Revisiting Cyberjaya:
http://www.nst.com.my/red/revisiting-cyberjaya-1.359440EVOLVING: The ‘Silicon Valley of Malaysia’ has evolved from its IT roots into a growing township and a potential property hotspot
Cyberjaya’s inception in 1997 as a key component of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) and Malaysia’s first Intelligent City was borne out of the nation’s need to move forward to a K-economy (Knowledge Economy).
Located 50km south of Kuala Lumpur, its status as an ICT (Information and Communications Technology) and education hub is now well established with over 700 ICT and non-ICT companies operating within Cyberjaya.
The Silicon Valley of Malaysia, as Cyberjaya was often touted during its formative years, has now evolved into a rapidly growing township attracting the eyes of many property investors. Over the last few years, major developers such as Setia Haruman, Paramount, Mah Sing, S P Setia, MCT Consortium and UEM Land have acquired large tracts of land for development in Cyberjaya, creating a “New Wave” resulting in a residential and commercial boom. What is boosting the property market in Cyberjaya?
It might just be a simple matter of supply and demand, says Datuk Ricque Liew, Managing Director of Paramount Property Development Sdn Bhd, one of the major developers that has started to make a beeline for Cyberjaya due to its rising property market.
Latent demand
According to Liew, there is a high number of local and international professionals in Cyberjaya - estimated to be around 31,000 as at the end of 2012 – all of whom need homes. “There is a lack of premium, family-style housing in the area. Currently, there are just over 4,500 residential units in Cyberjaya catering to the needs of the population, in what is one of the fastest-growing addresses in the Klang Valley. There simply aren’t enough homes, especially to meet the demand in the higher end segment. So, there is already a certain amount of latent demand in the short term,” reveals Liew.
The Paramount MD also says that Cyberjaya is a natural choice for those looking for larger homes and upgrades due to several key elements in its favour. “It has a well planned, ready infrastructure and there are six primary and secondary schools, local and international, within 20 minutes of our Sejati Residences, and close to 10 colleges and universities. It’s a perfect place for families,” opines Liew.
Add to that the fact that it’s just 20 minutes from KL with a good network of highways (MEX, ELITE, LDP, SKVE, SILK, B15), affordable prices (a similar home 10 mins away in Puchong could cost about 15 per cent more) and the land there is freehold, Liew is bullish about Cyberjaya as a good investment opportunity.
Mixed buyers
Liew gives some insight into what makes up the main property investors in Cyberjaya. In Paramount’s development Sejati Residences, due to complete in 2015, buyers are a mixture of four different categories:
• The first category consists of those already living and working in Cyberjaya, looking for a larger home, with better amenities, as well as a gated and guarded environment.
• The second category consists of those upgrading from homes in the nearby vicinity – Puchong, Subang, USJ, and Sepang.
• The third category consists of international expatriates working in the different businesses and companies in Cyberjaya. The ICT and education industries in Cyberjaya are represented by a wide variety of countries – Asia, Australasia, Europe, and America.
• The fourth category are investors who see the long term potential of Cyberjaya and are attracted by the young, growing population, easy access to KL and other parts of the Klang Valley, the freehold status of the land and the lack of other residential options.
Different neighbours
Nevertheless, Liew still sees some challenges ahead in promoting Cyberjaya as a viable property investment. “Not enough potential homebuyers currently have Cyberjaya on their primary consideration list. Much of the attention of the property buying market in recent years has been to the north and west of the Klang Valley, with more developments being promoted in those areas.”
The Paramount chief also cites the differentiation between Putrajaya and Cyberjaya as being unclear to many people not familiar with these locations, erroneously seeing them as interchangeable, or one and the same.
“In actual fact, the personalities of the two neighbouring areas are vastly different – Putrajaya is the administrative capital of the country, it is about government and administration, whilst Cyberjaya is about information technology, knowledge and top of the line services – the forefront of development. The personalities of these two townships reflect their roles. Cyberjaya is a vibrant, fast-moving, cosmopolitan town and is very much young-at-heart. As the Silicon Valley of Malaysia, with 35 MNCs (Multinational Companies) – and growing – the ICT-based companies have helped to establish an innovative and creative climate and environment in Cyberjaya,” says Liew.
Tan Sri Datuk Sri Leong Hoy Kum, Group Managing Director cum Group Chief Executive of Mah Sing Group Berhad, another major developer in Cyberjaya with its Aspen@Garden Residence and Garden Plaza agrees that the short-term and long-term outlook for the property market in Cyberjaya is encouraging.
“The short term outlook in this Intelligent City is that residential developments will continue to sprout in order to meet the needs of the relatively young demography that live, work and study as well as play in Cyberjaya. It is set to mature into an urban centre of its own reckoning as can be seen in the ongoing trend of knowledge-workers that continue to graduate from the higher institutions of learning as well as the resident professional crowd that are based with MNCs housed in Cyberjaya.” says Leong.
The Mah Sing Group MD feels that the longer term outlook, of perhaps 10 years’ time, will see the growth in demand for commercial space that will be able to meet the retail and shopping needs of the community, as well as offices for support services and second-tier small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which are a natural progression of the growth of a city.
Leong cites the main strength of Cyberjaya is the fact that it is a purpose-designed city. “Right from the start, the government had set out to make it the most technologically-advanced city, Malaysia’s very own Silicon Valley of sorts and that helped benchmark and identify the elements that were necessary to make it grow along that path. This includes ICT infrastructure such as a fibre optic network, high-speed broadband access and Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) hotspots throughout the city as well as MSC-status for MNCs and companies to enjoy a host of privileges for those in ICT-related businesses,” says Leong.
Infrastructural advantages
He also agrees that initially, perception and mindset were two of the biggest challenges in the property buyers’ minds that any developer in Cyberjaya had to overcome. This was because Cyberjaya was perceived as too far from the CBD (Central Business District) with a working population that drained out of the city after working hours.
Nevertheless, Leong says that has been overcome in recent years with the infrastructural advantages of Cyberjaya that now has access with links between KL Sentral and KLIA via the ERL, and access to other major hubs in the Greater Kuala Lumpur area just minutes away thanks to a highly-integrated network of highways and expressways.
To address the second issue of the working population draining out after working hours, offering lifestyle options was crucial in providing options to the working class. This could be seen in an increase in the F&B (food & beverage) outlets and a variety of retail and shopping options.
Active secondary market
He says that the main activities within Cyberjaya are ICT-related MNCs and higher institutions of learning and therefore the natural catchment of property buyers in this area is the white collar professional crowd based in Cyberjaya and the students of the institutions of higher learning there.
Leong also reveals that the secondary market in Cyberjaya is also active with parents of students, young professional couples or families with one or both professionals based in Cyberjaya and other property investors looking at the rental yield from their properties in Cyberjaya.
“The laws of supply and demand are at play for the student market as the number of off-campus lodgings outnumber on-campus accommodation for the various higher institutions of learning. In the meantime, professionals based in MNCs located in Cyberjaya will also rent in order to be closer to their place of work. This also contributes to either owner-occupied residences or those who are rented out for rental yield,” explains Leong.
Real demand or hype?
With all the bullish sentiments and hype over Cyberjaya’s potential growth, there are still some who preach caution. One of them is Ahyat Ishak, CEO & Founder of AhyatPropertyTV, who is wary about how genuine the demand is in Cyberjaya.
“To me, the question should not be who are the main investors of Cyberjaya property, but how is this market going to fare when most who are buying into it are mostly investors. It is just my personal concern when seeing some projects are being bought mainly by investors and some investors buying into Cyberjaya were ‘sold’ the same ‘stories’ which had been spun since early 2000’s. Having said all this, I still have personal investments within Cyberjaya but I enter only after having done my calculations. Even with the thousands of units coming into supply by the next couple of years, the numbers still add up for me, that is why I still have my money in Cyberjaya. I just worry for some investors who had invested blindly and are not fully aware of what is to come and may not be ready to face challenges that may come once more supply floods into the market,” says the property investor.
Ahyat feels that, ironically, one of the disadvantages of Cyberjaya is the very fact that it’s a ‘created’ city, needing ICT companies, MNCs and industries to spur its growth. He adds that following that growth, the city now will face challenges to turn it into a livable city or township.
“Cyberjaya needs to be a livable city. It needs to have the fundamentals of a city that exudes its own gravity. The next few years are critical to the continued growth of Cyberjaya,” adds Ahyat.
Asset selection
His advice to Cyberjaya investors is to always analyse the potential investments based on the strategic property investor’s asset selection process, which he strongly advocates.
“The important thing in this selection process is that it is a system that to a certain extent assists you to analyse your potential investment decisions based on numbers. Enter every investment, be it in Cyberjaya or other parts of the world, with eyes wide opened. Understand the repercussions of your investment decisions. Buy what the market needs and wants. Always think long term, but be ready to make short term decisions. Always avoid thinking that property investment is a short-term game, it has never been designed to be short term. Always do your due diligence on anything and everything related to your investment. Spend as much time investigating your investment as it took you to earn the amount of money you are putting into that investment,” advises Ahyat.
Low-density options
See Kok Loong, Director of Metro Homes also cautions that the population in Cyberjaya is just beginning to move in, therefore it is not a fully matured market yet.
“During this period of time, we might have a lot of on-going projects that need to be filled up by actual users or tenants of residences. Now, the market has to rely mainly on speculators or investors.”
According to See, the main property investors in Cyberjaya are from the Klang Valley. “Cyberjaya looks attractive to these investors, especially for small-sized apartments below 800 sq ft as the absolute amount of purchase price is small for them. I would advise potential investors in Cyberjaya to buy into low-density projects if possible and they should also have holding power for the short term, between three and five years. Shops would also be a good option as soon as the mass residential projects are developed. That would also cause the value of shops, offices and other commercial units to go up.”
Sep 18 2013, 02:17 PM
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