Thursday, May 20, 2010

Property Launches All Over Again?

2007 and 2008 saw a flurry of launches at the back of a booming property sector especially around the KLCC area. Starting from a launch low of around RM400psf (e.g. Parkview), we saw for the 1st time condominiums being peddled up to RM650psf (e.g. Marc Residence, Meritz) and then over RM1000psf (e.g. Troika). Then, despite the slowdown, the prices continued to climb and soon reached even RM2000psf. Every new launch seem to set a new benchmark in price. During the slowdown, we wondered if it will ever continue or is there a glut?

Then came 2009, with the gloom still looming, E&O boldly launched St Mary which saw a 70% take up within a month. Fact is, during the market slowdown, a lot of cash rich people were itching to put their money somewhere and St Mary offered that opportunity. Subsequently, the take up rate of all the 2009 launches started to taper and we wondered if we were ready to invest so soon after.

Well, this is 2010 and get ready for the big bang of property launches which we are about to experience. The Berjaya group has relaunched their plot on the junction of Jalan Sultan Ismail and Jalan Ampang below as a mixed commercial-residence project in conjunction with the Ritz-Carlton. There will be 300 luxurious units which will be sold at a minimum of RM2000psf. They expect to complete by 2011 but judging from Berjaya's reputation for slow-cooking, that is really a tall order.




Next, Bukit Ceylon will see more high density additions in Bolton's SixCeylon, UMland-MMC JV's Suasana Ceylon and somebody's St.John's Wood Residences. Little is known about St.John's except that the location is behind the KLSE and opposite the Suasana Ceylon project. They will mainly consist of large multi-million Ringgit units and as its' name suggests, probably targeting rich alumnis of St John's school nearby. Both SixCeylon and Suasana has a starting price tag of around RM600k for studio units.



But I think the star of the attraction will certainly be little known Penang developer, Monoland's Vipod. The location is totally unrivalled, nicely positioned across the road from Pavilion mall and the KL Convention Center. The rendering of the building, layout and most details remain a mystery but punters in Skyscrapercity forum are claiming that the project will have more than 360 units over 41 floors, starting at RM668k. This is certainly very interesting to wait...

Monoland has also started ground works for another project closer to KLCC, beside the Esso building to be exact. The Quadro will have 36 floors and about 250 units starting at a price of RM2million. This one...not so interesting...

Closer down to earth, the developer of ultra-kitsch fame Casa Mutiara in Pudu has launched a second similar looking project called the Casa Residency. Location is slightly better than Casa Mutiara, right beside the Swiss Garden residences and hence reducing the risks of residents being mugged on their trek home through the lonely alley. This project has the smallest units being peddled at RM350k. With some furniture, white goods and kitchen thrown in, it is not a bad offer. But one would have regretted not getting a unit in Swiss Garden about 2 years ago at the same price.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

rumours also said that there will be a propertuy crash, with prices coming down with over supply of high end condos and service apartments. wonder how true is that....

j

ad said...

For casa residency,Just called them,apparently only left 1000++sqft with RM800++. Dead expensive.Wonder if its really worth it?

sinleong said...

for that price, you can get a 1000sf 2 bedroom unit in Somerset and start collecting rent immediately.

Anonymous said...

sin leong, you mean sommerset can ensure "rental return".?? Casa able to offer rental return. Is Sommerset brand new. Casa warranty defect period applied. Sommerset & Menara Bukit Ceylon subject to Changkat bukit bintang traffic & noise pollution. Casa maintain more residential. Sommerset outdate fixture & fittingh. Casa offer latest fixture & fitting.

Anonymous said...

casa location..pudu. somerset location..bukit bintang. rental guarantee developer already factored into selling price. no free lunch

Anonymous said...

Nicely written about upcoming launches. Hopefully there is a new bubble coming. Like in Singapore where the economy is a steamcooker. If just the government can make it truly investor friendly we might see development like during DrM years again.

Anonymous said...

Recent occupancy rates survey. Casa 1 90% vs Sommerset 77% spoke for the testimonial Casa location better-off than Sommerset location. No matter how good some claimed sommerset location but it boil down to OLd & run-down condo.

Anonymous said...

i know a lot of people are passionate about casa mutiara. but the comparison cannot be made apples to apples. somerset rent starts from RM3000. casa rent starts from RM1200. when you attend the AGM, you will find that a great majority of the somerset owners are own-stay or 2nd home. the other half is owned by Ascott group for short term lets starting from RM450 per night. but most glaring is the 1st hand owners of somerset are getting 15% to 16% yield. but the fact is market for high end condo is gloomy not just affecting somerset, also marc, parkview etc. btw, somerset and casa are the same age. somerset is far better managed by the ascott group which is an international chain.

Anonymous said...

I think it is dream-world to compare location of Casa Mutiara and Somerset. Casa Mutiara is located across road at Pudu. Distance to Centre of Bukit Bintang i.e. Pavillion/Lot 10 and Jalan Raja Chulan office areas is 1.5km. Somerset distance to Pavillion and Lot 10 is 580m (source Google Earth). Somerset is less than 50m away from Changkat Bukit Bintang restaurants and entertainment area. Casa Mutiara is about 50m from mamak stall