KL property mart set to cool

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/business/article/kl-property-mart-set-to-cool/

By Lee Wei Lian

April 23, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, April 23 — This year will be a challenging one for residential property as tighter lending bites into demand, especially speculative buying, property consultancy DTZ said today.

DTZ said in a report that Bank Negara’s new lending guidelines will cool an overheated market that has run up substantially in terms of pricing in the last two years as well as focus developments toward the more affordable housing segment.

The new guidelines, which use net income instead of gross income, will likely lead to slower sales for developers, said the report.

It noted, however, that developers remained upbeat over the year’s prospects.

“Although 2012 will be a challenging year as tighter lending bites into demand especially speculative buying, nevertheless, developers are confident that the demand for residential properties in Kuala Lumpur will remain selectively strong, as developers focus on smaller and therefore more affordable units as well as packaging launches with attractive Developer Interest-Bearing Scheme (DIBS),” said DTZ.

Bank Negara has introduced new lending guidelines, which came into effect in January, in an attempt to put a lid on household debt, currently at about 77 per cent of GDP.

The guidelines have apparently already had the desired effect on loans.

HwangDBS Vickers said in a report last week that mortgage approvals and applications in February were respectively 27 and 18 per cent lower than last year’s peak partly due to the stricter lending guidelines.

It also said the loan approval rate has fallen to 45 per cent from 55 per cent in August last year, while margin of financing has been reduced to 70-80 per cent from 90-95 per cent in the heyday of the property boom.

The residential property market has also been moderating across the causeway with Singapore reporting a sharp drop in transactions following government cooling measures such as a higher stamp duty.

Purchases by Singaporeans slumped 12 per cent in the first quarter, while permanent residents bought 7.5 per cent less and transactions by foreigners dived 78 per cent.

Singapore home prices also suffered their first drop in nearly three years when it fell 0.1 per cent quarter-on-quarter in March.

In terms of Malaysia’s office sector, DTZ said that it is likely to see greater challenges with slower economic growth and an anticipated oversupply in the coming months, as the pressure to find tenants gathers intensity.

It noted, however, that the office rental market was stable with an occupancy rate of 86 per cent.

Rent in prime office space exhibited resilience and stood at RM6.25 per sq ft per month which was unchanged from the last quarter despite weakening market conditions.

DTZ said that while the proposed KL International Financial District was an exciting development, it could heighten concerns of a property glut.

“Whilst it will be exciting for the market to see the emergence of a rival office district to KLCC, it will ratchet up the competitive pressure on rents by several notches at a time when oversupply is a major concern,” said the report.

DTZ said that the retail sector is likely to continue growing moderately supported by relatively cautious consumer spending and tourist arrivals.

It also said that new major retail centres would continue to attract retailers who are selective and would still lease space in centres that are expected to see high footfall.

Stricter Home Loans

Quite a number of buyers who booked new launch units have found later that their housing loan has not been approved. Bank Negara has imposed now very strict rules and raised the limit of eligibility. If one is buying a new launch unit, at most, the developer will forfeit RM500 off the booking fee for administrative charges. However, in most cases, sub-sale sellers would forfeit the entire booking fee. So, it is important to check whether you can qualify for the loan amount before committing. But a lot of people find this difficult to do especially when you have gone off to a hot cake property launch and you need to be fast enough to grab that choice corner unit.

The nearest I can find is a Indian home loan eligibility calculator at http://homeloaneligibilitycalculator.net/. I think it is even more stringent than Malaysia's rules. I have checked this with someone who can get approval for a loan up to RM240k with ING but this calculator says he is only eligible up to RM190k. So, this is quite safe to use.

You must have in hand the following information about yourself:

- Gross Income
- Car Payment
- Monthly Debt Payments
- Interest Costs
- Home Down Payment
- Property Tax
- Condo Fees / Home Association Owner Fees

Effect of KL MRT and LRT Extension Project On Property

Significant Impact!

My hunt for properties along the LRT track has taken me to the future. That is because the pool of options along the existing track has become quite scarce and obviously, prices quite unviable. USJ is a potential area. The existing Putra LRT track currently ends at Kelana Jaya. Construction work has begun for the line extension from Kelana Jaya to Ara Damansara, then onto Subang Jaya SS16 (Subang Parade), between SS15 and SS17, between SS14 and SS18 and then it turns towards USJ, first stop between USJ6 and USJ7. There are 3 stations in USJ before the LRT goes into Putra Heights.

Within weeks of news of the LRT station locations, property prices in Subang Jaya and USJ almost doubled. For example, a 22x75feet double storey link house in USJ2 climbed from RM380,000 to just under RM600,000. One might argue that property prices, especially landed have been moving upwards anyway but nothing else is responsible for such an exponential climb. Moreover, there has been an exodus of residents from USJ and Subang Jaya towards newer suburbs such as Kota Damansara and Kota Kemuning, many blaming the unbearable traffic jam (... but only to find themselves in worst jam areas) and the high crime rate.

Some strata properties are still worth considering, being under the RM300,000 "affordability barrier". As income remains stagnant, I think anything below RM300k remain the most attractive investment as majority of new wage earners collects less than RM4000/month. They are never going to get any loan higher than RM300k. Strata properties within the 200m radius of these 3 stations in this price range include:

1. Subang Perdana Court 1, USJ6

2. Subang Perdana Court 2, USJ6

3. Subang Perdana Court 3, USJ8

4. Rhythm Avenue, USJ19

5. Subang Starville, USJ19

picture above: Rhythm Avenue in USJ19 - once a pariah project now valuation above RM330k for the 3 bedroom apartment units despite no car park allocated for owners

Unit in the Subang Perdana Court1 walk up apartments were being transacted around RM140k to RM190k up to December 2011. Then suddenly prices surge above RM200k in 2012. Recently, I found a low floor unit here advertised at RM220,000. On the same day, the agent said the owner has increased the price to RM270k and somebody is already writing the cheque. Realizing that this may be an attempt to get me to bid higher, I told the agent to let it go. When people begin to scramble like they are buying hot egg tarts, it's not worth investing anymore...

picture above: Goodyear Court 10, further away but still within the 1km radius of the new LRT extension in USJ

Dorsett Place: Hotel operator in trouble over apartment plan

There has been a lot of talk about the car parking (..or lack of) issue for the Dorsett Place Waterfront. This week, they've decided to sell their car parks at RM28,000 per piece. This cost will be added into the purchase price in the S&P agreement. Before all the dust can even settle, something else has kicked in...

Hotel operator in trouble over apartment planPublished: Fri, 30 Mar 2012
SUBANG JAYA: A hotel which is allegedly offering buyers service apartment units may be violating its Planning Permission (PP) obtained from the Subang Jaya Municipal Council.

“I received brochures in my email about the hotel inviting people for a property preview this weekend,” said Subang Jaya (MPSJ) councillor Dr Loi Kheng Min.

He made the revelation during the MPSJ full board meeting yesterday and called for the council to take action against the hotel.

If found guilty, the hotel could have its PP forfeited and would have to refund any deposits made by guests during the property preview.

A PP needs to be acquired from the local council before any developments are carried out. The main difference in the PP requirements of a hotel from a service apartment is the allocation of parking space.

Earthworks are being carried out for the alleged service apartments.

Council president Datuk Asmawi Kasbi. said MPSJ will be meeting hotel officials next week for clarification.

UPTOWN RESIDENCE by See Hoy Chan

As 600 of the Mayland's Dorsett Place Waterfront 2000 units were selling like hotcakes despite all the bad points about this developer, See Hoy Chan comes in with their Uptown Residence and shows everyone what quality and value for money is all about.

Uptown is considered the main commercial area of the Petaling Jaya-Damansara "city". It can be comparable to Subang Jaya SS15. Where SS15 have colleges and large student population, Uptown has Grade A offices with multinationals such as Tetrapak, Orange, Agilent etc. etc. So, despite the massive congestion in this area where public transport is absolutely useless, Uptown continues to attract.

Today See Hoy Chan soft launched their Uptown Residences which consists of 2 towers - a Family Tower consisting of 30 storeys with 200 apartments and a Lifestyle Tower, 32 storeys with just 170 apartments. So, this is extremely low density considering the cost of land in Uptown which beats Mayland's SS12 Subang Jaya blind-folded and hands down, See Hoy Chan still manages to price their fully furnished units just above RM800psf compared with Mayland's RM760psf. Needless to say, even before the doors opened for their soft launch, all units in the Lifestyle Tower were sold out. On the 2nd day, 50% of the multi-million RM units in the Family Tower have been sold.

Apparently what happened was, beginning yesterday, punters started receiving sms-es inviting them to preview and book units today 23rd of March 2012. Whether they were plain stupid, ignorant or just trying their luck and being smart, they started to converge at the sales room yesterday itself. Then they "beat down the door" and "almost at gun point forced" the sales people to take their money and sell them units of this property. Scary as it sounds, this was very close to what happened yesterday.

So, what's this fuss about?

While Mayland is peddling 2000 odd of their tiny bedrooms with kitchen without car parks arranged in long rows like the hospital wards next door, See Hoy Chan gives buyers 6 units per floor, all corner units served by 4 lifts. Their Family Tower has 8 units per floor and every 2 units are served by 2 lifts - with their own personal lift lobby. Up to 3 car parks are provided for each unit! The furnishing, which in my opinion is very good quality is optional and you may opt not to have it and pay less. And if you change your mind just before the Vacant Possession, you may still have the furnishing by topping up the purchase price. This is in contrast to the cheap furnitures that Mayland forces down your throat.

Above: The Lifestyle Tower floor plan with 6 units per floor ranging from 734sf to 1040sf

Below: The Family Tower with 8 units per floor, every 2 units are "autonomous" with their own lift lobby

I will post some pictures later but I think the website probably serves more justice to this project at Uptownresidences.com.my.

Speculating the Mayland Dorsett

Finally, there is going to be a "preview" launch this 23rd March weekend of Mayland Dorsett. There are two 23-storey towers in this project, connected by a facilities deck on the 4th floor. Tower 1 has the pool and most of the hotel facilities and it is also the higher density of the 2. There are 82 units per floor in Tower 1 compared with 35 units in Tower 2. The ratio of units/lifts for Tower 1 is much higher than Tower 2 - 12 lifts serve Tower 1 while 6 units serve Tower 2.

It's the same layout for every floor from 5th to the 20th. The biggest and most expensive units, which are the duplex are on the 21st floor. There are only 36 units of duplexes (out of a total 2000 units), priced around RM800k for these 920sf units.

This weekend, only Tower 2 will be launched - almost 600 units in total. Majority of these consists of 590sf one-bedroom units facing the lake and 410sf studio units facing Subang Jaya. There appears to be a premium for the lake-facing units - from RM820psf vs RM750psf for the Subang Jaya view. So, the cheapest unit is priced from just over RM310k and with the preview discount of around 11%, the cheapest unit starts from only RM275k.

In my opinion, if speculation is the main purpose, the bet would be on these 410sf units. Why? Because there are only 200 of these. The other 400-odd 410sf units in Tower 1 are facing the Subang Jaya Medical Center which is not so desirable. So, the 410sf units in Tower 2 are a good buy - especially units 33 and 34. These 2 units are in the minority wing, there are only 9 doors sharing the corridor compared with 29 doors on the other wing.

However, nothing beats the corner Type B1 which is 500sf. Although these units occupy the "majority wing", there are only a total of 17 such corner units in the entire project of 2000 apartments. The other corner, the Type B2 is not so desirable due to the unit layout. The type-B1 has a bedroom and the bathroom can be accessed from both the bedroom and the living room. Both bedrooms and living room has large windows to let in natural light. But the type B2 is not designed in the same way. There is only a partition for the sleeping area with no windows although this is a corner unit. The bathroom is only accessible from the partitioned area - quite a stupid design and more expensive as well at over RM400k per pop compared with RM370k for the B1.

If the lake is something you like, then go for the Type C2, 590sf - but the only units worth buying are the corner. This is due to the internal design which has a living room with no windows, separated from the bedroom by the bathroom. If you get the corner units, the living room has windows.

As with all speculative projects, one has to get in there fast and early. The total number of corner units are 68. The total number of duplexes are 36. And the total number of desirable small units in the "minority wing" is 34. These will be grabbed up 1st and these are the ones who will appreciate most even if the others have to depreciate. They will be easier to flip or rent when in competition with others.

Updated: Mayland's Dorsett Place Waterfront

Studio units specialists, Mayland is back with their latest launch, the Dorsett Place Waterfront at Subang Jaya's edge of the Subang Ria lake gardens. This parkland has been controversial. Owned by Sime Darby, they've been carving parts off the green lung park to construct the expansion of Subang Jaya Medical Center. And just before the 2008 elections, Sime Darby seeked a development order from the previous state government to develop up to 30% of the park for residential as well as commercial purposes. Of course, the land being Sime Darby's they think they have every right what they want to do with it. But not according to many purchasers of the few early phases of Subang Jaya. These purchasers claim that they were enticed by Sime to purchase their plots back then with the promise of this green lung. Now it seems the "promise" is to be broken when money is to be made. So, this became an election issue and the previous as well as current state government has decided to hold back on the approval to develop.

Mayland's plot is at the edge of this controversial park. Unlike Sime Darby, their plot is much more straightforward. Couple of years ago, Mayland took over the Sheraton Towers hotel and rebranded it as their trademark Grand Dorsett. This obviously gave them the valuable car park plot adjacent to the convention center of the hotel.

This car park is to be demolished and the serviced apartment takes over. Typical as Mayland be, there will be over 2,000 units built into these 2 towers. Little info is provided as yet, there will be 10 types:

TYPE A-410 SF

TYPE B1-500SF

TYPE B2-550SF
TYPE C1-543 SF
TYPE C2-588 SF

TYPE D1

TYPE D2

TYPE E1

TYPE E2
TYPE DUPLEX A-919 SF

TYPE DUPLEX B

Prices starting from about RM275k... that is after the 2% + 10% discount during the preview this weekend starting 23rd March 2012.

Location wise, this is debatable. There is only one very congested access into Subang Jaya SS12 where this project will be located. The lake is a very nice spot for fishing, jogging or early morning walks. The 2 hotels here, the Holiday Villa and Grand Dorsett are quite well subscribed and there is a popular medical center right next door. As of now, everytime Grand Dorsett's convention center hosts an event, be it a wedding or a ceremony, the whole area becomes a havoc with haphazard parking and various kinds of violations, stress included. So, it will be interesting to see how such a high density project gets approval.

Najib ill-advised on ‘ridiculous’ first home scheme, says house buyers’ group

By Shannon Teoh
March 09, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, March 9 — A house buyers’ group has labelled the My First Home scheme an “ill-advised” policy after it was reported this week that not a single loan application has been approved under Putrajaya’s home ownership scheme for low-income earners.

The scheme, launched by Datuk Seri Najib Razak a year ago, has come to a grinding halt as banks are unwilling to hand out 100 per cent financing for property worth up to RM400,000 to applicants earning less than RM3,000 a month.
National Homebuyers Association (HBA) honorary secretary-general Chang Kim Loong told The Malaysian Insider that setting a ceiling of RM400,000 under a scheme for “affordable housing” was “ridiculous and somebody must have told the prime minister the wrong facts.”

“It is obvious that our honourable PM was ill-advised by parties with vested interest on setting the price range of RM400,000 for income earners below RM3,000,” he said in an interview.

He said the association had run checks with banks and found that most applicants were those who have been blacklisted or lack proper proof of income.

“The feedback was simply that if people can’t afford it, then don’t buy. How can you take a 100 per cent loan for such an amount without commitment?” he asked.

Chang said that a 20-year loan of RM400,000 at the industry standard two per cent below base lending rate would require a monthly repayment of RM2,552, or 85 per cent of RM3,000.

He added that a 30-year agreement would still require monthly instalments of RM2,051 or 68 per cent of RM3,000.

The scheme’s website also states that to qualify for the programme, the repayment commitment cannot exceed 55 per cent of the applicant’s gross income.

“It is not surprising there have been zero approvals as borrowers would be living beyond their means and default in a matter of time.”

He said that based on Bank Negara’s guidelines that loan repayments cannot exceed one-third of income, the ceiling for the scheme should be set between RM150,000 and RM180,000.

The prime minister announced in October when tabling Budget 2012 that the initial RM220,000 ceiling would be raised to RM400,000 as property prices continued to spiral.
The government had earlier said that a state-owned mortgage agency would put up the initial 10 per cent deposit required to purchase the houses.

Chang suggested that if the government was serious about affordable housing, it should “go into a joint venture with reputable developers and not cronies” that want to keep prices closer to RM400,000.

He said the government should write-off land cost by “unlocking strategic locations” such as its landbanks in Sungai Besi and the Rubber Research Institute’s acreage in Sungai Buloh.

“Instead of pushing for these lots to be ‘high-value,’ go for affordable housing,” he said.

Chang added that qualified applicants must live in the homes bought for at least 10 years and only be allowed to resell them to the government so it can then be reallocated to “the next generation of qualified buyers who need affordable housing.”
Property prices in urban areas, such as Penang and Kuala Lumpur, rose by up to 40 per cent in 2010, fuelled by low interest rates and a surge in speculative buying, although prices grew slower last year due to dampened sentiment from tightening measures such as a hike in the real property gains tax for early disposals.
Some reports have also estimated that property prices jumped from 5.9 times income in 1989 to 10.9 times in 2010.

The Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey rates markets whose property prices are 5.1 times median income or more as “severely unaffordable”.
The HBA last year warned that an entire generation of young adults are at risk of being locked out of the property market due to runaway house prices.

Klang Valley Gross Yield 4th Quarter 2011

According to the Edge Property's report on the 5th of March 2012, landed property is still popular. However, performances of high rise remains encouraging although some areas like Mont Kiara and KLCC are not doing as well today.

Year-on-year price growth (monitored from 2nd Q 2010 to 4th Q 2011) for landed property is around 20% to 30%, highest being 40% for Bandar Kinrara single storey terraced houses. Other top 5 are:

TTDI dsl 38.89%
Bandar Sri Damansara dsl 34%
TTDI ssl 32%
Bangsar Park ssl 29.03%
Bandar Utama dsl 28.57%

Price growth for condos is not so interesting, most places seeing hardly any growth and in fact some prices declined such as for Marc Residence (-3.65%) and Stonor Park (-18.14%), both in the KLCC area. Highest appreciation is USJ's Good Year Court (39.47%) probably due to the start construction of the LRT station just outside the USJ6 area. In the last quarter of last year alone, USJ Good Year Court prices climbed 20% while no other high rise properties recorded double digit growth.

In terms of rental yield, condos remain the better investment although yield has fallen to around 4%-6%. The top 5 are:

Parkview 6.6%
Mont Kiara Sophia 6.55%
Plaza Damas (Mayfair) 6.5% - interestingly, Plaza Damas Mayfair prices has risen 14% over the year. One of the top performers
Marc Residence 6.23%
Mont Kiara Pines 5.79%

Developer Mayland must be pleased to have 2 of their properties in the top 5 rental yield category. It will be interesting to see how the Regalia fare when it is ready in the coming weeks.

Coming soon - How to control the hefty electricity bills when you've bought houses to rent rooms for investment?

Due to the mismanagement of fuel resources by this government, our electricity bill has risen rather sharply in this past couple of years (despite that, Independent Power Providers or IPP have been enjoying government subsidies on fuel they bought to supply electricity for profit).

Suddenly, we have seen electricity costs eating into our margins, often as much as 50% of the room rental. What do we do without increasing rent too high that people can't afford to rent from us anymore?

See the solution here.... soon ;)

Kampung Warisan Refurbishment 2

Earlier I blogged about Kampung Warisan being refurbished. The management council has been sending us quite exciting updates about the work being done. So, I decided to drop by to take a look and discovered some surprises.

There has been some visible changes and there are also those that are not so visible. The council has just begun to change the roof slates starting from the club house.

There has also been some extensive work on landscaping...

Walkways have been repaired...

And the road repaved and repainted... including road kerb. Under the road, underground pipes have been added so that future cabling and plumbing can be carried out without any digging.

The main rubbish dump affecting Melor Block has also been moved so that residents of that block won't be inconvenienced by the dump truck and the smell that accompanies it. I have also seen tender being issued for works to clean the water tanks and upgrading of the CCTV system.

I then ventured off my usual path up the hill where I saw sadly a part of Kampung Warisan that has been left to decay for years.

This is the jogging path where many people has sighted snakes, monkeys and squirrels.

Further up the hill, there are some exercise stations, flying fox...

And a camp site!

This beaten path has been long neglected. I am not sure if the council has the budget to repair it or not and whether it will be viable to do so. Not many of us city dwellers bother to look into this side of nature and risk being too close to wild animals and insects. But I am sure, if it is fixed, I will be one of the frequent users...

How has the refurbishment works affected the prices? Well, 2 years ago before all this started, a 3-bedroom unit in Kenanga Block would be selling at around RM650k. Now, the last transacted unit 4-5 months ago was t RM760k. Rental has also not seen a great leap from the previous asking prices, around RM4500/month for the 3-bedroom units. To be frank, this isn't a lot compared to other similar sized units in neighbouring Seri Maya and One Jelatek. The appreciation is not that steep considering the good work that has gone in and the costs. It remains to be seen... at this moment, there aren't many units for sale in the market. Rentals remain sluggish which is seen all over Kuala Lumpur, not just here. Hopefully, in more years to come this will change as Kampung Warisan becomes the more preferred place to live in compared to other neighbouring condos in this area.

Property market growth to taper off in 2012, says expert

From The Malaysian Insider

By Lee Wei Lian February 10, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 10 — The property market will still see growth this year but at a slower pace than 2011 due to dampened sentiment, said CH Williams Talhar & Wong.

The property consultancy said buyers were now more knowledgeable and picky, and were less inclined to follow the crowd. Also, sentiment among speculators would have been affected by measures such as mortgage value caps for third loans and more punitive real property gains taxes for early disposals.

“We will see further growth but at a very much lower pace,” said Foo Gee Jen, managing director of CH Williams Talhar & Wong, at a briefing on the outlook for the property sector this year.

Foo said that he saw the market growing at about 10 per cent in value overall this year, compared with an estimated 11 per cent last year, while transaction volume growth was likely to dip below 10 per cent.

The office and high-end condominium sectors, meanwhile, are expected to experience a glut situation.

Luxury condominiums are expected to see a huge influx of up to 50 per cent of existing supply — some 13,716 units — coming onto the market over the next five years, which would put pressure on yields.

Foo said occupancy rates and rentals for condos would see a downtrend in 2012.

“This year is a buyer’s market for condos,” he said. “Once the new supply is completed, the landlords will have to accept lower rentals or sell at lower prices.”

Foo added that yields for office rentals had decreased to 6.2 per cent last year and were likely to decline further, to six per cent or below this year.

“We see overall rent stability in 2012, but 2013 and 2014 will be challenging for landlords,” he said.

According to Foo, take-up for landed residential sectors was “generally healthy” last year, with the house price index for houses increasing 11.4 and 9.6 per cent for KL and Selangor, respectively.

The retail sector was also expected to grow more slowly, with six new developments to be completed in 2012 bringing another 2.7 million sq ft of retail space to the Klang Valley.

While popular malls in the city were experiencing full occupancy, the conditions were tougher for those outside.

Rental for ground floor retails shops in prime areas in central KL ranged from RM40 to RM55 per sq ft, and ranged from RM12 to RM32 per sq ft for those in outer areas.

Foo said the tightening measures on the property sector in China and Singapore was a good move for the region.

“It’s (the tightening measures) are healthy for whole region,” he said. “Because if a bubble bursts, there could be a domino effect in the region.”

Pantai Panorama

Pantai Panorama has a very good location - right in the middle between Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya. It used to be surrounded by squatter slums but this is now history. The slums are gone and being replaced by office complexes and condominiums, all more luxurious and pricey than Panorama. However, Panorama still lays claim to be the only freehold property in this enclave, now renamed Bangsar South - to borrow the fame from the more established neighbour. Just about 500m away, although downhill (and uphill...) is the Universiti LRT station, named Universiti because it is across the Federal Highway from University Malaya, the country's oldest university.

Panorama is perched on a huge rock on a the highest point in the Bukit Pantai area. This gives the condominium panoramic views (no pun intended here...) of Kuala Lumpur and the Petaling Jaya suburbs. Those who were lucky to get the coveted KLCC view may not enjoy this for long as taller buildings are coming up in the Bangsar South area to block it.

There are 5 towers, with 8 units per block and about 15 floors, this is no low density condo. Nevertheless, the land is huge but it appears like parking is still insufficient as there are many cars parked along the hill access to the condominium.

The 5 towers house 1 bedroom up to 2 bedroom units, the smallest at 750sf and the largest around 1400sf. Most owners converted the 2 bedroom units to 3 bedrooms. The layouts are pretty much the same, except for varying sizes of the balcony and the kitchen. The 1 bedroom units are wildly popular, fetching up to RM2200/month in rental. They were priced around RM180,000 more than 10 years ago but today in sub-sale, nothing less than RM360k. Most of the one bedroom units are located on any one of the 2 blocks on the highest point of the hill.

I am curious why almost all the sub-sale available today are in the 1st block closest to the guarded entrance. I should think this is the most popular block as it is close to the entrance and therefore only a short walk instead of a steep climb up the rocks. And it is also the only block which has a Receiving Yard - which means contractors and movers won't occupy the residential lifts when moving goods up and down. This block also enjoys the larger of the 2 swimming pools but the gym is somewhat old unlike the one on the hill which was recently refurbished but management charges a premium for use of the new gym.

From a slum, Bangsar South has since become a success story. Buyers of the Park Residences right next door enjoyed over 30% capital appreciation within months of VP.

You can see how close Panorama and Park Residences are below but Park by developer UOA is Leasehold. Such varying fortunes and Park, being new and fresh also enjoys higher rentals and prices.

Current valuation for Panorama is around RM400psf depending on the unit sizes, floor, the view and also any renovations that the owners have done to their units. This is still a bargain compared to all of the new launches right next door and around the KL/PJ area. The owners have also taken over the management and appears to be doing a good job to maintain the place.

Sunway Palmville

Yet another low density condo, but this time it is not in KL. This is Palmville, in Sunway. Sunway has some luxurious residential projects as well as low costs ones all mixed in a small area. Prices in Sunway now rivals most parts of Kuala Lumpur but unlike the KL city area, the economy in Sunway is now largely supported by a rich student population. They are from the most expensive private colleges in Malaysia - starting with Monash, Sunway College, Taylors, One Academy and some dodgy ones over in the Mentari area.

Hopefully, this won't be for long as flagship developer, Sunway Group is building a large A grade office tower beside the Pyramid mall and the 5-star Sunway Resort Hotel. The office tower, named the Pinnacle will be ready in 2015 and it is only a short 3 mins walk from Palmville.

Palmville consists of 3 bedroom units with various sizes ranging from 1300sf to over 1700sf. Despite the luxury tag... rental here starts from RM3000/month, the tenants are mainly students. Two of the high demand condos in Sunway are the Palmville and the Lagoonview. The latter is located right beside the Sunway College campus. They have 4-5 bedroom units priced from RM700k onwards but hard to find any in the market. Palmville is slightly cheaper. The going valuation from the most bullish of banks set it at RM400psf. That means, one can get a 1300sf unit from about RM500k. From the time I was writing this, there were 2 such small units in the market with one asking for as high as RM650k. Such a huge variance for the same product!

But rental is a bit more stable here... RM3000... not much more, not much less.

The most desirable units sits inside the tower or those facing the inner court swimming pool. There was one unit in sub-sale which has a breath-taking view of the Sunway Lagoon themepark. The park was constructed around a deep mining lake and the view is anything less than epic. However, the only facility here at Palmville is the small swimming pool. Maintenance fees are cheap and one can opt to top up to use the country club which is situated right next door.

Like the rest of Sunway, Palmville is Leasehold. But not all Leasehold projects do badly - Sunway owing to the self-contained amenities including the gigantic themepark and shopping mall. I think if anything here is priced to be within affordability and reachability of the students in this area, will do well for a long time. Those that are over-priced - i.e. South Quay might struggle a bit until the place is a bit more established and those that are badly maintained such as Mentari or Lagoon Perdana will continue to languish - such is the diversity of the Sunway area. Many friends who come here baulk at the traffic jams, especially during rush hour and then again during the weekends. With success, comes sacrifice. Sunway's success is the crowd and with this crowd, brings the congestions... Another of such place I can think of is Mutiara Damansara and the One Utama area.

Bangsar Putri

On our quest for low density properties in sprawling green estates, we have found Bangsar Putri. It's one of those grand old places like Kampung Warisan and Desa Kudalari. Like both these green icons, Bangsar Putri is around 20 years old. For sure, there will be nothing like this with this kind of space going to be built in KL anymore.

Bangsar Putri sits on about 5 acres and consists of a tower and low rise 4-5 storey condominiums. It is extremely low density with only 200 odd units, majority of which are 1000+sf 2 bedroom units and some bigger units. Most of those available in the subsale are the low rise units facing the highway and Damansara Heights. They are valued at around RM450k. As you can see from below, the views from these units aren't fantastic and there is some amount of noise as well but those in the lower units aren't affected as much as the higher ones.

At RM450k, it is still pushing one's luck to try and rent these out for at least RM3000/month since they are only 2 bedrooms. The maintenance fees are high here, set at RM414/unit irrespective of size. The larger 3 bedroom units here are mainly in the tower and they are priced from RM650k onwards, which makes more sense economically - that is if you can find a reasonable unit for sale. Some owners are even asking for RM800k!

These 2 bedroom units don't look and feel like they have 1000sf of space. The kitchen above feels a bit cramped. The space is likely to be taken up the large balcony below.

The dining and living area also feels a bit small and the ceiling is low.

The master bedroom however feels a little bit more spacious than the 2nd bedroom below, which have only as much space for a double bed and a large wardrobe..

There is an adjoining bathroom to the master bedroom with a very cosy shower booth. It might be a big struggle to put a large person in there and without windows, can get extremely stuffy.

Interestingly, the 2nd bathroom feels a bit more spacious..

I think the stuffy feel owes much to the design. Although low depnsity, as you come into the lift lobby, you find only 4 units per floor but as you come in through your door, there is that claustrophobic feel and darkness due to the entrance being blocked by the kitchen.

In Bangsar Putri, the space is outdoors...

The popular units are those that faces inside, with fantastic greenery and a community feel.

I hear these units are snapped up as they come into the market. While agents tout prices starting from RM450k and rentals start from RM3000/month, I suspect the RM450k are those quoted for units facing the highway and the higher rentals are for those facing the gardens. I think unless with some major renovations done, it will be extremely difficult to fetch anything higher than RM3000/month.

Facilities are good, though looking a bit tired. It feels a bit like a country club with a nice old classical bar complete with snooker table and swimming pool - but it's actually more like a paddling pool...

Despite the small-ish pool, not many condos these days can boast of a tennis court due to the lack of space..

...and there're plenty of space for young children to run around. With the hefty sum in maintenance fees, the grounds are very well maintained.

And a population coming from only 200 odd units, I am curious how the big restaurant make it...

Facilities are mainly located downstairs of the tower block below and there are even shops, including a laundreatte within to serve this small community.

There's another place like this close by in Bangsar called Bangsar Indah. We'll pay a visit next time we can find a unit for sale there. But unlike Bangsar Putri, Bangsar Indah is leasehold...