UMLand converts Taman Seri Austin commercial site for landed homes

PETALING JAYA: United Malayan Land Bhd (UMLand) has successfully converted some commercial land in Taman Seri Austin township in Johor Bahru into residential to build more landed houses.

The developer said the 14.19-acre freehold site will be reserved for a new residential phase to be launched sometime in the first half of next year.

The new phase called Dahlia comprises 222 units of two-storey terraced houses with land area sizes measuring 20ft by 65ft and built-ups of 1,750 sq ft.

According to UMLand Seri Austin CEO Wong Kuen Kong, this is the 17th phase in the 500-acre Taman Seri Austin development which began in 2005.

The upcoming freehold terraced homes have a total GDV of RM133 million with an indicative pricing from around RM600,000.

“Reasonably priced landed houses in Johor Bahru are still in demand, especially those located close to established areas with easy access to various amenities and good connectivity. Hence, I believe Dahlia will gain buyers’ interest,” Wong told EdgeProp.my.

The property market, he said, remains challenging, especially for the premium segment, hence it is important for developers to be flexible in offering the right product.

“For instance, the site for Dahlia was originally a commercial site but the company observed that there is strong demand for terraced houses in Taman Seri Austin, so we decided to convert the land usage to residential development.

“It took us around one year to apply for the land conversion and to have it approved. It’s time-consuming but we believe it’s more important to offer what the market wants,” said Wong, who is also UMLand group director of townships.

Close to 3,500 houses have been completed and handed over in Taman Seri Austin and it is currently home to about 18,000 residents.

Located within the Tebrau growth corridor, the township is close to amenities such as AEON Mall Bandar Dato’ Onn and AEON Tebrau City, Tesco, IKEA, Fairview International School, Sunway College, KFCH International College, Hospital Sultan Ismail, KPJ Bandar Dato' Onn Specialist Hospital and golf courses.

Taman Seri Austin also has easy access and good connectivity to major highways and roads such as the Eastern Dispersal Link (EDL), North-South Highway, Pasir Gudang Highway, the Dato’ Onn interchange and Tebrau-Kota Tinggi Highway as well as to Woodlands Checkpoint and Second Link.

According to Wong, house prices in Taman Seri Austin have seen good capital appreciation over the years, for instance, a single-storey terraced house which was launched in 2005 with a price tag of RM150,000, was sold at RM400,000 this year.

Another two-storey terraced house (phase 2) which was sold for RM200,000 in 2007, is now transacted at RM550,000.

“The current soft market is caused by an oversupply of high value properties especially high-rise serviced apartments and condominiums. House buyers will still buy as soon as they find suitable properties with prices within their affordability,” said Wong.

Nevertheless, Taman Seri Austin offers high-rise homes as well and the D’Lagoon luxury apartments and villas comprising 204 apartments and 58 3-storey villas are aimed at those looking for resort lifestyle homes.

Wong noted that Taman Seri Austin currently has around 100 acres of undeveloped land or around nine development phases to go which will keep the company busy for another eight to 10 years.

This story first appeared in the EdgeProp.my pullout on Oct 25, 2019. You can access back issues here.