Date: 20 November 2009 - 22 November 2009 (Friday to Sunday)
Venue: Mid Valley Exhibition Centre (MVEC), Mid Valley Megamall.
Opening Hours: 10:00 am - 9:00 pm
Admission: FREE
Organizer: Real Estate & Housing Developer’s Association Malaysia
(REHDA Malaysia)
Telephone: 603-7803 2978
Fax: 603-7803 5285 / 7805 1206
Website: www.rehda.com

This is actually the last of the three expos planned this year for Klang Valley. See you all there!

There is some renewed interest in this area recently due to news that the interchange to the Maju Expressway will be completing soon. This interchange is located just beyond Amanputra and Bandar Nusaputra, and when ready will provide quick alternative access to Putrajaya and KL. This connection to the interchange has actually been talked about for many years, and there has been positive progress at site in recent months.

But that aside, Taman Tasik Puchong is a leasehold development that is jointly developed by LBS Bina, Permodalan Negeri Selangor and the state government. Some of their earlier phases have been reviewed here:

Taman Tasik Puchong: Venezia
Taman Tasik Puchong: Alam Idaman

At the moment to get to Taman Tasik Puchong, you need to turn off the LDP at the Puchong Utama interchange and drive straight (on the road to Bandar Nusaputra and Amanputra) until you see it just after the landmark George Kent on your right. The current launch is located just behind the complete double storey shoplots.

Town houses are a not common in Malaysia, especially when compared to other types of homes like condos or linkhouses. Least of all in a place like Puchong / Sepang. But speaking to the developer, their idea of developing town houses is for apartment dwellers to upgrade to a landed home, without being too pricy. So what they have now is a 996 and 1,075sq.ft. unit, priced at a very attractive RM169k after discounts (listed price starts at RM200k). While people may have qualms about town houses, it is undeniable that the price is very competitive indeed, especially if you consider that a small landed home in this area can cost anywhere above RM220k.

The design is minimalist and simple. The townhouse is on a 20′ x 60′ footprint. There is not backyard, and the
common driveway is 20′ long. This means you can only park one cark in the driveway, if you park outside you will inevitably block someone else’s driveway.

The lower unit is slightly smaller at 996sq.ft. compared to the upper unit at 1,075sq.ft. All units have 3 bedrooms (actually one of them is a utility room because its much smaller) and 2 baths. The upper unit has a balcony, and a much larger master bedroom. All in all we feel buyers are better off looking at the unit as an apartment instead of a landed unit.

As mentioned, the biggest advantage here is the price. There isn’t many other places (here or elsewhere) to own a non-highrise unit at this price, and the location pretty ok to boot. The developer is offering some incentive packages, and sales have been pretty good so far.

Apartment Therapy

The website covers a lot of areas of interest, but the main thrust (in their own words) is ‘Helping people make their homes more beautiful, organized and healthy by connecting them to a wealth of resources, ideas and community online.’ Because a beautifully designed and decorated home doesn’t mean having to spend money, this website has lots inspiring ideas and pictures.

Definitely something to worth checking out if you’re tired of flipping through this month’s IKEA magazine already.

I recently read this article in CNN that really brought the point about the cramped living conditions on the island.

Chung lives in a 625 square foot (58.06 square meter) flat here with 18 strangers.

The place is sectioned into tiny cubicles made of wooden planks and wire mesh. Everything he has acquired over the years — clothes, dishes, figurines, a tired TV set — is squeezed into this tiny cube, a modernized version of what is known here as a cage home.

Chung is one of the hundreds of people waiting for government help to find home, and at the moment they have to make do with this.

Chung’s cage is a newer yet less-desirable model, we are told. The wire mesh one, which resembles an over-sized rabbit hutch, is apparently more comfortable.

Occupants have less privacy, but the temperatures don’t get as high as in the wooden-mesh variety. A thermometer in Chung’s home reached 34 degrees Celsius (93 degrees Fahrenheit). Sometimes it gets so hot, Chung said, that he wants to die.

Check out the article here with the accompanying video.

227.Metropolitan Square Service Apartments (Block D), Damansara Perdana
228.Kota Harmoni, Seksyen 27 Shah Alam
229.Metropolitan Square Condominium (Block C), Damansara Perdana
230.Panorama Residences, Sentul
231.Taman Putra Prima: Phase 8A

Also, if any readers have recommendations for newly launched projects, we are keen to review too. Thanks!

According to todays online edition of Malay Mail,

A STORM of controversy is brewing over two development projects in upscale Bangsar. One is a project that has been put on hold by the Federal Territories Ministry following safety concerns by residents.
The other, meanwhile, is causing consternation to residents over its ambitious development plan on a relatively small plot of land.

The decision on whether both projects receive the go-ahead from the authorities now hinge on the outcome of technical reports by the Public Works Institute of Malaysia (Ikram) and independent consultants.

The report does not give any details of this Bangsar project, though, like its exact location or developer. The other project mentioned is refering to the Damansara 21 project in Medan Damansara, which was in the public news because of a landslip on Aug 26 last year. Following the Dec 6 Bukit Antarabangsa tragedy, which killed six people and saw 14 houses destroyed, the FT Ministry issued a stop-work order on the Damansara 21 project.

Hopefully there will be more info in the coming days on this new Bangsar project.

The first few phases of linkhomes have been completed and occupied since the early part of the decade. Recently the development activity has started up again, first with the addition of additional shoplots at the front of the development, and now with more landed units beside the shoplots. In all they have planned for 30 phases, stretching all the way to 2012. We have had the opportunity to review some of the earlier phases here, you can check them out by clicking on the links below:

Taman Putra Prima: Phase 3C (Amethyst)
Taman Putra Prima: Phase 4A (Beryl & Ivory)
Taman Putra Prima: Phase 4B (Azurite)

Its well connected to the LDP, you can actually either exit through Taman Puchong Perdana or Taman Puchong Utama as alternatives. Another recent news that will be well received is that work on the interchange (just beyond Bandar Nusaputra) to the Maju Expressway (Putrajaya KL highway) is nearing completion. With this, you can easily nip down to KL in less than 20 minutes via the new dedicated highway.

In general if you drive around Taman Putra Prima, the development exudes a more laidback feel, with lots of green spaces (and a few strange roundabouts) and low density. There are no closely built blocks or high rise apartments as yet, and the landscaping gives a very sparse feel that we like. This new phase dubbed 8A (which, unlike the earlier phases, does not have a name) consists of 197 units of linkhomes. The standard unit here is built on a small footprint of 22′ x 65′, and units are arranged in three main roads. The units generally face north or south. Within this phase there are no landscaped park, the only facilities are 2 TNB substations. Other than the homes there is only a small open green area bordering the main road.

With the small footprint and with only 2 storeys, the build up is also small. There are 3 types to choose from, the intermediate units is 1,986sq.ft. and 1,974sq.ft. Corner lots are bigger in space and land area, the build up is from 2,193 to 2,227sq.ft. With the small build up, everything is pretty tight, but they do provide a guest room on the ground floor and 3 rooms upstairs. All three rooms upstairs have private bathrooms. The living and dining is quite cramped, the kitchen is even so. I think most purchasers will forgo the utility (supposedly to be for the maid) and extend the kitchen all the way back. Interestingly enoguh there is no 10′ yard at the back of the unit, the building line goes all the way to the backlane.

The strong selling point is the freehold land status and the design of the facade, which stands out from the competition. The contemporary design is definitely eye catching. But at the end of the day, we really wished they had gone for a bigger build up. Its not like they don’t have enough land.

Price is from RM319,300 to RM575,900. For a small build up this is on the high side.

Plenitude have also developed projects in Penang, Johor Bahru, Kedah and the Klang Valley. Best known for their Changkat Kiara and Changkat View condomimiums.

We understand that the project is currently being handed over to the purchaser, and the hot topic of discussion at the moment is the LRT extension that will be built very near here.

This is a unit type J.

Below: view of the living room.

Below: The view of the external landscaping.

For some of the older site progress photos during construction, you can view it here:
July 2008
August 2008

1. Sime Darby Property Bhd
2. S P Setia Bhd
3. Sunway City Bhd
4. IGB Corp Bhd
5. Island & Peninsular Sdn Bhd
6. IOI Properties Bhd
7. Bandar Raya Developments Bhd
8. Eastern & Oriental Bhd
9. Sunrise Bhd
10. Bandar Utama City Corp Sdn Bhd
11. Gamuda Bhd - Property Division
12. IJM Land Bhd
13. YTL Land & Development Bhd
14. Paramount Corp Bhd
15. Selangor Dredging Bhd
16. Mah Sing Group Bhd
17. Naza TTDI Bhd
18. Selangor Properties Bhd
19. Dijaya Corporation Bhd
20. UEM Land Holdings Bhd
21. PJ Development Holdings Bhd
22. WCT Land Sdn Bhd
23. Metro Kajang Holdings Bhd
24. Plenitude Bhd
25. Naim Holdings Bhd
26. Malton Bhd
27. United Malayan Land Bhd
28. Hunza Properties Bhd
29. Sagajuta (S) Sdn Bhd
30. Bolton Bhd

Full details and individual qualitative and quantitative category results are also shown in yesterdays The Edge Malaysia newspaper.

1. Sime Darby Property Bhd (-)
2. S P Setia Bhd (1)
3. Sunway City Bhd (3)
4. IGB Corp Bhd (2)
5. Island & Peninsular Sdn Bhd (4)
6. IOI Properties Bhd (5)
7. Bandar Raya Developments Bhd (6)
8. Eastern & Oriental Bhd (9)
9. Sunrise Bhd (8)
10. Bandar Utama City Corp Sdn Bhd (7)

Full list of Top 30 corporations is shown here. Details and individual category results will be issued in today’s The Edge Malaysia newspaper.