Homing in on a tempting market

HONG KONG: Malaysian developers are hoping to attract buyers for a Kuala Lumpur project from among affluent Chinese investors both in China and in Hong Kong.

St Mary Residences is to be offered in Hong Kong over the weekend. Jointly developed by E&O Development, Lion Group & St Mary Church (the land owner), the project comprises one- to three-bedroom apartments and penthouses sized from 1,131 sq ft to 6,759 sq ft. The average price of the apartments is pitched at RM1,100 per sq ft, according to the agent appointed to sell the flats in Hong Kong.

This compared with an average price of RM900 per sq ft when the developer first launched the apartments in Singapore last year, said Richard Teoh, project marketing director of Hamptons International, which has been appointed to sell the residential development.

Of the three blocks, only Tower A and Tower C are up for sale, with 288 and 169 apartments respectively. Tower B, comprising 200 flats, is reserved for serviced apartments which are not for sale.

Hamptons revealed that 70% of the project had been sold and that 70% of the buyers so far were local. Buyers of Malaysian properties had the advantage, Teoh said, of being able to apply for the Malaysia My Second Home Programme, which allowed foreigners to buy residential property in the country.

The Malaysian government launched the international residency scheme allowing foreigners to live in the country on a long-stay visa of up to 10 years.

St Mary Residences has three towers, each 28-storeys high, with views of the Petronas Twin Towers, KL Tower, Bukit Nanas Nature Reserve and the central business district skyline, said Teoh.

Prices in Kuala Lumpur remained stable when compared with other Asian cities such as Hong Kong and Singapore, he said. He also said he expected to see foreign ownership of Malaysian property rise from 30% now to as much as 50% this year. — SCMP