‘Kuala Lumpur high-end resident market may have bottomed out’

KUALA LUMPUR: The Kuala Lumpur high- end residential market is believed to have bottomed out mid last year, according to Knight Frank Malaysia’s latest report, “Real Estate Highlights 2nd Half of 2019”.

This has set the right mood for the segment to make its way back slowly as evidenced by the higher number of launches in the second half of 2019.

Last year saw the Tun Razak Exchange ( TRX) taking shape with the completion of Menara Prudential and Exchange 106.

“Complementing these commercial developments, Core Previous Development Sdn Bhd, a joint venture between China-based China Communication Construction Group (CCCG) and Malaysia’s WCT Holdings Bhd, seized this opportune time to launch Core Residence @ TRX.

“Other notable residential projects unveiled during the second half 2019 are Conlay, a joint development by Eastern & Oriental Bhd and Mitsui Fudosan Group, and Agile Embassy Garden, the third project of Agile Group Holdings,” said the report today.

These new launches are selling between RM1,900 per sq ft and RM2,200 per sq ft on average.

Knight Frank Malaysia managing director Sarkunan

Subramaniam said there was also an increase in foreign buyer interest in Malaysian properties from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, China, Singapore, USA, Australia, UK, Germany and other European countries.

“Moving into 2020, we expect to see more new launches and transactions in the prime areas of Kuala Lumpur City – Bukit Bintang, Ampang Hilir / U-Thant, Mont’ Kiara, Bangsar and Damansara Heights / Kenny Hill.

“In addition to these prime areas, there are also some established neighbourhoods /upcoming hotspots that are drawing the attention of the upper-income population and high-net-worth individuals, they include Desa ParkCity, Taman Tun Dr Ismail and the upcoming financial district of Imbi / Pudu - TRX,” he said.

Meanwhile, in the general residential segment, the report showed that several key policies as announced during Budget 2020 are expected to further stimulate the market.

“These include measures among others, such as the lowering of foreign buyer price threshold from RM1 million to RM600,000 for unsold highrise properties in urban areas, the introduction of the renttoown financing scheme and revising the base year for real property gains tax,” it added. — Bernama