Moving forward with affordable products

THE brand-new clubhouse of the 151-acre Kota Seriemas Golf and Country Club in the Kota Seriemas township in Nilai is quite a sight to behold. The 1.12-acre English-concept clubhouse is reminiscent of colonial-style buildings with its white beamed ceilings and curved mouldings. Inside, it is decked with classic furniture and fittings in rich leather and opulent fabrics. The splendid-looking KSGCC golf course is set to become a growth catalyst for Kota Seriemas. Banking on the fact, its developer, PNB Development Sdn Bhd, is introducing more affordable landed homes.

“Kota Seriemas was launched along with the Kuala Lumpur International Airport [which is only 5km away] about 15 years ago. It is located 30km from Putrajaya and 45km from the Kuala Lumpur city centre,” says PNBD CEO Mohd Salem Kailany.

“Positioned as a resort-living township within the greater airport city, Kota Seriemas is about lifestyle, a place to escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. It offers a peaceful and green environment with all the components of a championship township. This is our value proposition.”

The 2,400-acre Kota Seriemas has an estimated gross development value (GDV) of RM11.09 billion and is expected to be completed in 2020. PNBD plans to launch a total of 8,702 properties — 8,680 will be residential and 22 commercial. To date, the group has launched 2,103 units and sold 1,662 of them, and six plots.

“We have successfully delivered about 1,500 units and will continue to hand over 200 to 300 units every year. Based on the number of houses we have handed over, we estimate the township’s population to be 5,000 to 6,000,” says Salem, who became CEO on March 1.

“We intend to develop projects that we consider affordable and are within the reach of the people in the surrounding areas.”

With 24 years of experience in property development, Salem previously worked for Golden Hope Development, Guthrie Property Development and Sime Darby Property.

“We consider anything less than RM500,000 to be affordable. There are two segments in this category. One involves properties that meet the affordable housing criteria and are provided by the various state governments, such as Rumah Selangorku. The other involves properties that are not governed by statutory requirements but fall within the affordable price range. The latter is what we are focusing on at the moment. We are excited about our latest launch, Mawar Qaseh, and the unveiling of KSGCC, which will provide Kota Seriemas with a fresh impetus for growth,” he remarks.

KSGCC and Mawar Qaseh

PNBD recently unveiled the almost completed KSGCC, which has 18 holes par 72 tournament courses. “KSGCC is open to the public. The clubhouse and golf course will be opened on Oct 1,” says Salem.

“Work on the golf course commenced in 2013 and we are excited that it is nearing completion. Our target is full completion by 2019. The clubhouse is in the final stage of construction and we hope its launch next month will be a success. We have two upcoming friendly tournaments — the Malaysia-Indonesia Invitational Championship scheduled for Nov 2 to 5 and the PGM Senior Championship from Nov 22 to 24.

“There will be no membership for sale. And we are still figuring out the price per session but it should be affordable. We are targeting golf players in the Klang Valley and overseas such as Japan and South Korea since we are located the closest to KLIA.”

On Sept 24, the group launched another phase of landed homes in Kota Seriemas — Mawar Qaseh in Laman Mawar. With a GDV of RM55.4 million, Mawar Qaseh’s 127 freehold, 2-storey terraced homes have built-ups of 1,620 sq ft (intermediate) to 1,930 sq ft (corner/end lot). The houses are expected to be completed in September 2018 and have attracted 1,471 registrants so far.

According to Salem, their selling point is the price.

“The units are priced between RM380,888 and RM588,888 (RM235 to RM305 psf), which allows people to buy landed affordable properties in a locality where you will find a lot of township features,” he says.

The homes offer an open layout, balconies for the living area, guest rooms, utility rooms, hot water points, air conditioning and broadband. Nearby amenities include KSGCC, a beach soccer area, basketball courts and an 88-acre linked park known as Laman Ilmu.

“One of the perks of living in Nilai is that the residents get to experience a better quality of life. The cost of living is also at a discount. There is a popular place nearby called Pekan Salak, where residents are able to buy fresh vegetables and meat. Safety is another factor. Parents who live in the area can let their children play in the neighbourhood with peace of mind because the crime rate here is relatively low,” says Salem.

“Connectivity is a plus point as well. The township is easily accessible via the KL-Seremban Expressway, the ELITE (exit of KLIA), the Putrajaya/Cyberjaya Dengkil highway and LEKAS.

“We target those who won’t mind travelling about 40 minutes to work and those who appreciate a certain lifestyle. They may live far from the city but our buyers get large houses at attractive prices and enjoy a green environment and township features. We have attracted airline crew working in KLIA and families looking to buy bigger homes.”

Steady Nilai market

PNBD sees the value of properties in Nilai rising. “The township has attracted more owner-occupiers than investors. That being the case, investors should be open to developments in Nilai, where there is an upside potential of 15% to 20%,” Salem points out.

“The property market in Nilai is not as big as those of major towns in the Klang Valley. Transactions are still not as active, so we want to offer better products for more value appreciation. When we launched our first terraced houses in 2000, the prices were about RM150,000. Now, these houses are valued at about RM400,000.”

LaurelCap Sdn Bhd director Stanley Toh concurs. “The take-up rate in Kota Seriemas is slow but steady. It is occupied mainly by young Malay families and working adults. With prices starting at RM380,888, Mawar Qaseh is affordable and attractive for young families, couples and single working adults,” he says.

“The bestsellers in Nilai are the terraced houses. The landed properties are closer to the northern and southern peripheries while the non-landed properties are located near the colleges and universities.

“Nilai is progressively becoming an education hub with the presence of INTI International University, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Nilai University and the under-construction Manipal International University. For properties near these learning institutions, the target market is students while further out of the town centre, it is young families and working adults,” says Toh.

In terms of price, landed properties (1-storey, 2-storey, 2-storey semi-detached and 3-storey semi-detached) in Nilai cost between RM167,844 and RM1.81 million with yields of 2% to 3%.

“The prices of non-landed properties in Nilai would start at RM314,888 with yields of 3.5% to 4.5%,” says Toh.

“The advantages of living in Nilai include a good road network, amenities such as universities, schools and malls, easy access to highways such as the North-South Expressway, and close proximity to KLIA.

“The landmarks include the Manipal International University in Bandar Baru Nilai, the Coca-Cola factory in Bandar Enstek, INTI International University, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, AEON Mall, Tesco Bandar Baru Nilai and Nilai University. The main disadvantage is the distance between Nilai and the KL city centre, which may stifle growth in the area.”

Still, says Toh, the outlook for Nilai is favourable. “The trend of development is in the Bandar Baru Salak Tinggi/Kota Warisan area (thanks to Xiamen University) and is slowly moving towards Nilai, Sepang and Dengkil. The supply of new houses is growing faster than demand. But demand will catch up and the prices of properties will increase at a steep rate. There have been a number of new investments in Nilai that have increased property prices. Things look promising for Nilai.”

 A step in the right direction

According to Salem, PNBD intends to expedite the development of its existing land bank. “The group has 9,387.48 acres worth RM77.38 billion in GDV now. In Selangor, we have land in Bangi Estate in Bangi (342 acres), Jenjarom in Banting (575 acres), Kota Seri Langat in Banting (1,871 acres) and Morib in Banting (1,429 acres).

“In Negeri Sembilan, we have land in Kota Seriemas, Nilai (1,394 acres), Bayu Lake Homes in Mantin (819 acres) and Linsum-Paroi (1,371 acres). We also have land in Kelan Kechil, Kulai, Johor (1,585 acres).

“We have a medium to long-term plan for our land bank and some of it, such as Bayu Lake Homes in Mantin, Negeri Sembilan, is located just 10km from neighbouring townships such as Setia EcoHill. So, we are looking at these upcoming areas and will offer products that will meet current market needs.

“In terms of product range, we believe in offering various types of residential and commercial products to appeal to a wide spectrum of buyers. For the time being, we are focusing on affordable products. We would like to focus on developing our land in Morib, Bangi, Bayu Lake Homes, Kelan Kechil and Linsum-Paroi in the next three years and we shall reveal the details as we move along.”

Meanwhile, the group is making an effort to raise its profile. “We want better brand recognition and we are taking the necessary steps to make that happen. We want to figure out ways to achieve higher rates of success in sales conversion, given the higher loan rejections looming in the market,” says Salem.

“Certain segments of the property market are facing slower sales with the public taking a wait-and-see stance but it really boils down to location. PNBD is currently debt-free and we believe we have the strength to weather the market. We are focused on our long-term gestation projects, such as Kota Seriemas, which remains steady despite having gone through two property cycles in the last 15 years.”

“We hope Kota Seriemas continues to flourish and becomes a self-sustained township as we put in more developments and amenities.”

This article first appeared in City & Country, a pullout of The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on Sept 26, 2016. Subscribe here for your personal copy.