The prices of landed properties in the Klang Valley that went under the hammer in August and September have risen considerably from earlier this year. According to Danny Loh, an auctioneer at Property Auction House Sdn Bhd, prices have increased by at least 10%.

In the past two months, interest in landed properties at auction has continued to surge, says Loh, adding that all the landed properties, both residential and commercial, that he has been handling in the past few months have been snapped up.

The demand for condominiums and apartments, meanwhile, slipped slightly.

“The occupation rate for condos is sliding ... there is difficulty in finding tenants so investor demand has come down,” he says.

altAuction Data Sdn Bhd CEO Gary Chia says landed properties constantly draw strong interest from bidders, mainly due to the attractive pricing and the potential for future appreciation, which is better than that for condominiums and apartments.

According to Auction Data, 6,150 properties were put up for auction throughout the country in August, with 3,603 located in the Klang Valley. In September, the number fell to 5,620 with 2,821 of the units located in the Klang Valley.

In the two-month period, a total of 1,337 landed properties  were put up for auction in Selangor, 1,232 of them were residential. In Kuala Lumpur, 103 landed properties, 65 of which were residential, went under the hammer.

“Auctions of landed properties always create more public attention. We recently auctioned off a landed commercial property in Wilayah Persekutuan with a reserve price of RM700,000 and attracted 106 bidders. We sold it for RM1.8 million,” Chia tells City & Country.

He says any landed property situated in the Klang Valley, especially Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur, will be snapped up quickly, adding that the location, accessibility and public amenities near the property are the main considerations of buyers.

Chia adds that the auction market has not been affected by new property launches.

“The general public and investors are taking auction properties as an opportunity to build their property portfolios, for example, buying to rent, to refurbish and resell, or as their first home,” he says.

Among the notable properties sold over the two-month period was a 2-storey detached house in Section 32, Shah Alam,  sold for RM2.4 million, 33% above its reserve price of RM1.8 million. Another was a corner 2-storey terraced house in Taman Maluri, Cheras, that fetched RM710,000, at 51% over its reserve price of RM470,000.

Among the properties that did not attract bidders are a 2½-storey detached house in SS22/32, Petaling Jaya, with a reserve price of RM3.6 million and a corner 2½-storey semidee in Cheras with a reserve price of RM1.8 million.

Below, City & Country randomly monitors landed residential properties up for auction in the Klang Valley with a minimum reserve price of RM250,000.

This article appeared in City & Country, the property pullout of The Edge Malaysia, Issue 828, Oct 18-24, 2010

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