A trunk of treasures (part 2)

Continued from part 1 By Kevin Eichenberger kevin.eichenberger@thestar.com.my Section 13, PJ B EGINNING around 2016, the formerly light industrial area that is Section 13, in Petaling Jaya, has been steadily converted into mixed-use developments, trendy F&B concepts, and recreational establishments that could surprise even the most jaded of hipsters.

While more of the disused industrial properties will be transformed into profitable and novel concepts in the years to come, many multinational corporations such as Fuji Xerox, Konica Minolta, Bosch, Daikin, and Panasonic, still have offices there.

The Tiffin Food Court is one of the most recent examples of novel ways of utilising the industrial properties in the area.

The Tiffin Food Court occupies the site of an open-air warehouse that has been temporarily converted to host poetry readings and musical performances – it is now a magnet for young artists, restauraneers, crafters, traders, and partygoers.

In addition to a number of churches, malls, and food courts, establishments such as Jumpstreet Asia, a trampoline park, and PJ Live Arts, a performance venue, are definite signs that Section 13 PJ will be taking on an atmosphere that is wholly different from past years.

KL City Centre  Source: Brickz With buildable land being considerably rarer in the city than anywhere else in Malaysia, new developments in the centre of Kuala Lumpur are expected to be the highest priced in the country.

The central core of Kuala Lumpur, the Golden Triangle, is famously expensive—prices for luxurious penthouses and condominium units overlooking KLCC park reached RM3,000 psf in 2012.  The effects of the Second Great Depression were expressed in figures published by the National Property Information Centre (NAPIC), with the total value of residential property transactions in the city being visibly diminished in 2009.

Following Malaysia’s economic recovery, property prices in the city reached new heights in 2012 before settling back to peak levels set between 2008 and 2010.

With regional infrastructure promising a greater influx of tourists, in addition to the local road and rail projects set to be completed in the next few years, the city will be even more accessible to people living in the far-flung parts of the Klang Valley – which should give rise to new records set in the near future.

Setapak Source: Brickz While property prices in Setapak did not initially exhibit the same peaks as seen elsewhere in the city, a basket of new projects beginning in 2012 put property prices in Setapak on the same track as the rest of greater Kuala Lumpur.

The median price (psf) in Setapak rose significantly following the completion of public housing, hypermarkets, malls, and mixed developments between 2013 and 2018 – and more serviced residences are being planned for the next few years.

With these new developments combining proximity to the city with the dramatic backdrop of the Titiwangsa Range’s slopes, and new highways being built around the northeastern rim of the Klang Valley, Setapak will almost certainly experience some significant increases in property prices in the near future.

Sentul Source: Brickz The story of real estate in Sentul is a near carbon copy of what occurred in the neighbouring district of Setapak.

The northernmost district of Kuala Lumpur remained largely unchanged throughout its existence until a spurt of large-scale developments occurred between 2013 and 2018.  Median property prices (psf) in Setapak only began following the trend set across greater Kuala Lumpur after the commencement of development initiatives by Ekovest, Mah Sing, YTL, and SkyWorld, in addition to improvements of infrastructure and public services that included pedestrian bridges and crime prevention programs.

As with many of the districts in the outlying areas of Kuala Lumpur, the expectation for the future is one of continually rising property prices.

As the city centre continues to be prohibitively expensive for first-time home buyers, and as the various road and rail infrastructure projects raise confidence in buyers looking at properties in the suburbs, the median price (psf) in Sentul and other neighbouring districts is expected to reach new peaks.

Cheras 9th mile Source: Brickz Interest in Cheras has been traditionally high, with median property prices (psf) largely exceeding the rest of Selangor since 1997 and spiking whenever highly anticipated developments were completed between the early 2000s and 2010s.  Property prices were buoyed by the announcement and subsequent completion in 2016 of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Sungai Buloh-Kajang line, connecting eleven stations distributed along the length of the Cheras Kajang Expressway from the centre of Kuala Lumpur at the Tun Razak Exchange to the south as far as the edge of Kajang.  With this vital public transportation link in place, properties in Cheras, between Kuala Lumpur proper and Kajang, consistently rose in value over the course of half a decade.

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