The heat wave of property investment and speculation reached all-time high in 2013 and property prices were escalating rapidly. Malaysian government implemented series of cooling measure in Budget 2014 with the removal of DIBS and raising the RPGT to curd the speculative activities. The cooling measure has been quite successful in controlling the property price overall.
To combat the slowdown of property market, premium developers launched several ‘irresistible’ integrated development to attract property investors. The strategy seemed to be working and one perfect example is the ever hot selling property projects in KL Sentral area regardless of the economy outlook.
Good integrated development seems to be able to withstand the test of potential crisis and well worth for long term investment.
Propchat.org picks 5 hottest integrated property projects in Klang Valley you should watch out for.
No 5: i-City Ultrapolis @ Shah Alam
i-City ultrapolis is an ambitious integrated property project aims to become the next “Mid Valley” as advertised by some agents. The impressive 72-acre i-City ultrapolis project contains a shopping mall, offices, Best Western hotel, Hilton hotel, soho, condominium, service suites and a gigantic iconic “The Jewel” which is a staggered 45 to 70-storeys mixed-use mega building.
“The Jewel” will be launched in 2016. It’s interesting to see how well it will sell because the price is simply crazy which is RM1,480 per square foot? It is an unbelievable price tag in Shah Alam and there is not enough supporting facts now to explain the rationale behind this pricing strategy.
The strategic component Central Plaza Mall is a 1.5 million square feet mall, similar size to Pavilion KL. The 4.5 million square feet Mid Valley mega mall is still having the advantage over this new mall. Targeted to complete by 2017 second quarter, the new mall should be doing reasonably well because of its strategic location along Federal Highway, but I foresee the challenges faced by i-City to realize the same level of success of Mid Valley.
Key Strengths: Unique concept; Impressive Futuristic Design;
No 4: Sunway Velocity @ Cheras
Sunway Velocity is the latest freehold integrated development strategically located near KLCC. The key selling points of Velocity is the direct link to 2 underground MRT stations (Cochrane and Maluri) and 1,000,000 sf shopping mall.
Sunway is selling the entire project with a premium price but it doesn’t matter. The first phase service residence, offices, and shops are fully sold out! The only chance left is the V Residence 2 service suite with starting price of RM767,000, from 624-883 sf.
It’s not hard to imagine the future dynamics of Sunway Velocity when the 2 MRT lines start operating in 2017. Investors are having high hopes on this project and didn’t mind to pay the future price to acquire the unit here. Propchat recognizes the future potentials of Sunway Velocity with a caveat to investors that holding power is mandatory due to the exclusive price tags.
Key Strengths: 2 MRTs; Very close to city area; Sunway brand name;
No 3: Mutiara 482 @ IKEA Cheras
There are tons of identical shopping malls in our country, but there are only 2 IKEAs in Klang Valley. Needless to say, IKEA at Mutiara Damansara had already showcased the magic power to spur the development of surrounding areas. Now with the opening of the larger IKEA in Cheras, no wonder investors set their eyes on the nearby Mutiara 482 high density condominium project.
Mutiara Rini sdn bhd, a subsidiary of Boustead Holdings, is the developer of Mutiara 482. Being close to IKEA Cheras and Cochrance MRT station, this project is selling at a premium price too, estimated at approximately RM1,000 per square foot or perhaps more?
I am however a bit disappointed with the high-density boring condominium design which is not much different from the rest.
The launching of the project has been delayed. The developer could be repositioning its pricing and adjusting the built-up size to make it more ‘affordable’.
For those who are interested can register in their website and we foresee this could be the rare BBB mode during the ‘worst year for property’ in 2016.
Key Strength: IKEA, period.
No 2: Bukit Jalil City @ Bukit Jalil
Bukit Jalil City is an impressive 50-acres freehold integrated project with shop offices, condominium, shopping mall and future hotel and office tower.
The strategic component is the 2 million sq ft Pavilion 2 which aims to become the next regional mall and amongst the most popular malls in the Klang valley.
According to latest report, the office lots are already sold out. So our focus is the Park Sky Residence which consists of 4 tower blocks of 40 and 46 storeys. There are basically 3 types, Dual Key, 2 Bedrooms and 3 Bedrooms ranging from 868sq ft to 1,565sq ft. The price is pretty high, starting from RM850 psf. One of the selling points of The Park Sky Residence is the sprawling 80-acre park in front of it.
Developer: Pioneer Haven Sdn Bhd, subsidiary of Malton Bhd (with Partnership with KL Pavilion Sdn Bhd)
Key Strengths: Great Location; Pavilion Mall;
https://propchat.org/2015/12/25/pavilion-2-bukit-jalil-city/
https://propchat.org/2016/10/27/park-2-bukit-jalil-city-pavilion-2/
No 1: Bukit Bintang City Centre (BBCC) @ KL
Among all the new integrated developments, BBCC seems to be the most promising one with its supreme location at Bukit Bintang and reputable developers. Premium price tag is anticipated though but advanced property investors are already eagerly awaiting to get a piece of pie from it. BBCC comprises of a 1 million sq.ft. shopping mall, a lifestyle street, strata offices, hotels and majority of the high rise buildings are serviced apartments, branded and signature residences targeted for property investors.
A live event hall by Sony’s Zepp will find their presence in BBCC as well to host concert events by international artists. This mega project of BBCC with GDV of RM8 billion will start its construction soon by ECO World and the sales gallery is already available at the site area.
Propchat.org thinks BBCC is worth checking out for medium to long term investment simply because you can’t go too wrong with the location at Bukit Bintang area. Time Square and Low Yat plaza are classic examples of the initial failing malls could come alive at this magical golden triangle areas over time.
Developer: UDA, ECO World. Mall Operator: Mitsui Fudosan Co Ltd.
Key Strength: Bukit Bintang Location
Please comment if you think there are other integrated developments that we should be listing here. I will include it in future blogs. Thank you.