Serena, Bandar Puteri Puchong
We’ve just entered the last quarter of 2008, and another quarter, another Bandar Puteri launch. If you live far away from Puchong and have no interest in property happenings there, this won’t mean much. If you ARE looking for a property in this area, and have plenty of money to spend on a linkhome, then this will be right up your alley.
First some order of business. We have reviewed quite of few of the latest phases in Bandar Puteri (there have been quite a few) and most of them are listed at the end of this article. We have also put a link to the development review of Bandar Puteri as a whole (you can read it here) and it is also listed at the foot of this article. It will mostly give a general idea of the development and our take on the location, quality, accessibility and overall look.
Of late, the launches have been concentrated on the hilltop area, starting from the upmarket Aseana Puteri right up to the more affordable Bayu Puteri at the border with Puchong Hartamas. But this latest launch Serena is located on the lower level at Puteri 6, where the older phases are. The land on which Serena is located has actually been left fallow all this while, obviously they have been waiting for the right moment to launch this phase. This is mainly because Serena differs quite a bit from the phases around it, and with the others that were made available recently.
Serena is targeted at the higher niche market, although the look of the house and its concept is not exactly niche.
Anyway to keep the review short, this is a double storey link home and the corner units are two and a half . The build for these two types of units are 2,430 and 2,990sq.ft. respectively. The standard intermediate unit has 4 bedrooms and 4 baths, so no need to have your kids fighting to use the bathrooms. The corner unit variety has an extra room and attached bath at the topmost floor. The selling point for this phase is the 14 feet high ceiling at ground floor, and 12 feet high at the upper floors. This is of course a strong feature, most homes offer 10 feet or 11 at the very most. The plot size is a minimum of 22′x75′, corner units have a larger plot.
The design is spacious befitting its 2400 plus square footage, and another feature is that there is a courtyard located at the first floor, instead of ground floor where it is commonly done.
There are a limited number of units available, and the pricing start from RM529k onwards. This is significantly higher than the last few launches, although the plot size and build up is the same.
This is the overall development review of Bandar Puteri.
Development Review: Bandar Puteri by IOI Properties
Some of the other current launches reviewed by us here in Property Malaysia are as follows:
Elyssa Villa
Nadia
Eugenia
Lilac (22’ x 75’ linkhouses)
Aseana Puteri (condominiums)
Bayu Puteri (apartments)
Grande View (22’ x 70’ hilltop linkhouses)
Olivia
Primrose
Juniper
| Project Name | Serena |
| Location | Puteri 6, Bandar Puteri Puchong |
| Description | Limited number of two / two and a half storey linkhomes in large integrated mixed development |
| Land type | Freehold |
| Encumbrances | None |
| Price | from RM528,800 onwards |
| Lot size | minimum 22′ x 75’ |
| Build-up size | 2,430 and 2,990sq.ft. |
| No of units | 33 |
| Launch Date | now available |
| Expected Completion | 2010 |
| Developer | Flora Development Sdn. Bhd. (Subsidiary of IOI Properties Bhd.) |
| Contact | 03 – 8064 8899 |
| Website | www.ioiproperties.com.my |
Siau pricing
Comment by preacher — October 25, 2008 @ 11:19 pm
Dear Admin,
How is it possible that IOI is able to squeeze out 2430 sqft of build-up from the standard 22 x 75 plot size? What is it they are not telling us? I think most of us would be keen to learn their magic or secret of maximising the build-up area from our homes too!
Comment by puchongman — October 27, 2008 @ 10:51 am
Puchongman, quite easily. just extend the car porch roofline close to the gate and tiled the whole car porch and drive way.
Also, only 2.5′ left at rear, as compared to 5′ or 7′ for typical 22x75.
Comment by linustw — October 27, 2008 @ 2:52 pm
puchong man, i have the answer to your question. Its called BS. Many developers BS about the actual build-up of the house, to some extent that they include the covered portion of the car porch and/or the covered portion of the wet kitchen.
Want to know the real build-up area, ask the Developer for the “As Build” Building Plans (Building Plans submitted to the Council for Approval. It will be much smaller that the Build-up in the Brochures.
Refering to the 22*75, let me give you a quick mathematics. Assuming the car porch is only 20′ (which is very short and might not long be enough to park your new Honda Accord / BNM 7 Series) and the Wet Kitchen in 5′ it means that the interior of the house, the true build up is only 50′. Multiply this by 22′ and multiply by 2 floors, the max build is about 2,200. Of course, some Developers will push out the windows / bathroom at the second floor, but this method of calculation is quite accruate.
Comment by preacher — October 28, 2008 @ 11:18 am
The pricing is based on demand vs supply theory. They always price their houses at a premium price and there are always takers. It will be siau if they don’t price it at that level since there are still many buyers who are willing to pay for it right?
Comment by KS — October 29, 2008 @ 11:38 am
TQ to linust and preacher for your feedback. To me, comparison of Build-up area should always be on the livable portion, so that it can be fairly compared to condos and apartments. If we start adding on the covered car porch or back yard area as part of “Build-up”, then it’s no meaning. But that’s my thinking.
Otherwise, for condos and apartments, can the developer start including the carpark area into their calculation? The landscape area surrounding the condo? The clubhouse area? Sorry, I’m just being cynical, but I don’t agree to the way IOI is calculating the build-up if what preacher and linus say is correct.
Comment by puchongman — October 30, 2008 @ 10:09 am
hi puchongman.
there’s no hard and fast rule to calculating BU, sadly. Usually (and this is only a common practice), developers count all indoor areas, and half of covered areas like balcony, porch and backyard. Some devs count it full, some don’t include balconies. It really depends on how ‘much’ the dev want to make the BU to be.
for condos, most ppl include foyer and balcony as ‘accessory’ areas which is used for maintenance fee calc.
Comment by Administrator — October 30, 2008 @ 10:25 am
Govt force hypermarkets to lower price of goods due to falling petrol price. How come govt never force developers to lower price of houses due to falling price of contruction materials, like cement & steel? Why Govt double standard?
Comment by nik271 — October 31, 2008 @ 11:22 pm
Nik,
Govt do control the price of low cost housing. This one is by way NOT low cost housing. did you see govt reduce the price of vehicles?
Puchongman,
there is no strict standards of gross built-up, new built-up and accessory parcels. So developers can senang senang apply where applicable but the industrial standard is pretty standard. You just need to be more alert. just dun look into whatevet that is spoon fed.
how do you define LIVABLE? is balcony livable, how abt terraces, aircond ledge, open yard and etc….basically where the floor is tiled and there is roof over it (irrespective of whether walls are there, it will be considered as built up. That much I learned from brochures.
On condo, the reason why carpark and other communal areas do not form part of the Built-up is because of the strata title. You DON’T owned these areas.
Comment by linustw — November 1, 2008 @ 10:50 am
Ur review about extra room for corner unit is incorrect. The extra room is applicable to 2-1/2 storey only, which are the rows located nearest to field.
Comment by trojan — November 8, 2008 @ 10:26 pm
Went to the show unit last wkend. It is not furnished yet and probably will be available for viewing in March. The layout of 1st floor bedrooms are much better compared to Olivia & Primrose and the concept of courtyard is modern. However the kitchen isn’t impressive compared to Primrose corner show unit.
Comment by apex — January 5, 2009 @ 5:27 pm
Any idea how’s the sales?
Comment by trojan — January 7, 2009 @ 4:32 pm
hi..any body knows that ioi will plan to built a larges building at “future commercial area” ah???
Comment by dingdong — April 8, 2009 @ 3:58 pm
i mean it will happene or not????
Comment by dingdong — April 8, 2009 @ 4:30 pm
dingdong, how large is the “large” building for commercial area? My guestimation would be the conversion to residential area… puteri 6 in this area was initial ioi intellicity, now all terraces.
Comment by valmy — April 8, 2009 @ 11:47 pm
no more high rise buildings or complexes… the traffic is getting worse. maybe can build a large golf club wud be nice..hehe
Comment by frank — April 10, 2009 @ 9:26 am
woo.. golf club?? not bad.. but impossible lor..
Comment by dingdong — April 10, 2009 @ 9:16 pm
of course my mean is like ioi square or .. ehmm… something like condominium or apartment ler..
Comment by dingdong — April 10, 2009 @ 9:30 pm
I thought of buying but they have an approved plan to build a mosque near the Serena property..jia lat lo…near mosque…
Comment by CJ — April 20, 2009 @ 4:39 pm
This is one of the more modern and unique terraced house today. The 14′ high ceiling on the GF and 12′ on the 1F is very generous by developer and more suitable to a bungalow development. The polised tiles and timber strip is well finished. Another unique feature is the layout on the 1F where everyroom comes with individual toilet and ceiling high wall tiles. It comes with a open courtyard on the 1F as well (though burglary might be an issue here). There is another staircase that lead to the Master Bedroom is very well designed and very unconventional. The timber doors are much larger than standard houses, mostly found in bungalows.
Generally the price is steep but in terms of quality of finishes and unique layout and high ceiling it is still justifiable.
CJ comment of a mosque is a negative factor and may be a concern for non-bumi buyers.
Overall design and layout 10/10, finishes 9/10, location 6.5/10, pricing 7/10
Comment by dmjy2505 — April 23, 2009 @ 12:21 pm
where is the mosque?
dmjy2505, why high ceiling is considered as a “generous by developer”.. more builing material?
Comment by valmy — April 23, 2009 @ 3:18 pm
tot the mosque was replaced by a petrol station.
and ioi to build a religion college in wawasan.
Comment by cRACk — April 27, 2009 @ 7:56 am
Anyone has idea what is the latest take-up rate for both the 2 and 2-1/2 storey?
Comment by trojan — May 7, 2009 @ 5:14 pm
Nearly take up all unit only 15 unit left.
Mostly all facing the commercial future.
Is it worth 528K for this area.
Comment by henry — May 7, 2009 @ 11:27 pm
waohh! left 15 units only!!! U mean the 2-storey or inclusive of 2-1/2 storey? If I’m not mistaken total got 200 over units woh…
Comment by trojan — May 8, 2009 @ 11:31 am
yes only left 2 storey left 15 unit. is good to invest in this area.Is freehold land. Now a days cant get any freehold land that is near to KL.The next launch will be another 10% increase price.i just buy two unit for investment.
Comment by henry — May 8, 2009 @ 10:54 pm
is there any mosque built there. i dont think so because the biggest mosque is already built in puchong perdana near the lake side. The population in BPP is mostly chinese they dont allowed big mosque. There will be a chinese school in this are is shifted from Karak Chinese school.
Comment by henry — May 8, 2009 @ 10:58 pm
2-1/2 storey all sold out??
Comment by trojan — May 9, 2009 @ 11:11 pm
hi henry,
mind to share more on the chinese school?
where is the site?
thanks,
Comment by cRACk — May 12, 2009 @ 7:45 am
chinese school is on top of the hill, facing vistaria.
Comment by Administrator — May 12, 2009 @ 9:15 am
SRJK facing vistaria is at Bdr Puchong Jaya, I think henry refers to potential SRJK within Bdr Puteri Puchong township itself.
Comment by trojan — May 12, 2009 @ 4:13 pm
I found this:
The Star Metro
Parents in Puchong can breathe a sigh of relief with the proposed relocation of a Chinese primary school in Karak to Puchong.
Puchong MCA division chairman Wong Hock Aun revealed the plans of the relocation, which is to help ease the shortage of Chinese schools in Puchong.
“On July 10, we went to see Deputy Education Ministry Dr Wee Ka Siong in parliament to highlight the plight of Puchong folk plagued by shortage of Chinese schools in the area.
The Puchong MCA division was told that SJK (C) Kheng Chee in Ladang Bukit Dinding was to be relocated elsewhere as it only had nine students, comprising six Indians and three Malays.
Probable site: Aun (fifth from right) and other Puchong MCA members at the proposed site for the relocation.
“The new location was yet to be confirmed, so Wee suggested that we identify a piece of land in Puchong which is suitable for the school,” Wong said.
A 2.4ha site in Persiaran Indera in Pusat Bandar Puchong was identified and the information was forwarded to Wee.
“The land, which is close to Bandar Puteri Puchong, is now reserved for the school.
“We chose the land because of the area has a high Chinese population.
“Secondly, there are only one primary school, one secondary school and one religious school in the immediate vicinity.
“Thirdly, the land is located beside the main road providing easy access, ” Wong said.
He added that they had other options, too.
“We have identified two more pieces of land in Bandar Puteri Puchong and Puchong Utama if this does not work.
“However, we prefer the school to be built at Pusat Bandar Puchong to benefit more residents,” he said.
Wee, when contacted, confirmed the relocation.
“It’s almost decided. In view of the rapid development in Puchong, it is most likely that the school will be relocated to the location suggested by the local community,” he said.
However, the relocation is still at its preliminary stage.
“The proposal just came in and the ministry needs some time to process it.
“We have to check the availability of the site,” he said.
There are four Chinese schools in Puchong — SJK (C) Ladang Harcroft, SJK (C) Han Ming, SJK (C) Yak Chee and SJK (C) Sin Ming.
Ladang Harcroft was relocated from Ayer Tawar in Perak to Bandar Puchong Jaya in November last year.
“Ladang Harcroft has 324 students, Han Ming 3,750, Yak Chee 4,077 and Sin Ming 1,521.
“There are still many children who attend schools in nearby townships, such as SJK (C) Sungai Way and SJK (C) Chen Moh in Petaling Jaya, and SJK (C) Yuk Chyun at Old Klang Road,” Wong said.
He added that next year a total of 256 Year One students would have to attend schools elsewhere as the schools in Puchong were already full.
Wong also urged parents who live near Ladang Harcroft but have children attending Han Ming and Yak Chee to transfer their kids to Ladang Harcroft.
“Wee had agreed to have Ladang Harcroft open 10 Year One, eight Year Two, four Year Three and two Year Four classes.
“If the children are transferred to Ladang Harcroft, the other two schools can probably open upmore Year One classes,” he said.
He advised the parents to contact the schools after the Primary School Achievement Test (UPSR) on Sept 11 to work out the transfer.
Comment by cRACk — May 18, 2009 @ 1:41 pm
Looking at the photo, the site seems to be the one next to the semi-D area in Puteri 9… poor children… their school will be situated next to cemetary… with this news revealed in this blog, I guess Serena will be fully grabbed very soon…
Comment by trojan — May 18, 2009 @ 3:32 pm
hahaha…cemetery again?
i remember my primary school compound has graveyard too.
we used to play treasure hunt around this area.
Comment by cRACk — May 19, 2009 @ 8:34 am
Thanks for the review, guys! I love the show house, but if there’s going to be a mosque or any public areas there, .. nah.. no thanks! Too bad. Like the area very much, compared to the other Puteri areas. Oh well… the hunt goes on for a nice little nest…
Comment by June — June 15, 2009 @ 5:55 pm
linustw, thanks for your feed back here as well! Fancy seeing your name everywhere! I love your review on TANAMERA!Love those pics you took. Wonder which property reviewer would be as hardworking …
Comment by June — June 15, 2009 @ 5:59 pm