The most exclusive suburbs in town

IF you have not RM1 million, nor RM5 million, but RM10 million to spend, what would you do? For one, you could consider getting a RM10 million ringgit home in what many would call the most exclusive residential addresses in the country. For many of us, we can only dream of this ever being a reality, but dream we must.

Back to reality, interestingly, despite the overall downturn in the Malaysian economy and poor market sentiment in the property sector, demand for luxury residences have not waned.

According to the National Property Information Centre’s (Napic) 10 Million Ringgit Property Deals of 2015 report, there were 10 residential properties that transacted at RM10 million and above last year. They were located in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Johor and Penang.

More than half of them were located in the Klang Valley, namely in the premium addresses of Bukit Tunku, Bukit Bandaraya, Damansara Heights, Taman Duta (all in the capital city, Kuala Lumpur) and Country Heights, the high-end bungalow enclave in Kajang, Selangor.

Steady demand for high-end landed homes

Knight Frank Malaysia associate director of residential sales and leasing Kelvin Yip tells TheEdgeProperty.com that luxury homes, particularly those worth RM10 million and above, receive steady demand from local ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWI).

“We see steady demand from UHNWI for completed luxury bungalows, especially within gated communities, due to the prestige of owning trophy homes or iconic assets,” explains Yip.

So where are these top-end homes located? Let’s take a look at the addresses of the top six luxury residences transacted at RM10 million and above in the Klang Valley last year. Of note is that all of them were landed homes with land area sizes of over 6,000 sq ft.

The highest transacted price for a residential property recorded in 2015 was in Bukit Tunku at an astounding RM22 million for a freehold double storey bungalow on a 5,330 sq m (57,371 sq ft) plot. Bukit Tunku, or Kenny Hills, is a quiet high-brow residential area nestled on a rather green hill located just 7km from Kuala Lumpur City Centre.

According to our listings, there are more than 20 Bukit Tunku landed property listings in the TheEdgeProperty.com. The highest asking price is RM40 million for a bungalow with 20,000 sq ft built-up, separate guest house and swimming pool.

Neighbouring Bukit Tunku is Taman Duta. Similar to Bukit Tunku, Taman Duta is another upper-class residential area that mostly comprises luxury bungalows. The area saw a double storey house on a 1,458 sq m (15,693 sq ft) freehold plot sold at RM10 million last year. The highest asking price listing is RM18 million while the lowest is RM6.8 million.

A skip and a hop away in Bukit Bandaraya, Bangsar, two residential properties were sold at RM12 million and RM14 million with land sizes of 1,385 sq m (14,908 sq ft) and 1,707 sq m (18,374 sq ft), respectively. Developed since the 1970s, luxury houses in the area have a distinctive 70’s design and are extra spacious.

Based on the website’s listings, in Bukit Bandaraya, the highest asking price stands at RM25 million and the lowest is RM1.7 million.

Meanwhile, in Damansara Heights, across the road from Bangsar, a residence on a land area of 640 sq m (6,889 sq ft) transacted at RM11 million last year. It is a mere 3km away from Bukit Bandaraya, surrounded by various amenities. It is easily accessible via Jalan Maarof, Jalan
Damansara, Jalan Duta and Jalan Semantan. Given its location, luxury homes here are attractive to buyers.

The highest asking price in our listings for Damansara Heights is RM20 million. It is a freehold bungalow with seven bedrooms and seven bathrooms.

Rounding up the six highest completed home sales in 2015 was a property in Country Heights, Kajang sold at RM11 million. It has a 2,136 sq m (22,991 sq ft) land size. Country Heights was formerly a rubber estate. It is also the first gated- and-guarded country living community in the country. Former Malaysian prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad used to be a resident here.

TheEdgeProperty.com shows the highest asking price listing in Country Heights is RM18 million. It is a 3-storey bungalow with a swimming pool, surau, and a self-contained 2-storey, 2-bedroom guest house.

KGV Lambert Smith Hampton (M) Sdn Bhd director Anthony Chua says one of the factors bolstering the prices of residential property in these five areas is that they are low density.

“The low-density factor creates exclusive residential enclaves that appeal to the high-income group who wants privacy and space,” Chua notes.

However, given the current weak market situation, he believes the outlook for luxury homes is less promising now than two to three years ago. “We expect the slow market to persist over the next 12 months but barring unforeseen circumstances, prices are unlikely to drop drastically,” Chua says.

Interested in property investments in Damansara Heights after reading this article? Click here to check out the properties there.

This story first appeared in TheEdgeProperty.com pullout on May 27, 2016, which comes with The Edge Financial Daily every Friday. Download TheEdgeProperty.com here for free.