#Latest* Klang Valley’s landed housing market is hot

KUALA LUMPUR: Landed property in Malaysia’s prime property hub, the Klang Valley, remains hot, with prices in sought-after locations spiking of late after climbing steadily over the last two years.

Even the recent global recession has failed to shake market confidence, which is being translated into rising prices.

Daily sampling of theedgeproperty.com’s Hot Deals has shown that it is no longer a big deal to pay more than a million ringgit for an intermediate terraced house in Kuala Lumpur.

Rather, million-ringgit link homes appear to be a norm at the increasingly popular Desa ParkCity township. Real estate agents and negotiators have told theedgeproperty.com these gated-and-guarded homes have been transacted at well above the seven-figure mark.

Recently, a 3-storey 22ft by 65ft intermediate Zenia ParkHome within Desa ParkCity changed hands for a whopping RM1.6 million. A slightly bigger corner unit of 28ft by 65ft was sold for RM1.74 million.

The excitement over link homes has spilled over to the older and obviously less well-planned and designed areas in Selangor’s Petaling Jaya. In Section 21 of Sea Park, a 25ft by 80ft intermediate link home was recently sold for RM600.000.

Is the Klang Valley landed home market headed for a bubble? Will prices hold?

Landserve Sdn Bhd managing director Chen King Hoaw is still bullish on this segment of the property market, attributing the interest to fast-increasing demand that is outstripping supply.

So, what should one’s investment stance be? Cash out or stay put? “If you have found an alternative property investment that is capable of giving you higher capital or rental returns, then it may be the right time for you to sell. However, more thought is needed if you are living in the house you are planning to sell but at the same time are unsure of where to relocate to as prices have generally gone up considerably elsewhere,” says Chen

* Find out more about what Chen has to say in theedgeproperty.com’s audio segment.

* Details of the latest property transactions and asking prices are captured in theedgeproperty.com’s “Today’s Hot Deals”.

* The May 10-16 issue of City & Country, the property pullout of The Edge Malaysia, has a report on latest asking prices of link homes in the Klang Valley.