Fajarbaru upbeat on Melbourne mart, eyes more land
SkyWorld Development Group Bhd chief operation officer with the scale model of in Bukit Jalil.
CAUTIOUSLY UPBEAT: Company plans to launch several projects next year as it expects real estate market to improve
KUALA LUMPUR: Property developers in Malaysia are holding strong on the Australian real estate market and continuing to put their money there as they expect good returns with the right product offerings and location.
Despite a few areas of concern in the inner city of Melbourne, Malaysian developers feel that there is still enough demand to support property prices in the country.
Property prices across Australia’s capital cities had risen by 6.2 per cent on average over the last 12 months, according to figures from CoreLogic RP Data.
Property prices in Sydney and Melbourne rose 9.1 and 7.5 per cent, respectively, in the last 12 months.
Other cities with modest price gains are Hobart (6.2 per cent), Adelaide (4.8 per cent), Brisbane (3.9 per cent) and Canberra (2.9 per cent).
Construction and property firm Fajarbaru Builder Group said it was buying more land in Melbourne.
Its associate 320 Queen Street Project Pty Ltd is acquiring a piece of freehold land measuring 676 sq m within the central business district (CBD) of Melbourne for A$25.6 million (RM84.15 million) cash.
Fajarbaru said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia last week that the land had been granted a planning permit for the construction of a 48-level residential tower.
The tower, which is expected to be fully built in 2020, will include two basement carpark levels, two recreational levels and service levels.
Fajarbaru said the land acquisition represented an exceptional opportunity to develop the residential tower on the corner of Queen and La Trobe Street with immediate access
SKYWORLD Development Group Bhd, which was set up eight years ago, is upping the ante with its plan to launch several new projects next year, albeit cautiously.
Chief operation officer Lee Chee Seng anticipates the real estate market to perform better next year, supported by the many housing incentives introduced by the government in the 2017 Budget.
The property developer has more than 40.5ha of land here, with an estimated gross development value (GDV) of RM10 billion.
The land is located in Bukit Jalil, Bukit Tunku, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Taman Desa, Setapak, Sentul and Setiawangsa.
Two months ago, the company to Melbourne’s most famous lane ways and retail.
“Melbourne’s CBD has proven to be one of Australia’s most successful high-rise markets with population growth forecasts continuing to drive future demand for additional accommodation, which is spurring development across the city,” it said.
Fajarbaru made its first foray into launched SkyLuxe On The Park in Bukit Jalil, and so fare, the project has achieved close to a 82 per cent take-up .
SkyLuxe On The Park, which has a GDV of RM411.6 million, comprises 43- and 44- storey towers.
There are a total of 477 units with built-up sizes ranging from 661 to 1,224 sq ft.
Each unit is priced between RM600,000 and RM1 million, or an average of RM760 per sq ft.
“This shows the level of confidence the buyers have in the market, and also us as a developer and our product offering,” said Lee.
According to Lee, 82 per cent of the total number of units were taken up by Malaysians, majority of whom bought to upgrade and as an investment.
SkyLuxe On The Park sits on a 0.75ha freehold site next to the 32.4ha Bukit Jalil Recreational Park and opposite the 66.83ha Bukit Jalil the Australian market in 2014, acquiring three parcels of land there for A$6.9 million (RM20.61 million).
In the following year it held the ground-breaking ceremony for a A$77 million apartment project Golf and Country Resort.
SkyWorld is investing some RM6.5 million in landscaping the development to ensure that there is enough green around.
In terms of safety and value-added security features, the project offers a multi-tiered security system, an intercom system, electrical fencing, CCTVs, 24-hour security patrol, a guarded tour system and a fireprotection system.
Skyluxe On The Park is also certified with CONOUAS — a quantitative measure of the overall quality of a building’s workmanship during the various stages of construction.
SkyWorld is aiming for the project to become a Green Building Index (GBI) provisional-certified development.
Its eco-friendly features include inverter lifts, rainwater harvesting units, and a dedicated recycling centre. called Gardenhill.
The project is being developed by Fajarbaru-Beulah (Melbourne) Ptd Ltd, a joint venture between Fajarbaru Properties Sdn Bhd and Beulah International. Sharen Kaur