Well, every now and then I tend to share my thoughts and ideas on the property development market. In my opinion, it is only fair to share all these knowledge and information around, giving the end buyers and consumers a better understanding of the property market.
The Galleria at Jalan Ampang.
Honestly, the last 5-6 years have seen a major change in the Malaysian residential markets - in particularly, the high rise residential segment. If I am not mistaken, last time you would most probably see 90% of the high rise residential developments and launches in the Mont Kiara vicinity - thanks to the entrepreneurship of our Malaysian Condo King - Alan Tong, the founder of Sunrise and basically, the one who groomed Mont Kiara to what it is today. In the past, developers preferred to launch landed properties - as it is still every homebuyers' favourite - but with the price of land getting more expensive and the price of properties shooting up the roof, developers have been developing more high rise properties since the last few years.
Today, there seemed to be a minimal of a block of condominium at every housing area. Pocket lands are being developed and redeveloped into high rise developments, where the returns per square foot of land are maximized through higher densities and higher plot ratios.
From my research, in the past, high rise residential developments consisted of big floor plates and large sizes. If you were to look at the older developments such as Desa Kudalari, various developments in Taman Desa, Hampshire and a couple of other older developments, you will find that these units are very family orientated - and are consistently larger units. The expatriate market has also assisted in this segment, especially via the Malaysia My Second Home programme (MM2H).
Alam Sanjung will feature a never-seen-before herb garden. =)
Today, and the way forward - I believe that the high rise residential market will continue to evolve.
I do not know who coined the terms 'SoHo' - but obviously the first guy who came up with this was a very smart guy. Today, SOHO units have evolved and expanded into SOVO, SOFO, SUMO, SOHU and a host of other names. However, one of the key things to look at is the O - yes, because most of these developments are on commercial titles, the developers try to maximize the returns based on the plot ratio allowed (instead of using density) - and hence, today we have what we call 'shoebox units'. Unit sizes have reduced tremendously - if in the early 2000s we had 3,000 sq ft units, today we are starting to see units that are smaller than 500 sq ft - coming to as small as 400 sq ft (almost like a hotel room!).
Going ahead, I reckon the high rise residential markets to remain very strong - especially in the higher end developments. As a contractor, we recognize that the costs of construction is still rising, and going ahead, it may no longer be profitable to build cheaper units. With a stronger demand for higher end and quality developments, developers are pushing out for more of these units. These units typically comes with a lot of value added features - including branded fittings, kitchen built-ins and basic furnishing. I have seen some developments that comes incorporated with spas, herb gardens, rooftop barbeque and beaches, individual pools in your unit, and so much more - all these to entice the end users and buyers.
The Bank at Jalan Ampang.
When we launch our residential suites at The Bank (the Dang Wangi LRT Station Redevelopment), who knows... I might just decide to provide the buyer with EVERYTHING - right from sofas, flat screen TVs, branded electrical appliances in the fully furnished kitchen, high quality fittings in the bathrooms, international standard mattresses... and who knows? I might even give you CURTAINS! So, after I hand over the keys to you, you would just need to pack your clothes, and you can shift in right away!
0 comments:
Post a Comment