Disregard the hype: buyers won’t pay hefty premiums for property near MRT stations

Here's why KL isn't like Hong Kong where there are in fact price premiums for flats near MTR stations.

Unlike KL, in Hong Kong most people use public transport to get to work, from shop girls to Managing Directors of banks. Few people drive to work, even if they own cars. That"s because the city has an efficient and affordable public transportation network. At peak hours the MTR trains run at 2 minutes intervals.

But over in Bolehland the frequency that MTR trains run has been reduced to 7 minutes. Result : Lots of complaints by MTR users in KL about the frequency trains run according to a news portal.

Here's yet another reason why I think properties within walking distance of MTR stations aren't going to see any significant price premium. A 2017 study by Urbanmetry's Cha Ly Koh found the median price premium of properties located within 500 metres to completed MTR Stations was 1%.

I think but cannot be 100% sure the reason is most people in the Klang Valley do not use the MTR to get to work is they prefer to drive. See my 360 KLCC post :

"Are KLCC condos near malls worth more?"

Also having a first class MTR network does no good unless reliable and cheap First Mile Last Mile connections are also in place. KL still has a lot of work to improve FMLM connectivity issues.

The percentage of people who use public transport in Klang Valley sits at around 20 percent. The previous government aimed to get 40 percent of citizens to use public transport by 2020. The current government now hopes to achieve that by 2030. Will it succeed? What do you think ?

In my opinion Malaysians are not going to ditch their cars in favour of taking public transportation to work any time soon. Why? Putrajaya seems anxious to hang on to the votes of vehicle owners by ensuring every one of the 15 million+ registered vehicle owners gets access to heavily subsidised petrol.

Now it's worth pointing out our neighbors, the Indonesians and Thais do not subsidise petrol for THEIR drivers. That's because I think but cannot be 100% sure there isn't a ghost of a chance the opposition there will win any general elections.

Take away the petrol subsidy and maybe there's a chance MTR ridership will increase. But I won't be holding my breath this is going to happen soon.

Maybe after the next GE? 🤠

I think the question is ceteris paribus whether people will pay a price premium to buy or rent a property near a MTR station. The last known study in KL was in 2017 by URBANMETRY. Google the company name in EdgeProp- the CEO is Cha-Ly Koh. It looked at price data for Greater KL for a single year 2015 . The price premium was 1%. But that was in 2015. Maybe as ridership increases there might be a different conclusion