The lure of Seremban

Compared with Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya, property prices in Seremban are still moderate despite having risen in the last two to three years.

Newly-launched properties in Seremban are going at a premium, thanks to increased demand stemmed mainly from improved accessibility. Seremban is only a 20-minute drive from Kajang via Kajang-Seremban Highway (Lekas Highway) and 45 minutes to Kuala Lumpur.

Relative to KL and PJ, the standard of living in Seremban is attractive. A typical two-storey link house in Seremban 2 — the hip address in Seremban — can be rented for just RM650 per month. A similar house in Selangor’s Damansara Jaya, a traditional housing enclave, would command twice as much. Seremban, IJM Land Bhd CEO and managing director Datuk Soam Heng Choon notes, also provides a less stressed environment suitable for families with children.

“What you pay for a two-storey terraced home in the Klang Valley, you can buy a semi-D here in Seremban,” Soam added. Besides housing, a local consultant is excited at the investment potential of commercial properties in Seremban, pointing to Biz Avenue in Seremban 2.

The three-storey shops were launched in 2006 priced between RM500,000 and RM550,000. These, the consultant noted, changed hands recently at up to RM1 million. Rentals for the ground floor units there are commanding RM5,000 to RM5,500 a month.

The commercial property market in the state capital is also stirring. Sources said a development has been planned for along Jalan Yam Tuan, one of the main roads within the town centre.

Meanwhile, a Kuala Lumpur-based property developer who has apparently acquired a shopping complex on Jalan Sungai Ujong recently is believed to have plans to convert the abandoned complex into an entertainment centre, offering cineplexes and bowling alleys, among others.

Certainly, there is more to Seremban than its famed siew pau and beef noodles.

Read more about the lure of Seremban as a potential property investment hub, as well as the town’s other pull factors in a special report in the Feb 28 issue of The Edge.


This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, February 25, 2011.