City&Country: The Edge Property Excellence Awards 2011-- The Edge-PEPS Value Creation Excellence Award 2011 judges

Choy Yue Kwong
•    MD, Rahim & Co (Sel) Sdn Bhd
•    President, Association of Valuers, Estate Agents and Property Consultants in the Private Sector (PEPS)
This year, there were fewer entries and they were all from the residential sector.

We are looking for well-planned developments that not only create value but have excellent building designs, quality finishes and landscaping as these elements create a nice living environment and a feel-good factor. All these in turn can enhance the value of a property.

[The winner stood out because] in addition to outstanding value creation, the developer has been generous in providing open spaces  with wide roads designed to ensure privacy as well as very pleasant landscaping. Generally, the houses provide value for money.


Foo Gee Jen
•    MD, C H Williams Talhar & Wong Sdn Bhd
•    Commitee member, PEPS
I would like to see more entries from large townships in Penang, Johor, Kota Kinabalu (Sabah) and even Kuching (Sarawak). I know of developments outside the Klang Valley that are doing well in terms of value appreciation, for instance in Penang and Kota Kinabalu.

Bandar Kinrara stood out for its high value appreciation and product quality.

As the winner of the award for two consecutive years, Bandar Kinrara indicates that Puchong has become a choice location apart from the usual suspects of Bangsar and Petaling Jaya.

As judges, we look for sustainability, not just of the environment but also of value for investors.


James Wong
•    MD, VPC Alliance Sdn Bhd
•    Immediate past president, PEPS
The main objective of the Value Creation Award is to give recognition to the developer whose project provides the highest capital gain for its buyers. Apart from the quantitative aspects of capital gains, the judges also take into consideration certain key qualitative criteria such as master planning and design functionality, overall occupancy rate of the development, sustainability of the value of the development and the after-sales and property management services of the developer upon the completion of the project.

The winner stands out because the original developer’s prices were deemed very reasonable and the houses were sold out within a short time. This really provides the homebuyers with value for money. Hence, within the five-year period, it was able to achieve the highest capital gains. The houses are in a low-density development and offer quality finishes.


Au Foong Yee
Chief marketing officer, The Edge

While fewer entries were received for this award this year, it is noteworthy that both the standard of entries and their presentation were better than in 2010.

It is no mean task to compile multiple official transactions that chart significant value creation over a period of time. Now add to this the need to woo judges for their scrutiny of the qualitative attributes of the project/a phase of the project in contention.

Let me take this opportunity to challenge developers, big and small, to stand up and be counted. Unlike in the days when property purchases were made mainly for owner-occupation, real estate is now viewed as an investment too.

Thus the relevance and need for developers to prove that they are capable of generating value for their investors.

Sharon Kam
The Edge deputy editor, City & Country + haven

Numbers do not lie and the capital appreciation of Bandar Kinrara’s Phase B41 from the developer’s price was most impressive. The developer certainly seemed generous in ensuring that buyers gained from capital appreciation.
Besides looking at the numbers, we also considered the product’s quality, the environment it is in, the location and other aspects which could contribute to sustaining and promoting future appreciation.
The quality of the entries showed that Malaysian developers are going the extra mile to meet the demands of increasingly discerning property buyers and investors, such as building sustainable developments by adopting green features and standards in their projects and balancing design aesthetics with comfortable living.

This article appeared in City & Country, the property pullout of The Edge Malaysia, Issue 878, Oct 3-9, 2011