Property Malaysia

If you had driven around Mont’Kiara some years back, you would have notice one piece of undeveloped land left behind some of the towering neighbouring condos on the road leading to Segambut, just before Kiara 1888. That plot of land, as many property watchers would have been able to tell you, belong to YNH Property, and about a year ago, they’ve finally decided to develop it as two towers of residential condo.

Mont’Kiara has been very well covered here in Property Malaysia, so it’s best we don’t repeat about the location, traffic, accessibility, expat market, that kind of thing. But if you are interested, you can read about some of the earlier reviews done to the other launches in the vicinity listed at the bottom of this review. But in a nutshell, Ceriaan Kiara is situation on the road leading out of the district, leading to Segambut, and it is slightly away from the town centres of Plaza Mont’Kiara and Desa Sri Hartamas. But on the upside, it is within walking distance to the two important international schools here.

On first impressions, Ceriaan Kiara looks utilitarian when compared to its neighbours, the design does not strike you immediately as impressive. It is situated on a rectangular 3 acre piece of land, which is roughly the same size and shape as the neighbouring lots, as we were told by the sales people. This means that the building is in close proximity with the neighbours, as most of the developments have little or no extra setback at the boundaries other than what is required. But right in front there is not a condo, but that famous hardware shop, so I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing.

We were also not entirely impressed with the facilities that were available here. We have come to expect that the condos here are always pushing the envelope in offering the best with each new launch to catch the all important buyer market, but it seems they don’t share that view here. Instead of the ‘infinity pool’ and ‘sky bars’ (or whatever else) that is often provided, there is just the normal pool, gym, playground, etc. you know, the usual stuff. We can appreciate the fact that adding more facilities mean higher maintenance cost and cost of the condo, so perhaps they have the advantage of having the condo being more competitively priced for those not looking for that much luxury.

There are two identical towers, Block A which is away from the main entrance is currently open for sale, while Block B is going to be launched soon. Construction for both blocks are going on at the same pace, so buyers of Block B may not have to wait that long, although you probably have to pay more progressive payment upfront just after booking the unit considering the advance stage of construction.

Both blocks have 119 units, there are 6 units per floor. Duplex units are available just below the penthouse. There are only 2 penthouse units per block, but however these penthouses are not big, and do not take up the entire footprint of the building, they are basically duplex units. Units on the facilities podium level have large gardens, there are six of these per block.

Units are based on a slight rectangular-ish footprint, all with no party walls to give some privacy. Some other developers might be tempted to call it the ‘bungalows in the sky’ concept, but we were glad they didn’t do so here. For the typical units they all have either 3+1 or 4 rooms, with sizes ranging from 1,828 to 2,208sq.ft. Duplex and penthouse units are double of the typical units. Podium area adds about 1,500 of space to your unit, but you are paying for the psf price.

As mentioned above, there is nothing spectacular with the design or layout, but the one point that makes it attractive is that it is competitively priced compared to the competition. Some investors may look to buying a unit in the area without paying hefty monthly repayments, so this may hold some appeal to them. But maybe for some others, the facilities and design may be just below their expectation levels, attractive pricing or no attractive pricing. It is also not the best location along this road, let alone the whole of Mont’Kiara.

Some of the other projects in this area that have been reviewed by Property Malaysia are:
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
10 Mont’Kiara