goods, toll prices and subsidized petrol. What most people are more likely to do are to take proactive steps in their daily lives to cut down on usage, like turning off appliances when not in use, or use less, or not at all.

(all images from the Star)

This condo has been open for booking since their soft launch late last year, and the official launch is planned to be held some time next month. We’ve been seeing their buntings along the KL roads for some time, so the other day we decided to turn into Persiaran Hampshire to check them out.

Persiaran Hampshire is a short road looping from Jalan Ampang near Corus Hotel (formerly Ming Court). At the moment, there is the well-known Hampshire Park, developed by Tan & Tan just next to the project site. Next to Hampshire Park, there is 2Hampshire by Benetton Properties under construction. On the other side of Hampshire Residences is an empty plot of land, where UOL is rumoured to be planning a condominium. On the other side of the road, directly in front of the site, is a large piece of land housing a few bungalows.

There are two towers in Hampshire Residences, A and B. Booking is available for block A at the moment, when the official launch happens, both towers will be available. There are about 202 units per block.

With the plot ratio, the developers have opted to have 4 to 7 units per floor for 33 floors (4 levels of parking below), with the sizes ranging from 753sq.ft to 2,399sq.ft. Is should be noted that some larger units are available in Block B but not in Block A. The smallest 753sq.ft Type A are studio units, based on a square layout concept. 753sq.ft is quite large for a studio apartment actually, and they have generously provided 2 balconies, and even an entrance foyer. The larger units have 2+1 to 4+1 rooms. The mid-sized units are also square or rectangular shaped.

The larger units, from 1,270sq.ft to 2,399sq.ft are the ones where the design shines through. First off, they’ve ditched the square-ish layout. Then there is of course, more space all round. We especially like the units above 2,000sq.ft, a huge private lift lobby, an even bigger balcony, and a spacious combined living-dining-study. And with 4+1 rooms.

The 5 smaller units per floor share a common lift lobby served by 4 lifts, the two larger units share 2 private lifts.

Developer is giving some freebies together with the unit, like air-conditioning, kitchen cabinets and built-in wardrobes. For more details, check with the salespeople. As for the facilities, what’s provided is pretty standard stuff, nothing spectacular compared to the competition.

We found the area surrounding Hampshire Residences to be quite peaceful, even with the few condos under development. Since the avenue is quite short, there isn’t much land to be developed, so it lends an air of serenity to the area, somewhat secluded from the daily honking traffic jams a few roads away. Behind it, there is a view of the Yap Kwan Seng area, including the massive Phileo & AmBank buildings. We’re not sure if there would be a good view of the Twin Towers, but those who place importance in those aspects may have already booked units in condos with a much better view. We also liked the fact that it wasn’t as dense as some other condos, with some green area maintained around the towers.

This is Zelan’s first property development project. Their construction arm is quite big in M&E works and power plant construction. A few of our friends joined their massive power plant project somewhere in South Johore, we wonder where they all are at the moment… Tronoh, as most of you would know, are a huge conglomerate in the country, with many diversified interests. This project is developed in association with the Singapore GLC Capitaland. Kiaraville and Tiffani by i-ZEN are also jointly developed by them. Just like Tiffani, Hampshire Residences are also managed by United Permas, one of Capitaland’s subsidiaries.

At the junction of Jalan Duta Kiara near the Wilayah Mosque, Sunrise will be constructing Solaris Dutamas, a massive commercial project. Its situated on a slight ascend, just before Hartamas Heights, opposite SP Setia’s Duta Tropika. This mixed development will eventually house about 400 shops, 900 office suites, and 600 apartment units.

The site is a sizeable 17 acres, with three apartment blocks in the centre, offices on the lower floor, and they will be surrounded by retail blocks and another office tower. However, some of these are still under proposal stage, and will be confirmed at a later date.

We will be reviewing Boulevard Tower. The units are essentially similar to Park Tower, however floors are differently used and of course, the pricing is higher. Boulevard Tower has 5 floors of basement parking, 2 storeys of retail floors, and followed by 4 to 6 floors of office space. The apartments occupy the 14 top floors.

The first tower was launch a few months ago, called Park Tower, situated on the western side, facing Mont’Kiara proper. The second tower in the middle, called Boulevard Tower was just launched recently. The third tower (and last), is scheduled to be launched sometime at the end of the year.

Boulevard Tower offers the same unit types (which they call ‘designer suites’) as the earlier Park Tower, 7 types of layout. They are general small in size, tailoring to the younger, more mobile generation. They are also marketing it as the SOHO concept, with the ‘live, play and work’ tagline put to good use. The smallest unit is 672sq.ft, a narrow studio unit. While it may not be a tiny as some 480sq.ft units we’ve seen elsewhere, this unit nonetheless looks cramped due to the narrow shape. The other bigger units available are 997sq.ft, 1,060sq.ft, 1,145sq.ft, 1,236sq.ft and 1,238sq.ft. All these other units have at 2+1 rooms. And also a micro-mini balcony.

We won’t into detail about the internal layout, but the towers are aligned facing the compass points, so some units will be facing the western sun.

As an integrated mixed development, convenience is a big plus factor for this place, especially if you plan to open a business (whether a shop or an office).

The site is at the edge of Mont’Kiara, or should we say Sri Hartamas. It is very near Jalan Duta, and the new Duta-Ulu Kelang Expressway which is under construction. For our views on the location, accessibility and constraints of the area, check our earlier reviews of the other developments in the vicinity listed below. Generally, we feel that this place has a slight advantage as it is situated away from the congestion of Desa Sri Hartamas and Mont’Kiara, and the neighbouring development like Duta Nusantara and Duta Tropika are low density landed units. However, it is on commercial land, and many people still prefer residential land. While it is different from the competitors as it offers an integrated SOHO environment, you need to pay higher utility rates, especially now that they have announced the new tariff rates. On the whole, it’s a different concept to what the residential apartments are offering. At the moment, the only other commercial apartment in the area that we can think of it Verve Suites by Bukit Kiara Properties.

That aside, there may be some concerns with view facing the highway and power lines.

The developer is offering an attractive package where you only need to pay 20% downpayment, and the remaining 80% will be financed by panel bank loan if approved, it’s interest-free during the construction period. They are also throwing in a lot of freebies like full air-conditioning, refrigerator, kitchen cabinet, hob & hood, water heater, etc. Units also come with 1 parking bay.

Other developments in the Mont’Kiara / Sri Hartamas vicinity that we have reviewed:

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

While most people are of the opinion that the luxury home market is set to slow down slightly this year, and expecting developers to concentrate more on mid-priced homes, IOI Properties is bucking the trend by announcing that they will be focusing more on high end homes this year.

In a report, Malaysia’s largest developer, in terms of market capitalization, announced this move as they foresee a lower demand for mass-market homes. One of the reasons they say is the higher oil prices and higher interest rates that are discouraging entry level buyers.

It was also reported that:

About 65% of its residential property sales are generated from apartments sold for less than RM700,000 with the remaining 35% coming from homes priced higher. In the immediate future, Lee hopes to raise the share in residential sales of high-end homes to 45%.

Reuters Estimates expects IOI Properties to earn net profit of RM300.7 million in the 12 months ended June 30. The company has a market cap of RM757.7 million, and the firm’s profit would be boosted by a RM76 million one-off divestment gain.

For a review of
Development Review: Bandar Puteri, Puchong by the IOI Properties
Eugenia, Bandar Puteri
Lilac (22’ x 75’ linkhouses)
Aseana Puteri (condominiums)
Bayu Puteri (apartments)
Grande View (22’ x 70’ hilltop linkhouses)

This project is scheduled to be launched next month, and at the moment it is open for booking. It is situated right smack in the huge construction zone that is currently known as Jalan Duta Kiara. And two years from now, this place will be transformed into the condominium central of KL, growing exponentially from already heavy concentration of existing condos, especially by Sunrise.

We won’t go into the whole pros and cons of owning a unit here in Mont’Kiara, to consider a unit here we would assume that you are familiar with all of them, or you can actually read about them in our review of the other condos and projects in the vicinity listed below this article. For us, if you’re interested to stay or invest here, you should be able to ‘accept‘ the inevitable traffic congestion, narrow roads, limited entry and exit points, etc.

First let’s get the company info out of the way first. Developer is Ireka Land, subsidiary of the Ireka group of companies, a prominent infrastructure contractor which has in recent years gone into property development. i-ZEN is the name of the series of upmarket condominiums in the Mont’Kiara developed by Ireka, and Tiffani is the name of this development (just in case you didn’t catch that…) . The previous projects in the i-ZEN series are i-ZEN@Kiara I and i-ZEN@Kiara II near Plaza Mont’Kiara and i-ZEN@Villa Aseana (what happened to simple project names like Sri Melur Apartments…?). Villa Aseana, a luxury landed project, is located right next to Tiffani.

Capitaland (not to be confused by Capital Land, a local developer responsible for projects like Puchong Hartamas) is a huge Singaporean GLC with a strong interest in the republic and also in places like Malaysia, Hong Kong and Australia. In fact, they are present in over 70 cities in 18 countries. Kiaraville, just across the road from Tiffani is also jointly developed by Capitaland. One of their subsidiaries, The Ascott Group, is appointed as the management of the condominium, via their member company Ascott International.

Sorry, we don’t have a location map of Tiffani yet, but we’ve used Kiaraville’s one here (my apologies to the good people of Kiaraville). Tiffani is located next opposite Kiaraville, the sales office is two doors down. You won’t miss it.

Now for condominium. There are three towers, one single tower called Kallista (I hope they didn’t name it after that character from Xena the Warrior Princess!), and two joint named Radiant and Ideale. Kallista is lower in height, has only 3 units per floor, and houses larger units. Whereas Ideale and Radiant have slightly smaller units, both towers having 4 units per floor.

Kallista is the luxury units for this development. There are 3 units per floor, each with it’s own private lift, and all with 4+1 rooms. We liked Type B & C (3,729 and 3,678sq.ft), which also happens to be the show units. The has a long rectangular concept, length of the unit is about twice the width. It has 2 terraces, and one huge lanai, all interated nicely into the unit and building façade. Another point we liked was that the family area is separated from the living and dining, it is actually privately surrounded by the rooms, and has its own private terrace. There is also a gym room conjoined to the other terrace, sort of detached from the unit’s main living area. Nice touch. Type A (2,726sq.ft) has a different square layout concept, with an enclosed dining area and AV room. No family room, and only one lanai. But the rooms are all pretty large.

Ideale has 4 units per floor, two of type A, and one each of B & D. The sizes range from 1,756 to 2,159sq.ft, all with 3+1 rooms. We like the almost similar types B & D, the have the separate living and family rooms akin to Kallista. No complaints about the smaller Type A either, the kitchen and rooms are spacious.

Radiant has two types of units, a studio unit (815sq.ft) and a bigger 1,641sq.ft (Radiant B sounds like the name of a muscle spray we use in sports…). The smallest unit isn’t strictly studio unit, at 815 it’s the size of most low cost apartments. It has a study that can be converted to a guest room. No lanai.

As for the facilities, we won’t go into the details here, but all the usual ones are provided here in a 4,000sq.ft courtyard retreat called ‘The Sanctuary’, with a swimming pool, gym, yoga lawn (I thought it was more fashionable to call it ‘pilates’ these days…?), broadband internet, and concierge by Ascott International. For Kallista owners, there is also a special ‘infinity pool’ at the 27th floor.

Kallista owners have a choice of two types of ID finishing, Modern Classical or Contemporary. Units also come with fittings like some electrical appliances, built in wardrobe, kitchen cabinets, airconditioning, etc. We liked the Contemporary design much more than the other design.

Penthouses with private rooftop pools also available.

At the moment, during the pre-launch period, the developers are offering discount and some freebies for bookings. Please check with them on the details. Also, Tiffani is also labeled as ‘Fann Wong’s choice’ and ‘Bernard Chandran’s choice’ (!?!), which according to the sales personnel, not only they are endorsing Tiffani, they’ve actually booked a unit here. We’re not too sure of that, but at least it’s a fresh marketing angle not commonly seen around here. (If you don’t know who Fann or Bernard are, google them up…). As with Kiaraville, certain units are blocked off to be marketed to overseas clients.

On the whole, we were quite impressed with Tiffani. The facilities are not extraordinary, but the internal layout of the units are what clinched it for us. A lot of thought has been poured into this area, and we feel that it has given them the extra edge over the stiff competition. Pricing wise, they obviously can’t stray too far from the RM400 average in Mont’Kiara, which really is a good thing for the buyers, as it forces the developers to squeeze as much bang for the buck to make it appealing to the choosy public. What’s more, it’s freehold and residential land.

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’ve found an online resource giving 12 tips on how to pay off your home loan faster. This is from SunCorp of Australia, some of the tips may or may not be applicable to your situation here, but some of it is good advice.

In summary, the 12 tips are:

• Pay off your mortgage as quickly as you can

• The way you make repayments
• Deposit any spare cash into your loan
• Have your income paid directly into your home loan
• Pay your first home loan instalment as soon as you settle
• Align your loan repayments with your income cycle
• Don’t lower your minimum regular repayment if interest rates fall
• Use an offset account to knock years off your home loan
• Use Internet Banking for low-maintenance, low-cost loan management
• Protect yourself against rising interest rates
• Pay more off on your loan to build up equity
• Get the right home loan for you

For explanation of the above and some examples, you can check out the original article here.

For home loans available in Malaysian local and foreign banks, check out the following packages:
Home Loans by Malaysian and Foreign Banks Part 1 : Local Banks
Home Loans by Malaysian and Foreign Banks Part 2 : Best selling Islamic Banks Loans
Home Loans by Malaysian and Foreign Banks Part 3 : Foreign Banks in Malaysia

Most of you would have some time or other heard about the ‘Malaysia My Second Home‘ (MM2H) programme touted by some of the sales and marketing folk. For a background of it, you can check out one of our earlier postings on it here. It was formerly known as the Silver Hair Programme from 1996 to 2002. The programme was mainly targeted at attracting retirees from other countries to settle in Malaysia as their second or holiday home.

But while the developers are almost always promoting it to all those foreigners (especially ‘mat sallehs’) that walk in the sales office, a lot of people have chipped in with comments and feedback to make the programme more effective and attractive.

It is to everyone’s advantage that such a programme like the MM2H be successful. Malaysia is a stable country politically and economically, and the comparative low property prices always make it more attractive as compared to, say, Singapore or Hon Kong. In addition to that, with the foreign exchange being brought into the country, other sectors such as banking, retail, tourism and service sectors stand to gain a lot from the expatriates.

According to a recent report, the programme has change quite a bit since its launch. Besides the name change, it has been moved from the Home Affairs Ministry to the Tourism Ministry (which we feel makes better sense). According to a recent report, this as resulted in an increase in the number of participants, from 2002 to 2005, a total of 6,695 participants were approved under the programme. Its Deputy Minister, Datuk Donald Lim said that there will an official relaunch of the MM2H some time this month. Some of the changes are include approval of multiple entry visa for 10 years (previously 5years) and setting up a ‘one-stop agency’ of sorts will be set up to approve the applications within 1 to 3 months.

Furthermore, the ministry will be targeting foreigners from countries in East Asia (Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, China), Middle East and of course, Europe. They expect to approve 2,000 to 3,000 applicants per year, although no specific target has been set.
At the moment Chinese nationals followed by Bangladeshis are the highest number of participations.

The following is the highlights of new rules for MM2H under the Ministry of Tourism, effective April 2006:

Aged below 50:
Open a fixed deposit (FD) account of RM300,000 and after one year, the participant can withdraw up to RM240,000 for approved expenses relating to house purchase, education for children in Malaysia and medical purposes. Must maintain a minimum of RM60,000 from the second year onwards and throughout stay in Malaysia under the programme.

Aged 50 and above, Can choose to :
Open a FD account of RM150,000
OR
show proof of monthly offshore income of RM10,000 from approved/recognised institution in their country of origin, such as a pension scheme.
Participants who fulfil the FD criteria can withdraw up to RM90,000 for approved expenses relating to house purchase, education for children in Malaysia and medical purposes after one year. Must maintain a minimum balance of RM60,0000 from the second year onwards throughout stay in Malaysia under the programme.

House purchase
Each participant is allowed to purchase up to two units of residential houses at a minimum price of RM150,000 to RM350,000 and above each, depending on the location of the property. Generally, the minimum price for the purchase of houses in Malaysia is set at:

• RM350,000 and above each for certain areas in Sarawak;
• RM250,000 and above each for Penang, Melaka and Johor; and
• RM150,000 and above for other states.

This was featured in our local newspapers yesterday.

Kiara 1888, the first development by Prisma Melody, has achieved 75% sales in just 2 months. This project has actually been open for booking for a long time since the mid of last year, but was finally launched early this year after the developers had obtained the necessary approvals to sell.

Having said that, 75% in such a short span of time is quite impressive. You can read our review of this condominium here.

According the report,

• The developers attributed their location between the two international schools in Mont’Kiara as one of the main factors in the good sales. Being near such established condominiums such as ‘Casa Kiara and Laman Suria’ also helped.

• The condo had good accessibility to major roads and highways, including the Duta-Ulu Klang Expressway (DUKE) that would provide speedier access to Sentul, Batu Caves and the Middle Ring Road II. However, they did not mention when this DUKE highway might be constructed;

• Another strong point that attracted the buyers was its unique concept and modern contemporary architecture;

• A budget of RM2.5mil has been allocated for landscaping to create a conducive living environment.

• Each unit will come with a minimum of two car-parking bays.

If you haven’t read our review of this place, you can do so here.