Property Malaysia

Well, we’re not too sure you should call it Sentul or Batu Caves, because its sort of in between both areas, easily accessible by both ways. Panorama Residences is located in Sentul, but its on the road leading direct to and from Batu Caves.

If you are coming from the city centre, Jalan Ipoh and Jalan Sentul will bring you here. Whereas if you are coming from other parts of the city, it is very convenient to use the MRR2. There is a new traffic light interchange in Batu Caves that goes under the elevated flyover of the expressway. Previously you would have to turn off at an earlier interchange, which would mean you were forced to go through a light industrial area and narrow roads. Now with the new traffic light junction, just go on straight and you will see the bustling commercial centre suddenly give way to a quieter Malay kampung background.

Panorama Residences sits on a last parcel of land that was earlier developed as a double storey landed homes project. This development, Taman Bullion Mewah (what was that again?) has been recently completed and is now quite well populated. They sold this last parcel to the current developer and they are currently launching it as Panorama Residences. The parcel of land is at the corner of the development, and odd shaped piece of land that is right beside the main road you it not missable if you are driving along here. As a landmark, the Islamic College is somewhere across the road.

Originally the condo was planned to be launched at the end of 2008, but due to some reasons it has been pushed back until end of this year.

Surrounding here, there are almost all landed homes, either very established kampung areas or newer linkhomes. In fact, the nearest condo of note by our estimation would either be Dolomite Park Avenue or YTL’s Saffron in Sentul East, but that’s quite far off.

The developer, from the looks of it, is adopting a straightforward, no-frills condo. The look, facade, and facilities reflect this, and to a lesser degree, so does the price. But more on that later.

There are about 435 units, set on two blocks, one 13 storeys while another is slightly higher at 16 storeys. Actually, the site layout is quite simple. Just the two blocks, and a small parking structure in between. The common facilities are located on the podium of the parking structure. Most of the parking is in the structure, but the site is also surrounded by outdoor parking. This may not look appealing in the long run but useful for people looking for extra bays, and sure beats having the tenants park outside on the public road (seeing that its right next to a dual carriageway main road).

There are two main types of layout to choose from, either a smaller 935 or the slightly larger 1,041sq. ft. Both are pretty formulaic design, 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, both with balconies. The 1041sq.ft. unit has its back to an airwell, you may need to consider when choosing. The two blocks have different alignments, but in general you either have a city (meaning KLCC) view, or away from the city (not sure if you can see Batu Caves and Genting though). But at the moment the condo is very much unobstructed, considering the surrounding areas as mentioned earlier.

As noted earlier facilities are basic, but they do have a tennis court but a rather small swimming pool.

Pricing is set at about RM250psf. so that would make the units at an average price of about RM240-RM250k. At the moment during the soft launch, a lot of the details of the project including the final selling price is not confirmed yet. Since it might be subject to change, please check with the sales personnel for the latest info. But based on the rough pricing of RM250psf, it is still quite affordable. Of course it isn’t competitive as compared to far out suburbs, this is in KL and within close proximity to the city centre.

The developer is primarily a building contractor, now moving into the development business. They have another landed home development in Bandar Indera Mahkota, Kuantan.

Do we like it? Well, they have kept it minimalist, to keep it more competitive. This works both ways, it will not appeal to those looking for more upmarket facilities and branding. But as an entry level home in this vicinity, this has its own appeal. The medium density of about 400 units is just about right. Hopefully there will be no drastic changes when it comes to the official launch, like the density and pricing.