Affiniti Residences built for generational living

TheEdge Wed, Feb 19, 2020 02:00pm - 4 years View Original


Bukit Serdang, located next to Technology Park Malaysia and Bukit Jalil, will see a new project next year.  Affiniti Residences, by Eksons Corp Bhd, is a high-end project with over RM1 million homes targeted at young families as well as three-generation households. 

Officially launched in 4Q2019, Affiniti Residences, which is jointly developed with Tempo Properties Sdn Bhd, has a gross development value of RM157 million and sits on 6.5 acres. The freehold project will offer 93 homes — Grand Villas (23 units) and Duplex Villas (70 units). The project is slated for completion by end-2021.

The 4-storey Grand Villas, which are sold out, have built-ups starting from 4,500 sq ft and are priced from RM1.95 million. The 5-storey Duplex Villas have built-ups starting from 3,300 sq ft and are priced from RM1.45 million. The average price is RM380 psf.

“The Grand Villas are three-generation homes with lifts to cater for the elderly,” says Tempo Properties executive director Tan Meng Seng. “The Duplex Villas cater for trendy young professionals and are modern concept townhouses that offer a landed, condo living experience.”

The developers have tied up with Signature Kitchen to provide packages for homeowners, offering a selection of wardrobes, kitchen fittings and appliances. Another package by the developer deals with air-conditioning units, lights and plaster ceiling. Tan highlights that the two packages range from RM46,000 to RM150,000 for Grand Villas and from RM30,000 to RM98,000 for Duplex Villas.

While the Grand Villas come with a lift, chair lifts can be installed in the Duplex Villas upon request. The developer will install the lift for the first flight of stairs before the handing over of keys at no charge. Further installations will cost RM30,000 per flight.

Affiniti Residences offers a unique elevated concept — the living spaces and a linear garden are situated above the parking bays.

“[The design] is to help foster neighbourliness. It is a new, interesting concept,” say Eksons Corp group managing director Datuk Philip Chan Hon Keong.

Tan adds, “[The design] maximises space and also increases privacy. It also maximises the number of parking bays as well; there is a demand for them.”

Grand Villas come with three parking bays while Duplex Villas offer two bays. Corner units get two extra bays. “The extra bays can be converted into a room,” says Tan.

The development is strata titled and will be gated and guarded. The maintenance fee is estimated to be 30 sen psf. Facilities in the development include barbecue pits and an open-deck area for functions, a jogging track, indoor gym, children’s playground and herb garden. A rainwater harvesting system will be installed and the collection will be used for the cleaning of common areas and irrigation.

While the Grand Villas have all been sold, why haven’t the Duplex Villas done as well? “We had a lot of inquiries and bookings. We couldn’t close the deals because of loan approval issues,” explains Tan.

Both men believe the remaining units will sell once people see the constructed homes. Tan says construction will continue whether or not the homes are sold off-plan. Chan highlights that there is talk that the Selangor government could halve the floor price for foreign property buyers from RM2 million to RM1 million. If this happens, the project could be marketed overseas, he adds.

“We are confident that we will sell the other homes. It is now about creating awareness, letting people know what we have. And given that Bukit Serdang is an up-and-coming suburb, we will be able to sell all of the units eventually, but it is challenging and it will take us some time but we will finish the product regardless,” says Chan.

The developer is also constructing a new access road that will make it easier and quicker to reach the development. “The new access road links to Jalan PBS 14/1, which will then connect to Bukit Jalil Highway. The length of the access road is about 1.3km,” says Tan. The access road, which will cost an estimated RM1.5 million to build, will be ready when the keys to the units are handed over.

Close to the development are highways such as Maju Expressway (MEX), Kesas Highway, 

KL-Seremban Expressway, Sungai Besi Expressway and SILK Highway. Nearby schools and tertiary institutions are Kingsgate International School, College Technology Park Malaysia, Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation, International Medical University, Australia International School, SK and SMK Bukit Jalil, SJK (C) Lai Meng and SJK (C) Serdang Baru 1. Hospitals and medical centres include IMU Healthcare, KPJ Ampang Puteri Specialist Hospital, Klinik Kesihatan Seri Kembangan, Serdang Hospital and Columbia Asia Hospital Cheras.

For shopping and dining, there are The Mines Shopping Mall, One South Mall and South City Plaza.

Growth potential

According to Savills Malaysia managing director Datuk Paul Khong, Bukit Serdang looks set to grow, thanks to its location. “Bukit Serdang predominantly comprises freehold landed residential houses and light industrial factories.”

“After decades of decentralised development in the Klang Valley, Bukit Serdang is now well placed, lying strategically between the established areas of Bukit Jalil in the north, Puncak Jalil in the west, Seri Kembangan in the east and Taman Equine and UPM in the south. In the last 10 years, these established neighbourhoods have been well developed and have attracted a large population.

“Bukit Serdang is poised to grow in the next decade, thanks to its central location, with new developments coming through, radiating from its northern boundary with Bukit Jalil. This residential development trend is moving southwards and is now spilling over. This corridor will take at least eight to 10 years or even more to fully mature based on its existing physical conditions and the size of the entire neighbourhood. Demand for housing will continue to grow as land prices are lower than in Bukit Jalil,” he surmises.

Concurring that Bukit Serdang’s location is advantageous, Laurelcap Sdn Bhd executive director Stanley Toh says: “Bukit Serdang forms part of Seri Kembangan, about 33km south of Kuala Lumpur city centre … The residential properties — comprising 2 and 2½-storey terraced houses, townhouses, apartments and condominiums — are mainly located on the north-western periphery while the industrial properties — consisting of terraced, semi-detached and detached factories — are mainly concentrated in the central and southern areas.”

Based on Savills’ secondary transaction data from 2015 to 2019, there were an average of 115 transactions per annum in the Bukit Serdang area, Khong says. “Link houses were the most popular category and saw price increases in 2018 and 2019 while the strata segment remained stagnant at about RM350 psf. Largely due to its freehold land, Bukit Serdang’s property prices are higher than in surrounding areas such as Puncak Jalil and Taman Equine,” says Khong.

According to Savills’ data, 2-storey link houses of 1,300 to 1,400 sq ft were transacted at RM650,000 to RM750,000, while similar properties in Puncak Jalil and Taman Equine were transacted at RM75,000 to RM100,000 less.

“Bukit Serdang is still considered relatively affordable versus Bukit Jalil, where [houses] are now largely priced above RM1 million,” says Khong.

According to Laurelcap data, the current average market values of products in Bukit Serdang are as follows: townhouses are between RM400 and RM420 psf (5-year appreciation rate until 2019: 15%); 2½-storey terraced houses are from RM750,000 to RM800,000 (5-year appreciation rate until 2019: 3%); 2-storey terraced houses (20ft by 70ft) are RM700,000 (5-year appreciation rate until 2019: 20%); Vista Impiana Apartment units are RM350 psf (5-year appreciation rate until 2019: 30%); and Villa Pavilion Apartment units are RM380 psf (5-year appreciation rate until 2019: 10%).

Both Khong and Toh are positive on the outlook of the area.

“Bukit Serdang will continue to enjoy the constant spillover effects from its neighbouring developments especially from the upcoming completion of Pavilion Bukit Jalil and MRT 2 (Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya) line, as well as the repositioning of Technology Park Malaysia,” says Khong.

“Bukit Serdang and its surroundings will see more commercial activities in the pipeline and more demand for new residential units in the future. Nevertheless, substantial enhancement or investment in overall infrastructure is eminent and required in Bukit Serdang to cater for the future needs of its rapid development.”

Toh says: “The area looks promising as there is a planned MRT station in Seri Kembangan, which is part of the MRT line 2. This will help ease traffic congestion and increase connectivity, which, in turn, will help increase property values in the vicinity.”

Future plans

Affiniti Residences is not the first project Eksons Corp and Tempo Properties have collaborated on. They also developed The Atmosphere in Seri Kembangan, Selangor, which started in 2006. It was Eksons Corp’s first foray into property development. Its core business is producing plywood products.

Chan says after meeting like-minded individuals, it was decided that Eksons Corp would diversify into property development.

The only land bank it has at the moment is a 68-acre tract in Seremban but the product has not been finalised yet.

“We are currently evaluating plans for development of the said land. One option is the development of a logistics centre but that depends on its feasibility. The alternative is a mixed-use development,” says Chan.

Eksons is on the lookout for more good development land. Chan says the company has RM190 million cash to be used to purchase parcels if prices are attractive enough. The areas Ekson is looking at are within the Klang Valley and in the south, towards Seremban.

Moreover, they also plan to differentiate themselves from other developers by focusing on a specific market segment.

“The way forward is to focus on the middle to upper-middle class market, which is much easier to market to and gives us better opportunities to come up with innovative designs,” says Tan.

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