I have been living in Putrajaya for about 10 years already and will continue to stay here until I retire. Yes I have to agree with you all that Putrajaya is not the BEST place to invest in property but it does not make sense at all, to say it failed totally.
For comparison, in the last 4 years, I have bought 5 houses in Setia Alam and another 2 landed houses at the best place in Putrajaya (Presint 18 = "ONG") for investment. I have also my best friends here who initially bought for own stay but then sell it off due to a very good price appreciation.
The profit I would say, is about the same e.g. semi D bought 2 years ago at Putrajaya 1.2mil (non-bumi price) now transacted (and not the asking price!) at 1.55mil. My friend bought DSL 2 years ago at 540k (non bumi price) and now transacted at 660k. I am merely looking at the average profit as I know, some projects in Setia Alam can fetch much-much higher return.
However the whole scenario is totally different (at least for now)...when VP time:
a) 80% of the houses in Setia Alam (the project I bought) are for sale. It's too competitive. In one of the project, I did calculate each of the "FOR SALE" banner (85 out of 114 unit!). At the same time, I just got so overwhelmed with at least 2-3 agents with confirmed buyer keep calling everyday and some times at night, 2-3 months before the VP date. If you can agree with the price, the deal can be concluded within a day...some of my subsale buyers were also investors.
b) In Putrajaya, sadly to say for semi D, out of 95 units... I could see now only 2 units for sale and another 2 up for rent. No competition at all as mostly bought for own-stay or retirement. You won't get calls everyday from agent but still if the price is right, the deal can be done within 2 weeks to 1 month.
The scenario might be different now. I could see a lot of investors bought Tamara & Saujana Aster (both SOLD OUT in one day).
This explain not many flippers for Cyberjaya HER, except some projects selling 3 years back.