PROPERTY developer Malaysia Land Properties Sdn Bhd (Mayland) seems to have the "Midas touch" as all projects developed by it have appreciated in value and in some cases, by threefold.
Mayland, whose projects include the integrated Plaza Damas development in Sri Hartamas, Kuala Lumpur, is confident that this trend will continue for the remaining projects planned at the site.
The entire Plaza Damas project, which started in 1998, is located on a 5.95ha site with Phase 1 and Phase 2 taking up 3.54ha.
Mayland is now developing its RM800 million Plaza Damas 3 that will include serviced apartments and possibly a hotel.
"Our track record has spoken for itself. We do not know of anyone who has bought from Mayland and did not make money. We want our customers to make money," its director Winnie Chiu told Business Times in an interview.
She quoted the examples of its Parklane block of shop offices where 91 units were sold from RM880,000 each in 1998 and today their value has appreciated to RM2.5 million.
Its Waldorf and Windsor apartments in Phase 1, which were sold in December 2007 have appreciated in value to RM240,000 from RM141,000 for the 480 sq ft unit, in less than two years.
Chiu expects the same kind of results for its new launches.
In fact, Mayland's projects are so popular, they are snapped up even before they are advertised. And 50 per cent of its purchasers are repeat customers.
"We sold our 72 units of shop offices in Phase 3 within half a day. It was even before we sent out our advertisement for print," she said, adding that each unit costs RM2.3 million.
According to Chiu, Mayland saw a dip in sales in November 2008, which continued until March this year. However, she is no longer worried as she believes that confidence in the market has returned.
"We are seeing a huge pick-up in sales," she said.
Mayland still has available some 5 per cent of 185 units of serviced apartments in Carlton@Sri Hartamas and 30 per cent of its 230-unit Chelsea@Sri Hartamas for sale.
The pricing for a fully furnished unit starts from about RM820 psf for units measuring 500 sq ft to 955 sq ft.
As part of its plan to make Plaza Damas an integrated development, it is also looking at the possibility of having a hotel in Plaza Damas 3.
Plaza Damas 3 will then be linked by an overhead bridge to Hartamas Shopping Centre and Plaza Damas 1 and 2 within two years.
Source from btimes.com.my
DIJAYA Corp Bhd's (5401) development at the 250ha Tropicana Golf & Country Resort in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, is almost reaching the tail end, with the scheduled December launch of the RM745 million Tropicana Grande and Tropicana Avenue project.
The two are are among the final three or four developments left in Tropicana.
According to managing director Datuk Tong Kien Onn, there is only 3 per cent or 7.5ha of land to develop in Tropicana. Tropicana Grande and Tropicana Avenue will use 2.08ha and 2.3ha each.
The remaining land will be used to construct purpose-built office towers for investors, Tong told Business Times in an interview in Petaling Jaya.
Tong said Tropicana Grande is the last residential development in Tropicana and he is expecting brisk sales at the launch as it has ready buyers.
Tropicana Grande will featuring four crystalline blocks. It will offer 300 units, priced from RM600 per sq ft, Tong said.
"We are optimistic of sales. The market is improving and there is demand for properties overlooking a golf course. Our pricing is less than half of what is being offered at the KLCC area," Tong said.
Dijaya is targeting existing Tropicana home buyers, and investors from Singapore, Dubai, Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan.
To accelerate sales from foreigner property buyers, Dijaya will launch Tropicana Grande in Singapore in December, Tong said.
Tropicana Avenue, a lifestyle commercial development, will comprise three blocks of nine and 11 storey offices, worth RM205 million.
There will be 359 shop offices and 38 loft offices parked in seven to nine floors, that will seat on top of 50 retail lots in two floors.
"At the moment, we are looking to lease the retail units to control the mix so we can create a lifestyle for our buyers. We will be selling the office suites at RM350 per sq ft," Tong said.
Tong said he expects Dijaya to surpass its 2009 revenue target of RM260 million this year, attributed by sales from the new properties.
Over the past seven months, Dijaya has achieved RM215 million in sales, or 70 per cent of its target.
For the financial year ended December 31 2008, Dijaya posted RM244 million in sales.
Source from btimes.com.my
TH PROPERTIES Sdn Bhd, the property arm of Lembaga Tabung Haji, will launch RM50 million worth of shoplots at its Bandar Enstek township in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, next month.
Its chief executive officer Zaharuddin Saidon said this would be the first time it launches commercial units within the development.
Bandar Enstek is developed by TH-NSTC Sdn Bhd, a 70:30 joint venture between TH Properties and the Negeri Sembilan State Development Corp.
So far 30 per cent of the 2,046ha township has been developed with 1,200 units of single and double-storey terraced houses, bungalows and semi-detached houses built and occupied.
The whole development, comprising residential, industrial, commercial and institutional components will be completed by 2025 with an estimated gross development value of RM9.2 billion.
"Developments are moving on as scheduled. We feel it's time to add some shoplots to cater for the existing homes. We are positive on the take-up as there is a long wait list," Zaharuddin said.
Zaharuddin was speaking to Business Times in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, after inking an agreement with Hiraki Timur Sdn Bhd.
Hiraki is the operator of Kolej Teknologi Timur (KTT) and it plans to set-up a campus on 3.2ha in Bandar Enstek, for RM25 million to RM30 million.
The event was witnessed by Deputy Minister of Higher Education Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah.
Hiraki Timur will move its current main campus in Bandar Baru Salak Tinggi, Sepang to Bandar Enstek when the new facility is ready by early 2012.
Zaharuddin said TH-NSTC has, since 2002, received investments of over RM1 billion from the government and private sectors to set up universities and colleges.
The Education Ministry and Higher Education Ministry bought 400ha to set up nine colleges and institutions such as Tunku Kursiah College, Aminuddin Baki Institute, Maktab Perguruan Teknik and Pusat Latihan Bahasa Inggeris.
The properties are under construction and will be ready between 2012 and 2013.
Kuala Lumpur Education City Sdn Bhd, led by Tan Sri Dr Kamal Salleh, is planning Kuala Lumpur Education City, which will feature five foreign and two local universities on 200ha.
Cempaka Group of Schools is also setting up an international secondary boarding school for RM95 million.
"Our focus plan for the township is a knowledge-based development and we are heading there," Zaharuddin said.
Source from btimes.com.my
TH Properties and the developers will build super size luxury bungalows, each standing on 0.4ha, marketed under Malaysia My Second Home.
TH Properties Sdn Bhd will launch by mid-2010, two luxury housing projects worth RM1 billion at its 2,046ha freehold Bandar Enstek development in Nilai, Negri Sembilan, in a joint venture with developers from India.
Chief executive officer Zaharuddin Saidon, who declined to reveal the developers, said each developer will be given 40ha of land to develop under the joint-venture agreement
Zaharuddin told Business Times that they will build super size luxury bungalows, each standing on 0.4ha, marketed under Malaysia My Second Home.
He added that the bungalows would be sold to high networth individuals from India, the Middle East and Singapore.
It is learnt that each bungalow will sell for around RM5 million.
"We can't reveal more details as the agreement is still being finalised. We hope to sign it next month. The developers are preparing the master plan for approval," Zaharuddin said.
"In terms of development value, the Indian partnership will be our biggest investment from overseas into Bandar Enstek."
Zaharuddin said TH-NSTC Sdn Bhd, the developer for Bandar Enstek had been approached by the developers at the start of the current year and initial talks have led to the signing of a memorandum of understanding in March.
He said TH-NSTC is open to similar JVs with local and foreign developers but they should be able to add value to the township and bring in their own market catchment.
"We will consider allocating land to them to develop but we will be cautious in our approach. We rather do it ourselves while we can," Zaharuddin said.
TH-NSTC is a 70:30 venture between TH Properties, the property development arm of Lembaga Tabung Haji, and the Negeri Sembilan State Development Corporation, respectively.
The project is 30 per cent developed with 1,200 units of single and double-storey terraced hou-ses, bungalows and semi-detach-ed houses built and occupied.
The entire development will feature residential, industrial, commercial and institutional components with properties worth RM9.2 billion.
The project is scheduled to be completed in 2025.
Source from btimes.com.my
Niecon Development aim to sell the remaining units of 'The Oracle' to high networth individuals in Malaysia within the next three months
NIECON Development aims to sell about a fifth of its A$850 million (RM2.4 billion) luxury twin-tower apartment project in Australia's Gold Coast, dubbed "The Oracle", to Malaysian investors.
The 515-apartment project, located on Broadbeach, Gold Coast, is 83 per cent sold with prices averaging A$1.4 million per unit (RM4.11 million).
The bulk of the buyers are Australians and the rest from Malaysia, Singapore, China, Russia and the UK.
Chief executive officer of Jalin Realty International Pte Ltd, the exclusive marketing agent for Niecon in Malaysia, Ian T.K. Chen, said although the apartments are expensive and the market is soft, the units were sold in six months from its launch.
The Oracle is one of the most prestigious projects in Australia and interest is strong as it is close to Jupiter's casino and the Gold Coast Convention Centre.
Launched in early 2008, it features 510 units of 1-3 bedroom apartments ranging from 850 sq ft to 3,000 sq ft, worth A$690,000 to A$3 million (RM2.2 million to RM8.8 million).
The two duplexes are worth up to A$5 million (RM14.7 million) each, and three penthouses for over A$9 million (RM26.46 million) apiece.
Chen said one penthouse was recently sold for A$9.6 million (RM28.22 million), smashing the Gold Coast record for highest penthouse value transacted.
"Australians are relatively wealthy and people are buying into The Oracle because it is an iconic building with beach frontage," Chen said in an interview in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
The Oracle is being developed on 8,000 sq m of offices and 4,500 sq m of retail space, making its appeal more attractive to buyers. The whole development, which will be completed by end-2010, is worth A$1 billion (RM2.94 billion).
Chen added that Gold Coast is the fastest growing regional city in Australia currently.
He said since The Oracle was launched, the value of the apartments have appreciated by 10 per cent and he expects the trend to continue year-on-year, as it has for other properties in the region.
"We aim to sell the remaining 77 units of the 1-3-bedroom apartments to high networth individuals in Malaysia within the next three months. We have a long list of potential buyers," Chen said.
The units will be launched tomorrow at Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Kuala Lumpur.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Malaysia ranked 10th in terms of top investors in Queensland in 2008.
"Malaysians spent A$22 million (RM64.68 million) to buy residential properties, a bulk of which are in Gold Coast. So we are confident of sales here," Chen said
Property developers should be cautious and not overbuild just because the property market appears to have bottomed out in the second quarter, said Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda) president Datuk Ng Seing Liong.
Developers were optimistic of a stronger uptake of properties in the second half of the year as the property market appeared to be recovering, he said.
“But they should remain cautious and not overbuild,” he told reporters at the 20th National Real Estate Convention themed Recalibrating the Fundamentals in the Malaysian Real Estate Market yesterday.
Ng noted that many developers were still worried about clearing their inventory and reducing property overhang.
“Their concerns include completing on-going projects in time, softening property prices and high marketing expenses,” he said.
At the end of the first quarter, the housing property market recorded 544,926 units of incoming supply against 669,554 units of planned supply, Rehda figures showed.
The number of completions and starts of residential projects increased in the first quarter, but new building plan approvals had dwindled, compared with the fourth quarter last year, according to Rehda.
“With the property market improving, developers need to be innovative, creative and focus on what the market demands. It’s good to see some developers embracing the green concept in the construction of buildings,” Ng said.
A Rehda survey in May on 105 developers from peninsular Malaysia showed that 32% respondents launched new projects in first half of the year while 68% did not.
The survey said 30% of the 105 developers experienced “static performance” in their launches, while 38% reported worsening sales with a majority stating that they had experienced a 30% or more reduction in sales.
Source from thestar.com.my
The only commercial development in Pantai Hillpark taking shape; show unit now open for viewing
Ahead of its completion in early 2010, YTL Land & Development’s CENTRIO is once again set to create a surge of interest amongst property buyers, when it opens its first-ever SOHO (small office/home office) show unit for public viewing. As the only commercial hub in the highly popular Pantai Hillpark address, CENTRIO features an eclectic mix of duplex SOHO suites, boutique offices and trendy retail stores, to serve the community’s needs in the 90-acre urban renewal development. 
Designed with a difference while staying true to Pantai Hillpark’s signature Mediterranean theme, CENTRIO pulls together modern spaces to deliver a new age of working and living. Cozy office suites that open out to garden views, spacious and stylish SOHO suites that offer open sundecks and tranquil private gardens are just some of CENTRIO’s unique offerings.
The introduction of CENTRIO came to be following YTL Land’s research that revealed an increasing number of young people were looking for living space that offered unlimited flexibility to do whatever they wanted; with many of them wanting to work from home. Its debut back in December 2006 proved to be a hit for this low-rise boutique development with 70% of the development sold in three days.
“CENTRIO’s launch in 2006, clearly demonstrates a rising trend of property buyers who are thinking differently about the way they want to live and work, appreciating the flexibility that our duplex SOHO suites and boutique offices have to offer,” said Dato’ Yeoh Seok Kian, Executive Director of YTL Land & Development Berhad.
“We are confident that the development will continue to attract new buyers and set new benchmarks for SOHO living in Malaysia, as more and more investors realize the investment potential of CENTRIO’s unique designs, features and strategic location,” he added.
In conjunction with the opening of the show unit, YTL Land also announced a new financial package that would give buyers, savings of up to RM150,000. This offer is only for limited time period only.
SOHO suites come in eight varieties, offering buyers varied options in terms of space and design at a starting price of RM550 per square foot. CENTRIO’s more recent offerings include the pool-view SOHO suites that offer residents the convenience of being situated closest to common facilities like meetings rooms, a yoga studio and gym. Spacious and stylish, the one-of-a-kind boutique garden offices are stunning duplexes that come with dual garden entrances, dual views, and large picture windows. With security and privacy a top priority in the development’s design, there will be completely separate access points for residential, office and retail spaces.
CENTRIO’s appeal and value was recognised recently when it clinched four awards at CNBC Asia Pacific Property Awards 2009, for ‘Best Mixed Development’ and ‘The Architecture Award’ under the Commercial category and ‘Best Architecture’ and ‘Best Property Marketing’ in the Residential category.
About CENTRIO at Pantai Hillpark
CENTRIO features an eclectic mixed development of exclusive habitats (SOHOs), boutique offices and trendy retail stores that pull together modern spaces for people to live, work and play in. It is also the only commercial development within Pantai Hillpark, which is developed by YTL Land & Development Berhad.
Individuality and uniqueness are the key promise of CENTRIO, with its SOHO suites (small office/home office) reflecting homeowners' demand for clean open spaces that can be interpreted with a distinctly personal touch. They come with unique features like double volume space, stunning floor-to-ceiling or windows, spacious rooftop gardens, illuminating skylights as well as open sundecks above units, all of which are unheard of in other comparably sized SOHO developments in the market.
To add to its one-of-a-kind nature, CENTRIO’s SOHO suites comes with a host of amenities like a lap pool, a fully equipped business centre and shared conference rooms, which make the work/home experience seamless and enjoyable. Furthermore, the lush modern landscaping by renowned landscape architect SekSan serves to enhance the overall development’s value, while making a distinct aesthetic statement.
CENTRIO’s location in the highly strategic Pantai area also add to its strong commercial appeal, being situated between KL’s central business district and PJ’s fast emerging commercial hub. Bearing in mind the mixed nature of the development, security was a top priority in the development’s design, ensuring that residential, office and retail spaces have completely separate access points in order to ensure the safety and total privacy of residents.
Source from ytlcommunity.com
