Kuala Lumpur’s luxury residential market to recover in 2020

Propelled by a series of developments launched in the last two quarters of 2019

In their in-depth report titled Real Estate Highlights 2nd Half of 2019, Knight Frank Malaysia revealed that the stream of projects launched in the past six months of 2019 has helped the luxury residential property market in Kuala Lumpur bounce back.

Among the notable developments that will help the property market recover were the Four Seasons Place Kuala Lumpur by Venus Assets Sdn. Bhd. and the TRIA Seputeh in 9 Seputeh, Kuala Lumpur by MRCB Land who respectively took home the award for the Best Ultra Luxury Condo/Apartment Development and the Best High End Condo/Apartment Development (Klang Valley) at The PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards (Malaysia) 2019.

Sarkunan Subramaniam, managing director at Knight Frank Malaysia, said that the general outlook of the country’s capital when it comes to high-end developments will still pose as a challenge due to the disparity between supply and demand

However, he did acknowledge that they are anticipating more launches and agreements in the premier areas of the city, including Bukit Bintang, Bangsar, Mont Kira, Damansara Heights or Kenny Hill, and Ampang Hilir or U-Thant.

“In addition to these prime areas, there are also some established neighbourhoods or upcoming hotspots that are drawing the attention of the upper-income population and high-net-worth individuals,” explained Sarkunan.

“These include Desa ParkCity, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, and the upcoming financial district of Imbi, Pudu, and TRX.”

More: Malaysia’s industrial property sector to witness substantial growth in 2020

Knight Frank’s report also revealed a growth in foreign investors interest, mostly from China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, USA, UK, and some European countries.

“The local developers are aggressively marketing their high-end residential products abroad coupled with the various available initiatives and incentives to stimulate the property market. We expect to see more sales this year. This would help to ease the current glut in the high-end property segment,” he added.

Sarkunan said that the new regulations listed in the National Budget 2020 could also help improve the property market this year.

According to the New Straits Times, the key policies mentioned include the establishment of rent-to-own financing programme, the revision of base year for Real Property Gains Tax, and the reduction of foreign investors’ price threshold from MYR1 million (USD237,891) to MYR600,000 for vacant high-rise units in urban areas.

The virtual gala dinner and awards ceremony for the 7th PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards (Malaysia) has been postponed due to technical difficulties. We will be announcing a new date soon. For more details, visit asiapropertyawards.com/award/asia-property-awards-malaysia.