Fancy owning a house which will be featured in a Hollywood movie? Doug Liman, director of blockbusters such as The Bourne Identity, Mr & Mrs Smith and Jumper, recently shot a scene for his upcoming film, titled Fair Game, in one of the bungalows at Country Heights Damansara,in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

The political thriller starring Naomi Watts and Sean Penn is an adaptation of Valerie Plame Wilson’s autobiography  about her outing as a CIA agent during the George W Bush administration.
Liman rented the bungalow to shoot the opening scene of Fair Game. Photo by Haris Hassan
The director and Watts were in town to shoot in various locations around Malaysia, including at the bungalow and its posh neighbourhood.

Liman had rented from developer Country Heights Holdings Bhd the 3-storey bungalow named Equator or Lot 183 for a day to shoot the opening scene of the movie.

“He wanted a setting like a tycoon’s house so it’s great to know that Country Heights Damansara has been recognised as the ‘Beverley Hills’ of Malaysia,” says Country Heights Damansara executive director Dianna Lee. The Equator bungalow is now open for sale

This moniker is apt, given the target market of the Country Heigths Damansara project - very affluent families whose breadwinners are decision-makers at their workplace, Lee said during a special brunch with potential customers on Nov 15.  “For instance, we’ve had a family buy 10 lots to build one bungalow while one owner spent RM30 million building her bungalow,” she offers.

The Equator bungalow is now on the market. It is among four ready-built bungalows (two including Equator  are fully-furnished) put up for sale by the developer recently. The land area for each bungalow is around 10,000 sq ft while built-ups are from 7,700 sq ft to 12,000 sq ft. Equator, which is tagged at RM8.2 million, comes with a lift, is fully furnished and sits on a 10,839 sq ft plot with a built-up of 9,528 sq ft.
The Equator is fully furnished and comes with a lift. Photos by Haris Hassan
On Nov 15, in conjunction with the opening of the new dual-carriage entry from Penchala Link into Country Heights Damansara, the developer offered the four bungalows and 11 bungalow lots at special prices — applicable for sales made on Nov 15 — to invited prospective buyers and supporters of the Country Heights group.

The four completed bungalows were going for a flat price of RM7 million instead of the usual prices ranging from RM8.2 million to RM8.6 million.  One of the fully-furnished units was sold that day. Meanwhile, the 11 bungalow lots, sized from 10,000 sq ft to 15,000 sq ft, were going for RM188 psf, compared with the normal price from RM250 psf. When the project was first launched about nine years ago, prices were at RM100 psf. “Benchmark prices in Country Heights Damansara range from RM250 to RM320 psf,” says Lee. Buyers have the option of choosing a basic plot of land or a plot bundled with home designs. Of the 11 lots, five were sold on Nov 15.

Touted as “a Little Forest in Kuala Lumpur”, Country Heights Damansara is a premium freehold residential property project spread over 200 acres of undulating green terrain.

It is a very low-density area with less than two bungalows per acre. Over 70% of the 398 lots have been sold, according to the Country Heights website.

Launched in 2001 using the Country Heights Innovation in Property Investment (CHIPI) scheme, priority registrants at the launch totaled RM150 million in sales, according to the website.

Country Heights is currently working on the Mines Residences, an extension of the Mines Resort City in Seri Kembangan. “This will serve as a prelude to our golf-centric projects,” Lee, says citing an upcoming golf resort in Bukit Beruntung as an example.



This article appeared in City & Country, the property pullout of The Edge Malaysia, Issue 782, Nov 23-29, 2009.



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