Property hotspots - Seri Kembangan, Puchong, Kinrara, Kota Damansara, Kepong became the hotspot areas for landed residential housing. Gated and guarded types of landed residential properties emerged as the popular trend in the Klang Valley,”

By THOMAS HUONG
huong@thestar.com.my | Jul 2, 2011
Landed property still available for RM500,000

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Those with a budget of half a million ringgit can still purchase decent landed residential properties that are not too far away from the Kuala Lumpur city centre, particularly in the Ampang area.

A search through the online property listing of Metro Homes Sdn Bhd turned up several interesting possibilities including a leasehold two-storey terrace house (five-bedroom/three-bathroom, on a 22ft x 75ft lot) going for RM500,000 in Taman Sri Watan, Ampang.

Also available was a leasehold three-storey terrace house (six-room/three-bathroom, on a 1,200 sq ft lot) going for RM470,000 in Taman Muda, Ampang Jaya.

A search via StarClassifieds also turned up a two-storey terrace house (three-room/three-bathroom), said to be located near the Kelab Darul Ehsan golf course, going for RM520,000 in Taman Tun Abdul Razak, Ampang.

There are also two-storey terrace houses selling in the RM500,000 bracket on the secondary market in Pandan Indah, Kuala Lumpur and Taman Ehsan, Kepong.

The online Metro Homes listing also showed options in Petaling Jaya including a a freehold one-storey intermediate terrace house (three-room/one-bathroom, on a 1,650 sq ft lot) going for RM455,000 in SS5.

Also offered was a leasehold Merdu Idaman one-and-half storey townhouse (four-room/four-bathroom, built-up of 1,800 sq ft) going for RM500,000 in Jalan Seroja, Kayu Ara, Petaling Jaya.

Our search also turned up a partly furnished freehold two-storey terrace house (six-room/three-bathroom, on a 22ft x 85ft lot) going for RM500,000 in SS14, Subang Jaya.

A report by C H Williams Talhar & Wong (WTW) issued in March this year, noted that due to limited supply of land, the development of the landed residential sector has shifted farther away from the Kuala Lumpur city centre.

“Last year, selected areas within Seri Kembangan, Puchong, Kinrara, Kota Damansara, Kepong became the hotspot areas for landed residential housing. Gated and guarded types of landed residential properties emerged as the popular trend in the Klang Valley,” says the report.

A recent CIMB Research report pointed out that last year, bungalows in Kuala Lumpur saw a 19% increase in prices, followed by semi-Ds at 16.7%.

The CIMB Research report noted that the strong property price appreciation for all residential properties was due partly to limited new supply last year, which had increased at the slowest pace since 1997 particularly in the Klang Valley, Johor and Penang.

“The supply of newly completed residential properties in Malaysia rose only 2.2% in 2010, a drastic slowdown from the 3% to 12% range seen since 2001,” said the report.

This could be one reason for the spike in the prices of landed terrace residential units in recent years in Klang. IOI Properties recently launched freehold two-storey terrace houses (priced from RM468,800 on 22ft x 70ft lots) in Bandar Puteri, Klang.

These are still more affordable options compared with Bandar Setia Alam, Shah Alam (located off Jalan Meru, Klang) where in early June, SP Setia Bhd launched freehold two-storey cluster houses (30ft x 55ft) priced from RM568,000.

It should be noted that renovated and partially furnished freehold two-storey terrace units (22ft x 75ft) in gated and guarded precincts within Bandar Setia Alam were transacted on the secondary market in the region of RM600,000 this year.

Also, on the secondary market, freehold and basic two-storey terrace units (22ft x 75ft) can be found in Putra Heights (adjacent to Subang Jaya) for about RM500,000.

Meanwhile, those desiring bigger-sized homes can check out bungalows in Rawang.

On the Metro Homes listing was a freehold two-storey bungalow (five-room/four-bathroom, on a 3,500 sq ft lot) going for RM510,000 in Taman Sri Hijau, Rawang.

Another option was a freehold fully-furnished two-storey bungalow (five-room/four-bathroom, on a 50ft X 80ft lot) going for RM450,000 in Bandar Country Homes, Rawang.