For me, I would not pay that kinda money to say in a condo. Would definately buy landed. For me, that kinda price hard to appreciate because its already too costly. Where can you simply find people being able to afford such prices for a condo. But thats me.

This post has been edited by TOMEI-R: Jan 10 2014, 10:51 AM

Yeah unless the developer makes DF an exclusive wonderful high quality place for stay!?
Lets see!

No la, bukit tunku.

Sales update: 65 units unsold for Phase 1 (mainly left Block C+D), of which 15 units purchasers trying on loan. So only left 50 units to choose from.

Phase 2, will postponed and launch next year.
The forest facilities such as Tea House, Flying Fox are under construction now.

That would be at least 12 months away in order to smell phase 2...

Are they afraid that the current market unable to absorb the new price of RM700 psf?

I heard the phase 2 will be RM800psf not RM700psf. Size from 1200 sqft to 2000 sqft (Duplex + double volume).

I would prefer the Phase 2 to be launched in 2015. SO that there is an enough gap of Phase 1 and 2 supplies in the market. Otherwise, too many units available in the market, not good for rental and sub sales market.

But resident may need to bear with the construction noise much longer....especially during the foundation stage.

Tea house... Flying fox.... Told by SA? Or you have enter the compound of the construction site?

Wow, that would make the entry for phase 2 to be RM1 millionaire and above...almost matching DPC price psf

Ya, at least 2 years for phase 1 to reach equilibrium in occupancy before phase 2 vp...

Not so wise for them to do the facilities now, right, since 2 more years to vp?

Wouldn't these facilities look old after 2 years?

This is a 10 years project, Phase 1-4. We need to bear with it for the next 6 years after the VP. Like it or not.

i did not go in to the site.
But was told the viewing deck/ tea house relocated from the current place to the highest point of the development.

I've the same preference too.

Article in STAR today 19 Jan 2014
--------------------------------------



Property's Hazy Outlook

18 Jan 2014

Last weekend, about 1,600 participants attended a property seminar called Property Outlook Conference 2014 in Kuala Lumpur.

Organised by an event organiser, speakers comprised property consultants, developers and property gurus. Participants comprised largely investors and investor-wannabes, property professionals from companies and real estate agencies, a sprinkling of analysts and the media.

One of the speakers says it was one of the largest groups he has ever spoken to when it comes to a local property seminar. Usually, the turnout hovers between 600 and 800, he says.

An executive director of an international property consultancy who was there says he felt as though he was attending "a multi-level marketing seminar."

The fact that an event manager organised the seminar single-handedly, albeit with developers as sponsors, underscores the leverage offered by the property sector.

Secondly, the turnout underscores the investing public's hunger for information, says two property professionals. Early bird registrants paid RM200 per pax, a couple paid RM499 while latecomers paid between RM800 and RM1,000 per pax. They were "hungry" because since the introduction of the cooling measures in October, coupled with the various price increase involving toll charges, petrol, electricity tariffs, cut in sugar subsidy, the sector has become rather opaque.



Says Malaysia Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA) president Siva Shanker: "Both developers and investors did not know what hit them post-Budget 2014. The last three months of 2013 were bad. The sector went into a tailspin."

Siva says in the last four years, prices in some areas went up 30% to 35% in the span of a year - an unhealthy situation because the fundamentals were not there. On a national basis, the issue of house prices is not an issue, it is only in certain areas that prices have gone up multiple times in relation to annual household incomes, he says. He likens the property market before the budget to a car about to crash as it careens downhill, if the cooling measures were not introduced.

"If the car does not slow down, it will crash," he says.

Siva says of all the sub-segments in the property sector, he is most concerned about the residential sub-segment, the main driver of the sector.

Siva says there is a huge oversupply in Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Iskandar Malaysia in Johor, including serviced apartments which are developed under commercial status.

The 2013/14 slowdown

Siva says not many may have realised it, but the property sector slowed down in 2013. "We think 2014 will see a slowdown of the sector, but that actually started in 2013.

"Sales are expected to be slow for the first two quarters. We expect to see sales going up in the second half of this year and find its own level, barring external factors. Sales will not be great, but it will not be as bad as first two quarters of this year," says Siva.

"The goods and service tax (GST) due in April 2015 will create another bout of uncertain. Although most of the countries in the region - with the exception of Brunei and Malaysia - have some form of GST or value added tax (VAT), we have yet to experience its effect. We expect some knee-jerk reaction which will result in a price increase but it is 2016 that I expect prices to climb," he says.

But before 2016, there is 2014 to deal with.

"2014 will be Iskandar Malaysia's tipping point. (But) there is also a huge oversupply in Penang and the Klang Valley, especially high-rise projects, be there condominiums or serviced apartments," he says.

Stocker Roberts & Gupta Sdn Bhd valuer Das Gupta who runs a firm about 10 minutes walk from the Petronas Twin Towers says the slowdown actually started in 2012.



"Many missed the signals," he says. "Land and property prices around here (Kuala Lumpur City Centre) have been stagnating since 2012.

"That was a slow year. High-end properties around the KLCC and in Mont' Kiara stopped moving forward the past one year in terms of both capital appreciation and rental.

"In some cases, rental and prices have dropped a notch or two," he says.

How does one account then for the sale of a parcel of land sandwiched between Wisma Central and a Chinese temple fronting Jalan Ampang sold to Singapore-listed developer Oxley Holdings Ltd by Loke Wan Yat estate?

The 1.25 hecatres (3.1 acres) parcel was sold in December for a record RM3,300 per sq ft or RM446.7mil.

"That was an exceptional parcel because of its location and size. It is not the market norm and should not be used as a measure of overall property sector performance," he says. Das says while land deals belong to the big boys' arena, it is the ordinary people that he is most concerned about. "Nothing hits the rich," he says.

Das says suburban vacant land with demand potential have become exorbitantly high. Some of these owners are second or third generation owners. They have no liabilities on these real estate. "Developers have to price their end products very high in order to justify paying such high prices. (So) they rather walk away."

The retail story

Royal Institution of Surveyors Malaysia (RISM) vice president Adzman Shah Mohd Ariffin says the market is evolving. "There are a number of developments in the United States and in Asia. All these events will impact Malaysia."

Adzman highlighted Indonesia's rupiah weakening last year and Thailand political demonstrations, now in its second month.

Adzman says the weak rupiah may attract companies to invest there. That will impact Malaysia.

"We seem stable when compared to our neighbours but we have our own issues to settle," he says.

Adzman, who runs a property and retail consultancy Exastrata Solutions Sdn Bhd says businesses are recalculating their margins with the various price increases involving electricity tariffs, sugar, possibly toll rates and petrol prices.

He draws attention to the recent inflation figures by Standard Chartered Bank South-East Asia regional head of research Edward Lee. Lee says Malaysia's inflation rate is expected to increase to 3.4% for the first nine months this year from 2.1% in the same period last year. The jump reflects one of the biggest in Asia; it is also the fastest acceleration in almost two years.

Adzman is helping three malls with retail tenancy. Two of them are new while the third is an existing mall.

"Retailers today are cautious about location, their catchment areas and overall expansion. They have been cautious since the middle of last year. There is a lot of focus now on tourism to help bring in revenue but this is limited to cities and tourist areas. Suburban malls are dependent on their respective catchment areas," he says.

"Most businesses are waiting for first half year figures. This will be a good indication (where we are heading)," he says.

Adzman says retailers are feeling the heat because consumers are not buying.

"Retailers are clearing stock by cutting prices to ensure they are not stuck with old stocks when the market slows. They release space for new stocks in order to create demand," says Adzman.

The raise in toll, petrol and parking charges may result in people heading to the mall closest to them instead of heading downtown which means downtown malls will be tourist-dependent, he says.

Retail Group Malaysia MD Tan Hai Hsin in a January 2014 report based on interviews with members of the Malaysia Retailers Association says the industy reported a sluggish third quarter for 2013. The July-September quarter grew 3.1% compared with 4.6% in the preceding quarter, and 4.8% for the same period in the preceding year.

Ramadan and Hari Raya, which fell on the third quarter of 2013, failed to lift overall retail sales, he says. This confirms Adzman's views that on the Malaysia retail industry has been slow since the middle of last year.

In many ways, the retail sector and private consumption are good indicators for the overall economy.

The consumer sentiment index, according to Tan, dropped from 122.9 in the first quarter of 2013, to 109.7 (Q2) and 102.0 (Q3). The next batch of numbers to look out for will be National Property Information Centre (Napic) figures on transaction volume and transaction value.

This is expected to be released in March/April.

The jump in property prices at 30% to 35% a year in some areas since 2010 has changed the sector's profile and has resulted in an equally stratospheric jump in interest among investors, with 20-somethings piling in.

In many ways, this is reminiscient of the 1990s stock market super bull run when college students and 20-somethings diligently applied for initial public offerings with the hope of a gain. They trotted a similar path in the recent bout of interest in the property sector.

Siva says "these young people are shielded from the international highs and lows of the global economy, and the national ups and downs, and whose trickle down effect is yet to be felt."

"The introduction of developers interest bearing scheme (DIBS) enabled many to buy properties they cannot afford and don't need. The question is: Will they be able to get tenants? If not, will they be able to pay the mortgage when payment kicks in?"

The introduction of cooling measures may also result in a shift in interest from the primary back to secondary market when buyers turn to sub-sales instead of buying directly from the developers. In an earlier report by Elvin Fernandez, managing director of Khong & Jaafar group of companies, he said in 2009 and 2010, primary transactions comprised about 12% and secondary market transactions about 87% of total residential transactions of 211,600 in 2009 and 226,874 (2010) respectively.

In 2011 and 2012, primary transactions went up to about a fifth of the total number of residential transactions whereas the secondary market accounted about 79% (or 214,044) and 77% (212,428) respectively. There was a drop in secondary market sales from 214,044 in 2011 to 212,428 in 2012.

Says Elvin: "This means there was a run-up in the primary sector of the market by about 35,000 units a year or close to 3,000 units a month.

The question today is, where will these group of ?speculators' turn to in their search for alternative investments?"

With fixed interest rates at about 3% per annum and volatility in the share market, will interest in the property market return to the secondary market? Will all the euphoria of the last several years mark a return to the days before 2009 when property investments were dull and boring? This lack of clarity is the reason why property seminars attract a full house.



Related story:

How will property fare in 2014?

If outlook is hazy and most of the purchasers for Foresta bought at RM400+ to RM500+ psf only, this is the safe heaven from the haze at other projects sold at much higher prices...

True true 😎😎

So 2014 brings 🎁🎁🎁💰💰💰 to them.

Got some details regarding the tender of the construction of 4 blocks of phase 1. 2 blocks are being done by a local contractor and the balance 2 is being done by a China based contractor.

Quality of work of the Chinese contractor isn't satisfactory and supposedly trailing the local contractor by nearly 40%. Cost cutting measures I guess

Foundation design for phase 2 has already commenced just recently but foundation seems to be more complicated compared to phase 1.

Just sharing..............

Kalimuthu, do you happen to know which blocks were done by the local contractor and which by the China-based one?

I also heard about some china contractor being involved but didn't know that different contractors involved in 2 blocks each.

If it's for the later 2 blocks then the china contractor could be involved in block D and C.

From what I know, quality of china contractors can be good or bad depending on the spec and price awarded for the job

Website of the China contractor

http://www.cssc-iec.com/en/newsds.asp?NID=753