Property Malaysia

Yep, we were there alright.

It was pretty well attended, we heard that the seminars were quite popular and were mostly full. The exhibitors didn’t disappoint, too, most of the big players who have new projects at hand were there to promote them.

The big ones were like Putrajaya Holdings, SP Setia and Sunway City. Some other regulars were missing, probably because they lack a new project to centrestage it there.

The venue was excellent as always, big hall was able provide ample space for visitors and the exhibitors, unlike the cramped style of some other expos (let’s not mention which ones).

We notice they are trying to increase emphasis on the ‘International’ bit of the exhibition, getting foreign companies and GLCs to participate. As usual we try to avoid that particular end of the hall where these exhibitors tend to ‘hassle’ you like credit card companies. Nothing wrong with that, just not our cup of tea…

All in all a good mission for us. Lots of new reviews for us to scout out.

Mention Desa Sri Hartamas and most people would think of the small commercial area where Souled Out is located. It was once a serene commercial area set away from the booming condo district of Mont’Kiara, but of late more and more shops offices have been built around the original area adding to the already congested traffic situation.

For those lucky homeowners who bought the landed homes next to the commercial area where the school is located, it’s probably turning into a windfall many times over for them already, but of late the landscape of their homes has been changing, both the better and otherwise. Already, there has been some new low-rise development under construction on the hillock next to it, with some massive foundation work set into solid granite clearly visible as you drive up the road to Kiara Hills.

Now, there is going to be a massive condo project made most of the residents here either cringe or cheer. Maymont has soft launched a hillside condo project overlooking Desa Sri Hartamas called Matahari.

There are a few things to note here. Number one, it’s massive. There may not be as many units as some of the condos have further up the road in Mont’Kiara, but the sheer scale of the project covering the entire side of the hillock will completely change the view and population outlook here. The second thing is that the project is built with lots of infrastructure works due to the nature of the slopes and underlying hard strata. Not going into details here, but a lot of extra care is required for this hillside project, as with any hillside project for that matter, especially one with existing homes nearby.

This is definitely a project only for those that can afford it. There are 2 special series of units available, Superior and the more exclusive Penthouse. There are more Superior units available, altogether there are 129, and get this – 14 different layout designs to choose from. The build-up lives up to their super-condo name, with the range of 3,900 to 5,500sq.ft. for size. Definitely for the value-buy hunters. There are also limited number of duplex units available. These floor plans are available to be viewed at the developer’s website.

For the penthouse, there are 17 units available as the condo is long and affords a long roof. Size ranges from 7,900 to 10,800sq.ft. There are only two units per level, but with many closely built blocks. There is less privacy from the layout, but that’s how the units are laid out due to the constraints of the terrain.

All the internal design work on the long rectangular concept due to the way the building is set on the hillside. This is not to say that it is in anyway small, come on, at that kind of build up, how can you go wrong in terms of space? All the units look down onto Desa Sri Hartamas, there is an annexe building behind for parking and houses some of the facilities.

The condo takes on the tropical concept with palm trees and jungle imprint concrete as seen in the office structure that houses the sales office. Some of the highlights of the units are large lanai space, high ceilings, and separate guest suites for some units. Each design has it strong points, with 24 to choose from you’d be spoilt for choice, that’s for sure.

Of course it’s expensive. Starts from RM2.2million above. The finishing and materials are top-notch, no arguments there.

So how does the location compare to Mont’Kiara? I suppose you can say that it’s less densely built than MK, that’s a given. They are marketing it as the only condo in Desa Sri Hartamas, and it’ll probably be true for some time in the near future. But the hillside location may not be everyone’s cup of tea. The façade also takes some getting use to, a departure from the more popular clean-cut glass and concrete look.

This is Maymont’s first project.

When Kiaraville was launched some time back, there was quite a buzz about it especially with the investor market. We were actually suitably impressed with it, to be frank, you can read our review about it here. Even at the launch, the sales people were already talking of another project loosely called Kiaraville’s ‘second phase’ in the adjacent piece of land.

They now launched that project and it is called Seni. To correct the misconception, it isn’t really the Phase 2 of Kiaraville, although it is by the same developers (via a different subsidiary), even Capitaland is also involved. It seems like they are almost everywhere in this negihbourhood, aren’t they? Ireka has taken the feedback from Kiaraville (and probably from Tiffani) and incorporated them into a most updated project here.

The first two things you notice about the place are the location, and the density of the project. It is sited almost to the end of Jalan Kiara, which means it is just next to the highway. That in itself is both good and not so good – good in the sense that there will probably not be anymore high-rise condo around it, since that all sides are pretty much accounted for in terms of development. Not so good, too in that it will lose out in appeal when compared to the other projects that don’t have to contend with highways.

Seni has the luxury of a large piece of land for this area, about 9 acres in total, and they are designed it with landscaping being the primary concept element (landscaping takes up about a third of the land use). There are 4 towers of condo blocks here, all named after famous artists – Monet, Van Gogh, Dali and Picasso. Gee, kind of pretentious to name your product like that, but then again, they used Picasso for a car anyway. Well at least they didn’t go for Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Raphael and Donatello (It’s okay if you turtle-y don’t catch the joke).

Picasso and Van Gogh are high rise towers, up to about 40 floors, located on the west side of the development, and the other two are lower rise 10 storey on the east. The 4 blocks look down onto a expansive common area where there are two large swimming pools, and a host of other facilities. The area looks densely landscaped, and we think it’ll look quite impressive when ready, given their commitment to make it an ‘island concept’. What’s that, no man is an island, you say? Okay, okay, we’ll lay off the corny jokes. But the thrust here is lots of shady trees and running water to give that insular effect.

In terms of facilities, they have the space to make it impressive, giving what their competitors are unable to. There are tennis courts, jogging tracks, a grand entrance foyer, the works. We like the entrance statement, that’s a carry over from Kiaraville.

The units all face the pool. So the western blocks don’t get the sun, and the eastern blocks are shaded from the higher blocks. Makes good sense, we say, as they focus the attention on their own development, without so much emphasis on ‘KLCC view‘ or ‘Mont’Kiara view‘, or in this case, ‘Sprint Highway view‘.

The two higher blocks have six units per floor, while the other two have 4 and 8 each respectively. At the moment, only Block A (”Van Gogh“!) is open for sale, and it is the one nearest to the entrance. There are less unit types here in Seni as compared with Kiaraville and some of the other neighbouring development around here, and there have roughly the same internal layout with the overall build-up being different. Actually, most of the units come with both a lanai and terrace, how’s that your complicating your choice…

There are basically 5 unit types from 2,336 to 3,520sq.ft, and some are only available for certain blocks. The 2,906sq.ft. variant comes with a choice of either a lanai or a terrace, I would think the former would be a more popular choice given the buying trend these days. All units come with a large private lift lobby and entrance foyer, and for most units, the lift is privately your own for that floor.

All units have at least 4+1 rooms, some have a family area (with it’s own private terrace and bath even) that can also be converted into a study. There’s lots of windows, and the layout is very pleasing, can’t really complain about any aspect of it. Certainly much preferable to Tiffani’s ‘long and narrow’ design.

As with Kiaraville, we were impressed by this place. The developers are throwing in lots of freebies like cabinets and appliances, we were very surprised by the fact that a lot more than usual is given. Seni has really set another bar for the other condos to play catch-up with, certainly by pulling out all the stops. They didn’t market Bernard Chandran or Fann Wong this time, though, but they did name-drop Chef Wan (what, couldn’t get Jamie Olivier to agree?).

You can get a unit from RM1.4million onwards. Given the facilities and the packages offered, we have to say it’s hard for the current crop of competitors to up this one, unless you are partial to landed properties. Certainly you’ve heard of the ‘Mont’Kiara is running out of land‘ line for some years now, but the location here is still decent, since there surrounding is pretty much development, some it with landed properties even.

Before we forget, this weekend there’s the International Homebuyer and Property Investor 07 held at the KLCC Convention Centre. You can check out more info such as maps and seminar listings here.

We’ve been to the previous two instalments and we seriously think this is the best expo there is in the annual calendar, but we’re not sure if we can make it this year round.

Make sure you guys mark it in your calendar.

Sunway Damansara is really happening these days. For everyone. For the developers who are established here, for the early buyers who are making a killing from their resale or rental, and from the businesses who are reaping in booming income. And this is not just limited to Sunway Damansara, the whole area is getting the feel good vibes - Mutiara Damansara, Kota Damansara, Damansara Perdana, and everything in between. Not bad for a place formerly known as Bandar Baru Sg. Buloh. Says a lot about how much difference a little rebranding can make.

But anyway, we’ve said a lot about the area in recent times, and it’s best not to repeat it here again. If you are interested, there’s a list of prior reviews of neighbouring projects listed at the end of this review, check them out at your leisure.

If you guys are familiar with Opal Damansara, Sunway’s most visible condo that is nearing completing right along the main Persiaran Surian, then can easily find Challis. It is situated next to Opal, somewhere behind the existing Shell petrol station that you can see clearly on the main road. Previously the site was used as the sales office for Sunway Damansara and the Opal show unit was also located there. Now Sunway has built a new sales gallery nearer to their new Giza specialist retail area.

The first thing you will notice if you take a drive to the site is the presence of the power lines running behind the site. Not just the power lines, there’s a huge exchange next to it, between the site and the petrol station. A lot of people are usually concerned with the long term effects of living to such live cables, so it is best that you see the site yourself to get a better feel.

That is probably the biggest factor in deciding whether you like this place or not. If you are looking for a home but are concerning with the power lines, there are still lots of other areas to consider whether there are landed homes on offer – Mutiara Homes, Kota Damansara, Damansara Indah, etc. But if it is not a big issue for you, or if you are not planning to stay (and hope to find tenants that don’t mind it either), then there shouldn’t be much of a problem.

Then there’s the second issue to consider. Do you like townhouses? At first impressions, our reaction was “Why townhouses?” Is there really a demand for such a competitive area like here? Or better yet, is there substantial demand for townhouses at all to start with? But after awhile studying the project, we sort of see where the developers are coming from, although we may not necessarily entirely agree. See, we think it’s got a bit to do with the first factor above – the power lines. With that, people don’t see it as prime location, so they can’t go for the predictably high end market stuff like luxury bungalows or low rise villas. The land, at 5.3acres isn’t big enough for a substantial condo, and besides, there’s Opal next door. It definitely isn’t large enough for mass market link homes or that kind, and besides, the development cost probably won’t be justified if that route was taken.

So I think they went for the gamble. Make it quirky, off the beaten path. But at the same time throw in some substantial landscaping and shared features to make it attractive, and make the homes upmarket enough to price it higher. That way those looking for townhouses will like it, and fence sitters (who don’t mind what kind of house it is) will still be lured by the attraction. Make it different from your competitors, and grab the niche.

After all, there are only 102 units, we have no doubt that they’ll all be sold even before the show house gets warmed up. Incidentally, the show house isn’t ready. If you buy now, they’re offering a generous discount. But wait for the show house and there discount won’t be available anymore.

The whole development has this close quarters concept, the units are set tightly together. They share a common backlane that is landscaped for the garden effect, and there are public pathways between end lots with the same function. There is only one corner unit with extra garden space, the rest of the units follow the stratified concept closely.

The lot size is large, at 26’ x 80’ to cater for the double entrance for both units. The lower unit is at 2131sq.ft., while the higher unit is larger (2,472sq.ft) perhaps to cater for the need to climb up the stairs everyday. Each unit takes up approximately one and a half floors, there are some awkward nooks and crannies a t the common floor because of this. The driveway can fit 2 cars for each of the two units, if you have more than 2 cars than you have a major problem. The units and their driveways are close spaced with no planter between them, so it is literally impossible to park a car between units without blocking someone’s gate. So you’ll probably end up having cars parked along the main road outside.

For us, townhouses should really be viewed as a very low rise apartment (as opposed to a landed unit shared by two owners), due to the shared walls and apartment-like tight spaces. The major difference is the presence of the driveway, that is instead of having to take a lift down and walking a distance to your car as with most apartments. The one thing that we find problematic with townhouses (imho only) is the lack of ventilation due to lack of frontage to the units. For instance, the lower unit has only the patio for natural ventilation, the front is practically sealed off from air.

If pushed for a choice, we would opt for the higher unit over the lower unit, since the ventilation is better, and perhaps for the larger space. But then some people prefer the lower unit just for the convenience of not having to climb up the stairs daily.

Would we buy it if we were in the market for a home in the area? We never really warmed to the idea of townhouses since the first one we saw more than 10 years ago somewhere in Old Klang Road. The idea works well in densely populated areas where land is scarce, but it not necessarily the reason behind it being chosen here. Ultimately, even if we were looking for a townhouse, we may still put the concern of power lines at the priority. The units are also a little too closely built up with each other for our liking, we are more partial to more breathing space between neighbours, even if it means smaller homes. Maybe that’s one of the reasons we’re not fans of townhouses.

Challis is part of a massive development in this area handled by the Sunway Group in association with the land owners PKNS. Away from this area, Sunway are an established property and construction player (among many other fields) in Malaysia. Some of the projects by them reviewed here in Property Malaysia are:
Casa Kiara II, Mont’Kiara
Sunway Cheras: Phase 2B &3, Cheras

Here’s a list of the recent reviews of some of the projects in the vicinity:

Pelangi Damansara Sentral, Damansara
Casa Indah 2, Damansara Indah
Opal Damansara, Kota Damansara

With all the buzz about feng shui these days, house buyers really getting into it when it comes to buying, renovating, decorating or simply choosing a unit.

Malaysians think nothing of plonking RM10k for a revered geomancer to give their advice on anything related to property, and devour any of the many books appearing in the market on the subject.

Then Malaysians were introduced to Vastu Shastra, the ancient art of architecture originating from Sanskrit culture, or more popularly refered to as ‘Indian feng shui’.

Now emerging is the also ancient art of Malay geomancy. To quote a recent report:

Organised by the Malaysian Institute of Geomancy Sciences (MINGS), the conference seeks to explore the common scientific principles found in the various forms of geomancy, including Ilmu Tajul Muluk or Tiang Seri, as used in Malay house construction.

To be held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre from July 20-22, the conference will have four geomancy experts delivering papers on their respective fields.

The chairman of the organizing committee is none other than Gerard Benedict, which some of you may remember as being a TV3 newsreader back in the 80’s.

The report goes on the say:

“This conference is also to dispel the myths associated with geomancy or feng shui.

“We want to explain to everyone including property developers, town planners, architects, engineers and the public, that feng shui is not related to religion or divinity. Geomancy is very much a form of science based on facts and natural elements.”

Rumah Penghulu Abu Seman was recognised with an Honorable Mention in the 2000 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Culture Heritage Conservation
The speakers are Malaysian feng shui consultants Yap Cheng Hai and David Koh. They will speak on How to use feng shui in a practical way and Modern Living, Ancient Concepts, respectively.

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia architecture head Prof Dr Mohd Tajudddin bin Mohamad Rasdi will deliver his paper on Tiang Seri or Ilmu Tajul Muluk.

For the full story, read here.

Some of you may have noticed that Equine Capital has been in the news recently with the official launch of the RM80mil Permai Central Transport Hub in Pusat Bandar Putra Permai, part of their flagship development in Seri Kembangan.

Recently, the group has also announced that they planning about RM500mil to RM800mil projects by March 2008, which is the end of the financial year. This includes projects in KL and Penang.

Their current projects are made up of

• 900 acres in Seri Kembangan consisting of Equine Park, Putra Permai, Permai Park and Pusat Bandar Putra Permai;
• 450 acres Bandar Cassia in Batu Kawan, Penang.

In the pipeline for the Seri Kembangan project are the Meadow bungalows, Equine Business Park, Rise bungalows, The Crest Hillvillas and the first condominium in Equine Park called Blooming Hill @ Equine Park.

For more on the projects around this area, you can check out the following reviews:

Cahaya Permai Apartments
Taman Dato Demang, Puchong
Phase 3, Taman Dato Demang
Sovereign, Permai Park
Desaminium Park (Taman Desaminium)
Bayan Villa, Bukit Ikhlas

You guys remember Taman Tasik Puchong right? If you’re easily confused by all the almost-similar named projects around the Sepang-Puchong area, you’re probably not alone. Without going on to confuse you guys, Taman Tasik Puchong is by LBS Bina, on the road leading to Bandar Nusaputra and Putra Perdana. It’s somewhere near George Kent and located beside the road so you won’t miss it. We did a review of an earlier launch called Venezia, you can read it here.

For some of the other projects around here, you can check these reviews out:
Elite Apartments, Taman Mas Sepang
Calisa Residences, Taman Mas Sepang
Taman Putra Impiana
Taman Tasik Puchong
Taman Putra Prima
Taman Puchong Tekali

What is different about Alam Idaman is that the concept employed here is single-storey cluster homes at a low price. The unit lot size is only 25’ x 38’, the length is only half the usual length of a normal link house. Since it is a cluster home, there is no backyard or backlane, and therefore the length is compromised in favour of a slightly wider frontage.

The clusters here are 4 units joined together as quads, and some end lots have 2 unit clusters. The units are spaced quite close together, with only a very narrow strip of green separating the adjoining house. It is only marginally different from linkhomes, and most people may opt to extend that portion of the house anyway so it may not be all that different in the end.

They still manage to fit 3 rooms and 3 baths in the small build-up, but the last bedroom has totally no ventilation due to the layout of the cluster concept. The kitchen opens out to side of the unit.

At 847sq.ft., it is spaced more towards apartment-sizing, rather than even terrace homes. But of course landed homes have slight advantage over apartments due to lower density and individual titles, but in terms of facilities they lose out since there is none here. Parking is provided in a separate area near your unit. For the price tag of RM150k (all units cost the same), you may need to think long and hard whether the landed unit concept is better than an apartment or not.

They seem to be going for the small kampong home concept here, although when we think of kampong, we usually associate it with wide open spaces and airy homes, but with the closely built small homes here, it could get a little stuffy and cramped.

Anyway, this isn’t for the majority of city folks, going by the looks of the unit. This project is actually a joint venture between a subsidiary of the developer LBS Bina, the Selangor State Secretariat and Permodalan Negeri Selangor Bhd.

Masteron are quite in the news for all sorts of matters these days. They have recently launched the Calisa Residences condominiums in Taman Mas Sepang before Chinese New Year, and now are following up with a more affordable apartment in the same development called Elite Apartments.

Calisa is quite affordably priced, but probably due to the location, a lot of people we know we saying that it was a little too out of the to own an apartment there. Besides, the whole Puchong-Sepang area is teeming with new projects, both landed and apartments that are competing for the buyers’ attention, offering better location, pricing or facilities.

But for those who found Calisa still to expensive for that kind of build-up, now there is Elite Apartments, with almost the same build-up, but more of lower specs apartment-type living. No, actually, Calisa had smaller units (775 to 1,051sq.ft.), although this was infamously ‘subject to change’, their pricing was about 30% than here.

For our take on the location and accessibility, check out the review on Calisa Residences here.

There are quite a number of earlier phases of apartments here, and this actually Block ‘E’ in the cluster of buildings you can see as you enter this area. There is a square of shoplots in front of the apartments for convenience, but there is little else in this area, as a lot of the surrounding plots of land are yet to be developed.

But enough about other condos. There are 8 storeys of in a single block, with 16 units per floor. There aren’t any units on the ground floor, where the common facilities are. There is one badminton court and a small little swimming pool for the residents. The developer is banking on the nearby Kelab Mas which is shared with residents from other condos and nearby developments. The layout overall apartment floor is interestingly done, all the units are linked together in close proximity like pigeonholes, save for two special corner units that are slightly separated from the others.

There are actually 3 types of units, the basic ones are 872 and 818sq.ft. All have 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. The living is and dining is very small to accommodate a third room at your side as you enter the unit. Maybe they should have done away with the balcony. The special corner unit is larger at 1,248sq.ft. and has an extra store / maid’s.

Simple layout, simple concept. However at the cheapest unit price of RM107k, it is not entirely very cheap. Comparatively, Baiduri Courts in Bandar Bukit Puchong is going for RM72k (although units are slightly smaller) and Cahaya Apartments in Seri Kembangan is priced from RM100k and the size is slightly bigger.

But the developer is offering some packages along with the units. Check with them for details.

Quirky home that we just have to highlight here. It’s a residential building somewhere in Amsterdam.

How cool is that? Too bad we can’t really see how the structure is supported from this distance. Unless it’s a photoshopped pic.