Bangi — sound investment
SHAREN KAUR
MAH Sing Group Bhd, one of the largest property developers in Bangi, is developing an integrated township there called Southville City, which features commercial and residential properties.
The township, which is sited on 173.2ha, has a gross development value of RM11.1 billion.
Mah Sing acquired the freehold land in May 2012 and it had been a profitable investment decision, said its group managing director Tan Sri Leong Hoy Kum.
He said one of the key deciding factors for its investment in Southville City was due to its strategic location along the North-South Expressway (NSE).
“Southville City is the only project in the area right now with a direct interchange into the NSE. Once the direct interchange is completed around December 2017, the township will only be 19km from Kuala Lumpur.
“With its direct interchange, those who travel from Seremban to Kuala Lumpur will view Southville City as an ideal location to stay during the working week as it will save them 70 per cent of their travel time,” Leong told Property.
He said the direct interchange would connect the township with its surrounding educational, industrial and residential offerings within the Bangi area.
Meanwhile, UEM Sunrise’s Serene Heights Bangi, which spreads over 181ha, has a gross development value (GDV) of RM3.2 billion.
The project has easy access to schools, banks, shops and other essential amenities.
Nearby schools include Sekolah Rendah Sri Al-Amin, Rafflesia International & Private Schools and Tanarata International School.
For leisure activities, residents can enjoy the golf clubs and parks from the Danau Golf Club, Kajang Hills Golf Club, Bangi Golf Club and Taman Tasik Cempaka.
The luxury developer received encouraging response in June 2015 when it launched 274 double-storey terraced houses (121 units of Acacia; 153 units of Begonia) worth RM180.7 million in GDV.
It sold the Acacia units from RM550,800 (intermediate units, 2,143 sq ft), RM645,800 (end lot units, 2,221 sq ft) and RM919,800 (corner lot units, 2,837 sq ft) and all were snapped up during the two-day launch.
The Begonia units were sold from RM636,800 (intermediate units, 2,204 sq ft) and RM739,800 (end/corner lot units, 1,803 sq ft to 2,821 sq ft).
Prices Have Appreciated
When developments started in Bangi 30 years ago, land price equated to about RM1 per sq ft (psf).
Ten years ago it had appreciated to about RM30 psf.
Now, commercial land near the business centre and Bangi Golf Resort costs about RM200 psf.
In terms of prices, it has doubled in the last 10 years.
Ten years ago a terraced house in the area would cost less than RM250,000 and a semi-detached home below RM500,000.
Currently, closer to the business centre, a terraced house costs more than RM500,000 while a semi-detached home is worth more than RM1 million.
Five years ago when PKNS launched its semi-detached houses priced over RM900,000, they were all snapped up within three days.
Compared with urban areas like Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya, residential properties in Bangi are still relatively cheaper, but prices have been rising steadily over the years attributed to mega infrastructure projects surrounding the area..
MIDF Research is positive on prospects for property prices in Bangi.
“We believe that the prospect for property prices is positive in the long term due to its good location, which is 30km away from KLCC and 15km from Putrajaya,” said its property analyst Alan Lim Seong Chun.
Lim said demand for properties, especially the landed ones, has increased largely because of rising property prices in the city.
These were mainly in areas within 30km from Kuala Lumpur City centre, he said.
“Historically, the area is mostly covered by palm oil estates but we have seen many developers, such as IOI Properties and Mah Sing, developing townships in the area in the past five years,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mah Sing’s Leong said property prices in Bangi had been on an uptrend.
Over the past five years, prices had increased about 35 per cent to 40 per cent, he said.
“For example, we launched our Savanna Executive Suites comprising 950sf serviced apartments in early 2014.
“We were selling each unit for about RM321,000. Today, a similar unit with a built-up of 950sf is going for RM476,000,” he added.
Leong said the price increase was a good indication that developments heading towards Greater Kuala Lumpur were becoming sought-after properties.
Mah Sing is looking for more land to acquire in Bangi to benefit from future rises in property prices.
“We are continuously looking out for land acquisition opportunities, joint ventures and investments with a fair degree of diligence, mainly in Greater Kuala Lumpur, which is our main focus at this juncture.
“Bangi is becoming a sought-after address and there is still land in the area to be developed. There are still large pockets of agricultural land in Bangi which have the potential to become future residential and commercial developments,” said Leong.
He added that with the continued growth population in Bangi and its surrounding areas such as Kajang, Putrajaya, Cyberjaya, Nilai and Seremban, which make up a catchment of about 1.2 million people, it is set to become a go-to destination in the near future.