Having a superfast broadband connection or good mobile coverage is equal to a good view when it comes to what buyers look for in a prime property, according to international real estate firm Knight Frank LLP’s Buyer Survey.

The Taman Tun Dr Ismail township, more fondly known as TTDI, is one of the most affluent and historical townships in Kuala Lumpur. Situated at the border of KL and Selangor’s Petaling Jaya, it neighbours other vibrant locales such as Bandar Utama, Mutiara Damansara and Damansara Utama.

Can a small change really make a big difference? “Yes,” replied Arkitek LLA director Laurence Loh regarding the impact of a building on its surrounding environment.

Sunway Construction Group Bhd (SunCon) is the largest listed pure play construction company in Malaysia. Given its strong track record with mass rapid transit (MRT), light rail transit (LRT) and bus rapid transit (BRT) jobs previously, we are of the view that SunCon is on a strong footing to bag several key infrastructure packages such as the LRT3 and BRT as well as other infrastructure-related and building projects.

The Penang housing market is maturing, says Michael Geh, director at Raine & Horne International Zaki + Partners. The data shows that in the third quarter, properties in the secondary market showed little price movements, compared with the previous quarter and the year before.

ONE of the main pillars of the construction industry are the carpenters, bricklayers and masons and the guilds that represent them. These skilled unsung heroes (in nation building) are grouped under the United Malaysia Contractors Association (UMCA) umbrella, which is almost a century old. With a nationwide membership of over 6,000, their interests are looked after by 19 state-level kin cho hong (tradesmen associations). Only four are affiliate members of the Master Builders Association Malaysia (MBAM).

What factors impact the value of a property? The overall economy, construction of new highways and public transportation that open up accessibility routes, consumer demand — the factors are many.

In recent years, there has been a flurry of small office/home office developments in Subang Jaya — Empire SoHo, One SoHo, Nadayu28, You One Subang, Sunway Geo and da:mén, to name a few. Recognising the needs of small businesses, many developers seem to be looking to reconfigure their project layouts to offer products that suit this segment.

The local real estate industry can look forward to expanding their businesses across the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region more effectively, thanks to an initiative by regional real estate bodies, including The Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA).

YTL Corp Bhd 1QFY17 results is below our expectation, mainly due to weaker contribution from the cement segment.