Q Sentral at KL Sentral - Office Suites

MRCB of the KL Sentral monopoly has teamed up with Office supremo Quill to build a Grade A office in a slim patch between the Le Meridien hotel and future St.Regis hotel.



This is a star location considering the upcoming developments in already very congested KL Sentral. Opposite this project is the KL Sentral Park retail outlets which is nearing completion. Accessibility is however expected to be a nightmare with KL Sentral roads and access roads already heavily congested and public transport being a sham in this sham of a transport hub in Kuala Lumpur.

However, I believe despite the weakening market, Grade A offices are in demand in central locations including KL Sentral. This is despite many large corporations starting to move out to the suburbs such as Damansara Perdana, Uptown and Shah Alam. But I think MRCB and Quill has the right strategy by carving out their office suites into bite sizes for those small to medium sized companies looking for a posh address.


The above plan is typical for most floors with sizes around 1200sf-ish... And priced from RM1500psf, it is quite affordable to house about 10 to 20 employees in under and around RM2million. The cheapest office unit is peddled around RM1.6million, which is 1066sf. The corner units and those facing the Lake Gardens are priced slightly more. In terms of Feng Shui, one should really have the Lake Gardens view as the KL Sentral side includes a breath-taking view of the Sungai Besi Chinese Cemetery where the famous Mr. Yap Ah Loy, the founder of Kuala Lumpur (*depends whose history you believe in) is interned.

The launch this weekend is expected to be quite hot. This is because, MRCB has cleverly marketed the starting price as from RM420k onwards. This is not at all deceiving because you can snap up one of the so-called "Business Suites" at around RM500k per pop. Still at RM1,500psf, this sounds like a bargain except that you are staring at a small 300-ish square foot office with no windows. These tiny offices are located on the 30th to 32nd floors only and they basically occupy the center void of these floors as my very poorly blurred photos below illustrate:

Despite what anybody might say about these windowless units, in my opinion there aren't many of them... only about 20 units per floor. And it should be quite easy to find tenants among small start-ups or overseas rep offices to pay RM2000 to RM3000/month to rent them. It should not cost a lot to furnish them too. This is all to get the famed KL Sentral address and enjoy the this very trendy sky-garden somewhere on the 13th or 14th floor.

MRCB has failed miserably with their Plaza Sentral. The management sucks, the place is dirty and things falling apart. However, they are smart to partner Quill. With Quill's reputation as an experienced office player, this is very hard to go wrong.

That's just my opinion....

St.Mary Updates

Last i've checked, the 3 towers have already topped up. E&O has built show houses at the site. For the amount of postings I've made about St. Mary, some of you may have already gone zzzzz...

But to see your investment from this stage...




...to this stage...


until it has reached this stage...

...is indeed very exciting...

The actual show houses give us an exact feel and experience about the unit's layout. The immediate effect is the spacious feeling of the living area.

The unique layout where both bedrooms flanking the living area allows you to see both the other bedroom and the balcony.

But the sharpened corner of the window may need some creativity in designing the shades..

The prices are now in excess of RM1000psf, up from around RM700psf at launch. For those happy to pay more than RM1500psf (over RM1.6million), you enjoy the view of the courtyard.

and totally unblocked views of KLCC.

Still another 12 months from Vacant Possession... it is well going to be worth the wait.

ONE @ Bukit Ceylon

Yet another project in Bukti Ceylon. This one opposite Somerset Seri Bukit Ceylon is by the UOA Group. One @ Bukit Ceylon is going to be a Serviced Residence / Hotel. Unlike Seri Bukit Ceylon (Somerset), One Residency (Park Royal) or Verticas Residensi (Lanson Place), UOA is going to manage this hotel themselves and they are giving buyers a Guaranteed Return of 6%.

Being a hotel, One is laid out with long corridors 22 units per floor. There is a facility floor with swimming pool, gym, sauna etc somewhere between the car park floors and the rooms. Above that, there are 20 odd floors, consisting of:
1 x 2br unit and 9 x 411sf studio units facing One Residency and
1 x 2br unit ansd 10 x 453sf studio units facing Changkat Bukit Bintang



The most popular is the Type B 2 br unit which is 893sf facing Changkat (above). But all these are sold out despite the above a million price tag. The 2nd type of 2br units aren't as popular due to the poor layout. They have 2 bedrooms with windows, while the living room, kitchen, dining and bathrooms are without windows.

The studios are... well... pretty standard studios... If one chooses the unit facing One Residency, it won't be long before the car park in between is developed blocking all views. The Changkat view isn't that great either. Although it will be perpetually unblocked, the nightly noise from the bars in Changkat is certain to turn away tenants. So, you get to choose between 2 evils - future wall view or noise.

Pay future prices today. Is it worth it?

453sf unit on 13th floor for RM600k (RM1324psf). With 6% Guaranteed rental returns over 12 months.
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640sf unit across the road at Seri Bukit Ceylon selling below RM600k (RM930psf) can be rented out at RM3500 per month (though not easy).
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What do you think?
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*Building pics taken off One Bukit Ceylon website without permission

Bangsar Trade Center Up's Offer

So, now it's 19.5% guaranteed returns!!

And now it's called Pre-Sale... previously, it was called "Pre-launch"...


The Pre-Sale offer seems better than the Pre-Launch offer, despite the higher price. However, don't lose the hidden message. 19.5% on RM288k translates to RM56,000. Previous pre-launch price was RM220k with 6.5% returns over 2 years, which is RM29k. So, assuming this 19.5% is guaranteed over 1 year (I'm not sure cos I am not going to bother to ask), the extra yield is about RM27k. So, add this RM27k to the old selling price, you get RM255k. So, one can say the "pre-launch" buyers have gained about RM30k so far.

But this is unlikely to be so. In most pre-launches, the cheapest unit is usually snapped up early. So, the RM288k starting price for this "pre-sale" stage is probably the cheapest available unit left.

I have been posting a lot on this topic lately... but I am not picking on Bangsar Trade. I am sure what they are doing is absolutely legitimate and maybe there is even money to be made. But I do find their marketing technique very interesting, that's why I comment...

Bangsar Trade Center Trivia

How can a property in BANGSAR make it with
prices starting from RM220k,
which is Freehold,
located next to the LRT,
with 90% loan financed by the developer with DIBS,
fully-furnished
and a guaranteed 6.5% returns over 3 years ?
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The answer is....
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It's NOT in Bangsar.... hahahahahaha!

Buying Asian property risky but not in KL, says report

As reported in The Malaysian Insider

By Lee Wei Lian

August 02, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 2 — Kuala Lumpur’s residential market has been rated as a regional standout as key Asian capital cities face challenges from government-imposed cooling measures, said property investment consultancy Pacific Star in its mid-year report.

The report said that governments in China, Hong Kong and Singapore have been bent on curbing inflation and cooling the residential market through a combination of tightening measures, higher interest rates and management of supply and demand but this was not always the case in Malaysia.

“Although fundamentals for Asian residential real estate remain intact, residential investment at this juncture carries a disproportionate amount of policy risk,” said Pacific Star. “We view that the Kuala Lumpur market will stand out given that policy risk is relatively low and economic conditions are generally healthy.”

The report noted that the sharp rise in the equity market in Malaysia this year has also helped to support residential demand.

“In particular, the pace of rate hikes in Malaysia has been more measured and will support residential purchases,” said Pacific Star.

While the report will be welcome news to property investors, aspiring homeowners are unlikely to be happy that the Malaysian government appears to be lagging behind its regional counterparts in tackling residential property prices which have largely outpaced income growth.

The price of residential properties in and around the Klang Valley had increased by up to 30 per cent last year thanks to a combination of low interest rates and ample liquidity.

While Malaysia does not have a housing affordability index, a rough calculation shows the average price of a KL residential property is now about RM485,000, or roughly nine times that of the average urban household annual income of RM54,000 and a possible sign that the market is experiencing a bubble.

The Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey rates markets whose property prices are 5.1 times median income or more, as “severely unaffordable”.

The National House Buyers Association (HBA) had warned in May that an entire generation of young adults risk being locked out of the property market due to runaway house prices.

Malaysia’s central bank, Bank Negara has raised its key overnight policy rate (OPR) four times since the start of 2010, to the current level of three per cent which is still below the pre-crisis level of 3.5 per cent and the statutory reserve requirement rate of three per cent is also below the pre-crisis level of four per cent.

“Although Bank Negara Malaysia has initiated monetary tightening, inflation is expected to stay above 3.0 per cent, which implies a negative real policy rate,” said Pacific Star.

Bangsar Trade Center

Last Friday, my early morning route took me from Subang Jaya to Bangsar. On the way out from Subang, I saw a small ad posted on a traffic light advertising a Freehold property in Bangsar, with DIBS (Developer Interest Bearing Scheme), guaranteed 90% loan and guaranteed 6.5% returns for 3 years... and the price starts from RM220k. I seriously didn't pay much interest in this because normally this kind of investment won't get advertised illegally on traffic junctions. It sounded like a scam. By the time I got to Bangsar, almost every traffic lights junction was plastered with these ads. Surely, this is something that needs further investigations...
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So, I decided to call one of the numbers listed on the ads. There is no showroom, so the sales agent invited me to visit their sales office at Kota Damansara. It's not the easiest place to get to from Bangsar on a Friday afternoon but finally I did get there. They appeared to have laid out a small feast in front of the office and I was greeted by a rather pretty Eastern European lady... good strategy....
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As it turns out, the location of this project is at the Kerinchi LRT station. This LRT station is currently built inside Wisma Pantai, which is a very badly managed building. Adjoining this building is Wisma Goshen, a Grade C office block with Grade E lifts and Grade F toilets. There is an abandoned plot at the head of this complex facing Menara Telekom. At this plot, they will build an office block and 2 blocks of hotel. The hotel will be leased by the Best Western group, which is a well known chain.
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So, what's with this deal?
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The price advertised starts from RM220k but this is not quite. The hotel rooms, which they call SOHO is actually priced just over RM1000psf. So, a typical unit about 500sf is actually being peddled around RM520k. The prices vary according to the view - which you either get the wall of the office block barely 20 feet away or the Federal Highway. So, naturally all the nicer units which are not facing a wall have all been snapped up. But lucky me behold, when I got there, some poor guy who has placed a booking for a beautiful unit with the highway view can't get his loan approved (what's with the guaranteed 90% loan???) so the sales agent says I can have it!


What about the RM220k starting price tag then?
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These are for those tiny 100sf boxes they call commercial units located on the 3rd floor of the complex. They have 3 floors of commercial shops. The 1st and 2nd floors are reserved for lease by the developer and the 3rd floor is offered for sale. The layout looks to me like the MBK bazaar in Bangkok. At RM2000psf and a hefty RM1psf maintenance fee, if you want to place your bets here, you better buy those units facing the elevator. But all these units have been snapped up as well... These commercial units, unlike the SOHO comes with only 2 years guaranteed returns at 6.5%. This might say something about the developer's confidence, as the current shops in this complex are not exactly doing too great.

How does one get the 90% loan?
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Especially when most investors now have more than 3 properties and Bank Negara says you can only have 70% loan - the developer will loan you that 20%. I don't understand how the mechanics work but apparently, you'll get 70% loan from the bank of your choice and the developer loan you 20%, so you will have 2 lenders to pay... the bank and the developer. I need not dwell more into this because at this stage, I was getting a bit uneasy about the whole project.
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Why?
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The take up seems to be great. The 1st block almost 90% sold and the 2nd block just opened is almost 50% sold. Then the sticker off a nice unit in the cheaper 1st block pops back out. Well, that's not all... the RM1000psf price tag for this location is way over-priced. If I am to rate this, using Bangsar South and Midvalley as a benchmark, I would say this place is worth no more than RM900psf. Bangsar South and Midvalley are both leasehold. But Bangsar Trade Center (BTC) is freehold, so I'd give it a 10% premium. There are also no small SOHO units in Midvalley and Bangsar South for me to compare, so I'll give BTC a further 20% premium for the smaller size. So, taking an average RM600psf Bangsar South and Midvalley price today, with the 30% premium, we've reached RM780psf. Then, we'll throw in a further RM80psf for the furnishing and therefore, we reached RM860psf for BTC.
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There is a 6.5% GRR over 3 years. Taking a typical 500sf unit, which is priced at RM520k, the developer will be paying you RM101,400 over the 3 years. That translates to RM200psf... therefore, RM860 + RM200 = RM1060psf.... No such thing as a free lunch...
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So, the only way you'll make money here is to pray for a capital appreciation after 3 years. If that doesn't happen, you'll be stuck with an old 3 year old hotel room which you are trying to rent out with old furnitures to replace. That's why, I never believe in Guaranteed Rental Returns ;)

Dua Sentral near KL Sentral

With the construction boom and all that around KL Sentral, I decided to visit Dua Sentral to see if this is going to be a good investment. Apparently, they are going to be a Serviced Residence cum Hotel operated by Best Western, an aggressive group taking up quite a number of properties in the Klang Valley lately.

The building is almost completed and apparently, they have set up a show unit at the site.


Clearly, the directions to the show unit is well sign-boarded. I only need to follow the arrow...


Follow the arrow....

Keep going... follow the arrow...


I have now found myself at this car park. It says "Buyer's Parking" so I must be doing something right... I parked my car...


And followed more arrows...


... and follow another arrow...


and this last arrow pointed me towards this lift lobby, and at this point I thought "hmmmm..."


I went into the lift lobby and found this lift in a hole in the wall and it has no push buttons...


I was reluctant to get inside. I saw an elderly man in a smart Dua Sentral shirt and asked him, "Sir, where is the Show Unit".

He said, "It's on the 7th floor. But wait, I think we've moved it to Midvalley... Why don't you go up to the 7th floor and check"

"I went inside the lift and it was quite scary. There were no buttons. How do I get up to the 7th floor?"

He replied, "Oh well...if it's scary, you better leave..."

Oh ok... "Bye bye Dua Sentral..."

Somerset Damansara Uptown Petaling Jaya

Somerset Damansara Uptown Petaling Jaya

Ascott Limited (Ascott) is coming to Uptown Damansara with a management contract with See Hoy Chan Sdn Bhd to run a 200-unit Somerset Damansara Uptown Petaling Jaya scheduled to open in year 2016. Somerset Damansara will have studio, one- and two- furnished studios with fully equiped kitchen.

The development will include a 400,000 square feet retail mall, gymnasium, swimming pool, restaurant, sky lounge, business center with a conference hall which can accomodate up to 900 people.

I understand that this new development will be part of Damansara Uptown Phase 2 project which when completed will have 800,000 parking bays which will be the second largest next to Mid-Valley Megamall and the underground parking including existing ones at Uptown 1, 2, 3 and 5, will all be interconnected. Hopefully this will help solve the parking woes for residents and visitors to Damansara Uptown.

Jun 10, 2011

Making a grand entrance in Damansara

CapitaLand's wholly-owned serviced residence business unit, The Ascott Limited (Ascott), has strengthened its leadership position in Malaysia with a new management contract in Petaling Jaya which is awarded by See Hoy Chan Sdn Bhd.

The 200-unit Somerset Damansara Uptown Petaling Jaya is slated to open in 2016.

Ascott’s entry into the fast-developing Damansara Uptown in Petaling Jaya also extends the company’s footprint to a new city in Malaysia. With the addition of Somerset Damansara Uptown Petaling Jaya, Ascott remains the largest international serviced residence owner-operator in Malaysia, with over 1,500 apartment units across 10 properties.

Ascott’s managing director for South-East Asia and Australia Alfred Ong said: “By securing our 10th property in Malaysia, we are able to reap greater economies of scale and position Ascott for further growth in Malaysia. Somerset Damansara Uptown Petaling Jaya is in a prime commercial district and there are no other serviced residences within our vicinity. As foreign investments continue to increase in Malaysia, we expect strong demand for all our serviced residences.”

Somerset Damansara Uptown Petaling Jaya is located in Damansara’s main commercial district. The development will include a 400,000sq ft retail mall and five commercial towers housing multinational corporations such as Deloitte, FedEx, L’Oreal, Lenovo, Symantec and Unisys. It is also close to Damansara Heights and Bandar Utama which are host to many Fortune 500 firms.

The property will offer a range of furnished studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments with fully-equipped kitchens.

Guests will be able to enjoy facilities such as a gymnasium, swimming pool, restaurant and sky lounge.

Business travellers will be able to make use of the business centre and a conference hall which can accommodate up to 900 people.

In addition to Somerset Damansara Uptown Petaling Jaya, Ascott has three new properties scheduled to open in Malaysia over the next three years.

The properties to be opened are Citadines Uplands Kuching (opening in 2012), Ascott Sentral Kuala Lumpur (2013) and Citadines D’Pulze Cyberjaya (2014). Ascott currently operates Ascott Kuala Lumpur, Somerset Ampang Kuala Lumpur, Somerset Seri Bukit Ceylon Kuala Lumpur and three properties for corporate lease.

Redesign of the MAS Building

Earlier, building enthusiasts from SkyScrapercity revealed a plan by PNB, owner of Bangunan MAS beside St.Mary Residences to refurbish the ageing building. Apparently, the large podium at the back of the building will be demolished to construct a hotel. Lately, a better plan has emerged. It is going to be a 45-storey tower attached to the current block on the Jalan Sultan Ismail frontage, instead of the back podium as reported earlier. This sounds like a better idea because a luxurious hotel would obviously be better off having a Jalan Sultan Ismail frontage compared with a back-street Jalan Tengah entrance.

Pictures below by enthusiasts Rizal Hakim reveals what's in the plan.

Latest report about St Mary next door:

Foreign buyers make up 30% of sales at St Mary Residences so far
By Siti Sakinah Abdul Latif of theedgeproperty.com
Tuesday, 15 March 2011 19:50

KUALA LUMPUR: Eastern & Oriental Bhd's (E&O) St Mary Residences condominium project in Kuala Lumpur has attracted a significant number of foreign buyers.

E&O's executive director Eric Chan said foreigners make-up about 30% of the sales. "We have buyers from 13 different nationalities, including countries such as Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Indonesia," he said.

The project with a gross development value (GDV) of RM800 million comprises three 28-storey towers on a 4.04-acre freehold site on Jalan Tengah. The three towers offer a total 657 units with Tower A, B and C offering 288 units, 200 units and 169 units respectively.

Chan said Tower C has been 90% sold, while Tower A is 50% sold since its launch in August 2009. Tower B is being kept for the original landowner. The price is at an average of RM1,100 psf.

No More Loans for 4th Homes?

To curb speculative pricing of the property markets, the Government of Malaysia has capped loans for 3rd property to 70%. It looks like this has got little impact on property prices and in fact, it has remained speculative and in some cases continue to rise to unaffordable levels for many home purchasers. Does this mean, punters in Malaysia are really that cash rich that we can afford 30% downpayment every time we purchase?

Well, rumour has it that the government is going to get tougher on this. Apparently, a new policy will be revealed soon - there will be no loans for 4th properties onwards. Hopefully this will help to cool down the property market. But will it kill off property speculation? What about those Developer Interests Bearing Scheme (DIBS)? This means, punters with more than 3 properties won't be able to benefit from DIBS and as of now, punters buying their 3rd property and up only get to enjoy DIBS on 70% of the purchase which is the loan limit.

I've also learnt that the current 70% loan policy only applies for residential titled properties. So, commercial properties can be purchased with 80% loan. But this does not include commercial titled properties designated for residential such as serviced apartments i.e. if you are buying serviced apartments, you only get 70% loan.

Senza Residence beside the Taylors Lakeside Campus

Have you been getting many sms and emails lately from property agents advertising hot properties which are going to be launched soon? They are always in good locations such as beside a College or KL City center and also almost always over-priced. The pick up line is always the same, from every agent, that the project is very popular and they are reserving the last 1 or 2 units for me and have to decide by tomorrow or else they'll give it to someone else. Then the next pressure line is, the next phase will be launched at a higher price, usually 20% to 30% higher. So, I would like to warn fellow punters to take a grip and think many times over before jumping in. If it is really that good sales, they won't be reserving units for you, right?

Well then, assuming that sales is really fantastic, the biggest issue with this location is the access. Already we've high-lighted the problems faced by PJS7 residents due to the Taylors campus. As you can see from the map above (gleaned from the developer's website), the site together with the Taylors campus is land-locked.

The only feasible tenants are probably those attached to Taylors College. It is a tough sell... A 3 bedroom intermediate unit apparently goes for over RM550k. I am not going into the price per square foot yet... at this cost, one has to rent out the whole unit above RM3500 to make ends meet. If rented to students, assuming 4 students live here, it will cost them just around RM900 per head - obviously single rooms cost more. This is beyond the means of most students although admittedly Taylors College has many rich brats. So, this will obviously encourage up to 8 or even 10 students to pack into a unit causing them to be very undesirable neighbours. So families? Slim chance to get families to live here.

Corruption

This morning I got an email from a property agent which almost caused me to fall off my chair. He is marketing a low cost apartment project located at Park51, Petaling Jaya which is right behind the Mercedes' Cycle and Carriage beside the Federal Highway.

This project is called Impian Seri Setia, developed by the Taipan Group. This low cost project consists of 650sf 3 bedroom and 2 bathroom units. They come without car parks but these can be purchased separately (in my opinion, apartment projects without car parks should not be approved by the council as people are very reluctant to purchase or rent car parks resulting in traffic congestion as residents park illegally outside the building and blocking traffic). Anyway, each unit is selling for around RM80k but it is quite possible to rent it out at RM700 per month in this high demand area. Therefore, attracting a rental yield of 8%.

Since I am an investor, the thought of an 8% return and an investment of under RM100k would cause me to quickly book 10 or 20 units without thinking. I suppose many people are doing this at the detriment of the lower income group owning their own property. Naturally, demand to purchase is high. That is why, the agent has very openly demanded a RM10,000 under-counter money to secure a unit.

But low cost units are not so straight-forward. The units are allocated to the purchasers by the City Council, in this case MBPJ (Petaling Jaya City Council). Therefore this RM10,000 BRIBE can potentially implicate that the state government is involved. I have reported this case to the state government and hopefully something will be done. The honourable State Assemblyman for Seri Setia has already promised a Press Conference. Let us see...

Sky Vista Residensi

Just launched, a low density development in Taman Pertama, Cheras which is just by the Bandar Tun Razak/Loke Yew roundabout. I have always liked this location because there is a nice Chinese restaurant at nearby Jalan Kuari and this is also where I used to take my cat to see the vet - yes, the DBKL vet service is here...

The location is not too far from the city center and there is a promised LRT station, which we will probably see the light of in the next generation... And apparently, this is a Freehold project (anyone to verify this?) but the rest of Taman Pertama is Leasehold. Neighbouring Victoria Condominium was launched in 2009 at just under RM300k for 3+1 room 1300sf units. No idea where they cost today but a recently completed Pertama Residency which only have 600sf studio units are going for RM300k per piece. Without car park!!!

But obviously, the target market for Sky Vista is families. Don't expect a great rental yield here as it is unlikely one would be able to get into the expat market here. This is definitely one for the short to mid-term flip flop strategy... There are built-ups from 1450sf to 1700sf. Normally, those punters like us who buy for speculation would straight go for the smallest unit... i.e. 1450sf below. But I think this will be the wrong strategy for this one.

If we all remember back 15 or 20 years ago, double storey landed link houses was the norm in the Klang Valley. There were the standard 20 x 60 or 22 x 75 and also the larger ones 24 x 80 or so.... Those who bought the smallest units probably regret that they didn't pay that extra RM50k or RM100k for the bigger sizes. The reality is, families grow, kids grow and they need more space. And as household income increases, people tend to upgrade and go for bigger units. So, the bigger type A (below) would most likely have the greatest chance of appreciation. And they are all bright and airy corner units which is a great plus.



However, as for me, I tend to go for the minority. In this case, it is the Type D which is also a corner, faces the pool and may even have a speck of KLCC view. This, incidentally is a 3 side frontage which means it has windows on 3 sides of the 4 walls - which makes it extra bright and airy... nice...

The developer is also unheard of, which sets in a risk factor as we are almost surely going into recession next year. And, at over RM600k for this location, this is totally untested. We are talking about Mont Kiara prices 5 years ago... and this is no Mont Kiara and will never be one... this is locals area. At RM600k and above too, one would ask why not buy one of those landed double storey links in Taman Pertama itself or nearby Taman Midah or Bandar Tun Razak? Well... good question... the answer, lifestyle...