WITH property prices in the developed areas of Petaling Jaya and Subang Jaya having appreciated sharply, young families who are keen to own landed properties but face limited budgets are venturing into the Klang Valley’s southern corridor. This is especially in the popular Puchong neighbourhood.

“From standard terrace units and high-rise apartments, Puchong folks have since graduated to high-end homes such as semi-Ds and bungalows set within themed gardens and landscaped environment as well as upmarket condominiums with all the trappings of modern luxury,” SP Setia Bhd group managing director Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin said.

Chan Ai Cheng

He said that as developments moved further away, developers were compelled to stand out from the clutter and market their offerings with value-added features and innovative designs to woo buyers who didn’t mind a slightly longer drive as long as the new development offered more enticing proposition.

Property consultants said rising land prices in central Klang Valley had spurred property buyers to look for better bargains in the southern corridor that still had relatively affordable properties to offer.

“With house prices having climbed in other areas, neighbourhoods like Puchong, Seri Kembangan and other parts of the southern corridor are becoming more popular for those looking for more affordable housing,” said PPC International Sdn Bhd executive director Thiruselvam Arumugam.

SK Brothers Realty (M) Sdn Bhd general manager Chan Ai Cheng said the southern corridor was a good area for developing landed housing units such as double terrace houses, semi-detached units and bungalows for families.

She said transaction prices of property had also shown steady growth over the years.

“People normally buy the properties in Southern Klang Valley for own stay,” she added.

According to Chan, there is a good mix of buyers in the area in terms of race and income.

Double-storey terrace houses in prominent existing projects such as Putra Heights, Bandar Puteri, Bandar Bukit Jalil, Taman Puncak Jalil, Bandar Kinrara and Bandar Puchong Jaya are sold from RM200,000 to RM750,000.

Thiruselvam said the rental for a standard double storey terrace house in these areas ranged from RM400 to RM2,000 per month.

Thiruselvam Arumugam

He said the rental appreciated only by 2% to 3%, whereas capital appreciation for houses was good with prices rising 100% over the past decade.

According to him, Southern Klang Valley units are mainly for residence, rather than bought for speculation or investment.

Reapfield Properties Sdn Bhd president David Ong said the main draw to Southern Klang Valley was affordable house prices although factors such as value investing and property speculation could not be easily discounted.

“Prices of houses have peaked significantly in the central region of the Klang Valley, giving rise to an outward flow of the purchasing population to both the north and south of the Klang Valley,” he said.

Many buyers have sought investment opportunities by purchasing large bungalow plots, bungalows and semi-detached homes in this area on expectation that prices will increase significantly over the course of the next decade.

“While property prices can be said to be affordable or cheaper here than in the prime city areas, the high petrol prices and higher toll rates have started to cause a reverse migration effect,” Ong said.

Many buyers who bought in the fringe or secondary areas of the Klang Valley are starting to drift slowly back to the city as the benefits of lower housing instalments become significantly offset by higher price of fuel and toll rates.

“It now makes sense to some people to buy smaller apartments or flats in strong city locations rather than pay for cheaper houses outside central Klang Valley but end up bearing increased living expenses via higher fuel prices and increasing toll rates,” he said.

The residents of Taman Puchong Hartamas and Pangsapuri Pulai are blaming the developer for some of the issues affecting their housing areas.

Puchong Hartamas Residents Association president Charles van der Slott said earlier in the advertisement it was promised that the inner roads of the housing area would be 50ft wide.

”However, the roads built were definitely less than that,” he said, adding even their request for a higher perimeter fencing in Jalan PH2/5 to prevent burglary was not met.

“The guardhouse at the entrance of our housing area obstructs drivers’ views as we can’t see oncoming cars and I believe the structure was not approved by the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ),” he claimed.

Abandoned: The structure that was meant to be a kindergarten at Pangsapuri Pulai.

Adding to the list, Charles claimed that a Hindu temple in the area was pending relocation since the developer had yet to compensate the temple management.

And the road linking Puchong Hartamas and Bandar Puteri Puchong as promised by the developer is nowhere in sight, according to Charles.

Meanwhile, the residents of Pangsapuri Pulai in Puchong Hartamas have a bone to pick with the developers, too.

Lack of maintenance at the children’s kindergarten, missing fire extinguishers, an abandoned structure meant to be a kindergarten and absence of grilles on their windows are some of their complaints.

When asked to comment on the residents’ complaints, MPSJ president Datuk Adnan Md Ikhsan said the residents should check the S&P agreement on the specifications.

“And if the temple matter is true, then we will urge the developer to compensate them,” said Adnan.

A spokesman for the developer said the allegations made by Charles were baseless.

Obstructing view: Some of the Puchong Hartamas residents are not pleased with the location of the guardhouse.

”We got our Certificate of Fitness (CF) in 2004 and it shows we have complied with the necessary rules.

“The guardhouse was approved much earlier by MPSJ in 2003 and the guidelines for Gated and Guarded Community development was only issued earlier this year,” she said.

She added that they were in the process of handing over the guardhouse to the local authority.

“As for the road, it’s an agreement between MPSJ and us that we will finance part of the cost, and the money was paid last June. And we have already compensated the temple folks,” she said.

As for Pangsapuri Pulai, the spokesman said the developer had been working closely with the residents’ association all this while and they had not encountered many issues.

source

THE connecting road between Bandar Puteri and Taman Puchong Hartamas in Puchong will be completed by mid next month.
The developers, IOI Properties Berhad and Capital Land Sdn Bhd, agreed to this deadline during a meeting with Subang Jaya council.

Each party also agreed to bear the cost of construction work, estimated at RM510,000, for their respective stretch, which is 200m for IOI Properties, 100m for Capital Land and 50m for the local council.

The meeting was chaired by council deputy president Mohamad Yusoff Ghazali and overseen by Kinrara assemblyman Teresa Kok.

At a meeting in 2001, it was agreed that both companies would contribute RM250,000 each to the council to build the road. However, only Capital Land paid while IOI Properties refused by referring to the Development Order which specified the construction of the road was the sole responsibility of Capital Land.

Capital Land also refused to build on IOI Properties land and instead built an another access road, Jalan Bakawali.

Sa id Mohamad Yusoff : “We’ve finally reached an amicable settlement that should benefit everybody, especially residents.” Kok, also State Investment, Industry and Commerce Committee chairman, was glad the matter had finally been resolved.

“This is just one of many missing links in Puchong. I hope in the future to find ways to build more interlinking roads between parts of Puchong,” she said.

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