Cover: The queues are back

In Glenmarie, Shah Alam

Rush for Temasya Suria superlink homes

Desmond Goh read in The Edge some time ago about a developer’s plan to build “two-generation” link houses near the established Subang Jaya township. Goh, a managing consultant of PricewaterhouseCoppers, then started looking out for the launch.

Finally, on Aug 1, the houses were put on the market by the I&P Group through subsidiary Temasya Development Co Sdn Bhd. Back in 2002, City & Country had reported that these could be either 2 or 2½-storey houses, with an indicative price of RM800,000. These homes will have a design that will allow two generations to stay under the same roof and yet enjoy their own privacy.

Desmond was not the only one eyeing these superlink homes. He and his lawyer brother Goh Keng Tat were among those who camped out to buy the houses.

So hot was the interest in the superlink homes called Temasya Suria @ Temasya Glenmarie that it attracted a queue of more than 100. Some of them, including Desmond and Keng Tat, queued in front of the I&P Group’s Alam Impian Sales Gallery in Wisma Consplant, Subang Jaya, for seven nights and eight days before the 9am launch on Aug 1.

What is interesting is that these are not affordable homes — the cheapest unit costs about RM750,000 while the most expensive one carries a cool RM`1.4 million price tag.

At the last count, some 2,000 had registered for the 133 units, about 50 of which have been sold before the launch. The  market response was so strong that many who had not registered their interest with the developer also decided to join the queue.

At one point, tempers flared among the crowd of more than 150 when several “illegal” queues appeared alongside registrants bearing invitations to the launch. This took place both inside and outside a tent pitched in front of the gallery. Some non-registrants even pasted their names in a line on the ground leading to the gallery door to indicate a queue. Others pasted their names on the glass door, indicating yet another queue.

The launch had to be delayed due to the commotion. The developer kept the main doors of the gallery locked. Inside were worried sales and marketing personnel and representatives from selected financial institutions and legal firms. Outside the glassed gallery were red faces.

The ruckus continued past 9am and the developer then decided to summon the police. I&P Group staff told the crowd to form proper queues otherwise the launch would be called off or the houses would be sold by ballot instead.

While the non-registrants supported the idea of balloting, those who had recorded their names disagreed. The standoff continued until at about 10.30am when the developer decided to sell the houses on a first-come-first-served basis — meaning that those  with invitation letters and who had registered before Aug 1 would be the first in line for the homes.

The names were called out in batches and the buyers were allowed into the gallery one-by-one through a rear door that was heavily guarded.

In less than three hours, all the units were sold, with the sales and purchase agreements signed. No ugly incident was reported although some unsuccessful investors vented their anger.

The Goh brothers were, naturally, elated — each bought a unit costing RM850,000, after a 3% early bird discount. Waving gleefully at them from outside the gallery was their father. “Our parents stay in nearby Subang Jaya. All of us are going to stay in close proximity with each other,” said Keng Tat, who was accompanied by his wife Michele Yeoh Ee Leen, who just had their second baby in late July.

Desmond has his parents, Gilbert and Anna Goh, to thank for — they too had helped by camping out. So happy were the Gohs that the family held a celebration that same evening. “We like the project for its locality, its proximity to my parents’ home — we are a closely knit family. We like the spaciousness and the spatial planning. The quality of the show house is also good,” said Desmond, who was accompanied by girlfriend Wong Yin See. They are not perturbed that the project sits near some light industrial units.

Hamdan Yaacob is a developer based in Kota Baru, Kelantan. He heard about the launch and together with his family, made the trip two days earlier to try their luck. By then, the developer had stopped registering interested buyers.

This could have been Hamdan’s 13th property purchase but lady luck was not with him. “It’s okay. I had queued twice before at the Bandar Utama launches, and on both occasions I was unsuccessful,” says the affable Hamdan, adding that he prefers the Klang Valley property market to Kelantan where capital appreciation is very slow. “The Klang Valley is the place where the action is as far as the property sector is concerned,” he says.

David K S Wong, managing director, Asia, of Delta Group Asia Sdn Bhd and wife had registered for the launch but were unable to get a unit. Their friend, Low Lik San, was luckier — he was among the last few who managed to get a unit, although not the type he had hoped for.

Wong is a believer in property — he has put his money on “quite a bit” of real estate, both residential and commercial.  He likes Temasya Suria for its address and pricing. The project is also freehold.

Detailed concept
Temasya Suria, with a gross development value of RM121 million, comprises 133 units spread over eight acres. These come in three sizes — 28ft by 86ft, 28ft by 96ft and 28ft by 120ft — with a generous built-up of 3,427 to 4,652 sq ft and priced from RM750,000 to RM1.4 million.

The project is situated in the township of Temasya Glenmarie in Shah Alam, a 571-acre tract adjacent to the Federal Highway and which is known for its light industrial units. This is the first residential component of Temasya Glenmarie.

Datuk Jamaludin Osman, group managing director of the I&P Group, was one happy man at the launch. Initially, he was sceptical about the response, given the uncertain market mood and the nearness of the project to light industrial lots. As it turned out, his anxiety was unwarranted. He attributed the good response to the detailed concept and design that went into the planning of the development.

“We are giving away many extras such as wide roads. Even the back lanes are 40ft wide. These will be landscaped in a meandering manner to evoke a sense of softness so that they do not appear as backlanes,” says Jamaludin.

To further woo buyers, the developer is picking up the tab for legal fees on the sales and purchase agreement (SPA), loan documentation signing and stamp duty on transfer of the property. There is zero interest during the construction period and buyers need only pay a downpayment of RM20,000.  There was also an early bird discount — 3% for non-bumiputeras and 10% for bumiputeras.

“We have priced the product so that buyers will enjoy capital appreciation,” says Jamaludin, who is looking forward to I&P’s next launch in Bandar Kinrara, Puchong.

At the Perumahan Kinrara Bhd sales office in Bandar Kinrara, a queue has started to form from July 29. By the time of the launch on Aug 8, these people would have camped there for 10 nights and 11 days to make sure they get a linkhouse that costs close to RM500,000 (see story on Page 6).
These are indeed interesting times.

This article appeared in City & Country, the property pullout of The Edge Malaysia, Issue 767, Aug 10-16, 2009.