Celebration and excitement were the order of the day at the inaugural CNBC Asia Pacific Property Awards 2008.

At a time when competition is keen and the achievement bar has been set higher than ever across the region, the wins by the Malaysian companies and Asia-Pacific's leading property portals are testament to their calibre to compete with the best of the best.

Ipoh's Meru Valley Resort was the event's big winner, as it took home Malaysia's only five-star award for Best Golf Development and Best Golf Development – Asia Pacific. By beating entries from 10 other countries, the Asia-Pacific overall winner typically scored high points on five selected criteria: location, appearance and architectural design, safety and innovation elements, marketing and public relations strategies, and golfing and membership details.

Dato' Lim Keng Kay, director of Meru Valley Resort, said of the win: “The win came as a pleasant surprise as we did not expect to grab Malaysia's top award, let alone be chosen to represent Asia-Pacific at the International Property Awards. We are certainly proud to be recognised as a world-class golf development, and we are delighted to be able to put Ipoh on the international map.”

Dr Tan Chin Yong, director of Meru Valley Resort developer, Kinta Properties, received the award at the event's glittering gala dinner at Marina Mandarin Hotel in Singapore on July 20th.  Dr Tan said: “This prestigious win provides us an edge in attracting foreigners to settle down in Ipoh under the Malaysia My Second Home programme. The city of Ipoh is an ideal retirement destination; it has all the amenities of any modern Malaysian city, reflects an excellent standard of living, is virtually traffic- and congestion-free and best of all, offers fantastic value for money in property prices when compared to KL, Penang or the rest of the region.”

Sepang Goldcoast Sdn Bhd enjoyed a double win with Best Interior Design for its Ivory Palm Villas, and Best Property for its Golden Palm Tree Water Villas. The Golden Palm Tree Water Villas are the flagship first phase of the company's 5,000-acre macro-project, Sepang Goldcoast – a mixed development paradise in the administrative capital of Sepang that has won accolades from environmentalists, the lifestyle industry and investors. The Ivory Palm Villas are among the tastefully designed, fully-furnished units offered within the Golden Palm Tree Water Villas.

“We are really gratified by this double win,” said the company’s head of sales and marketing, Steven Yap. He added: “The Best Property award really recognises our efforts in successfully creating a world-class eco-friendly luxury development, while the Best Interior Award is testament to the exquisite quality and detail we put into making our residents and guests feel at home.

“The success of developing this tropical showcase of the world's third palm-shaped water villas has been achieved thanks to all our team members and partners, and we share the wins with them.”

Mah Sing Group Berhad is just as elated over the joint win for Best Property, awarded for the Garden Bungalow Type C1 in its Kemuning Residence development in Shah Alam. According to deputy general manager James Bruyns, the win showed that Mah Sing was on the right track.

“We have been winning different types of awards on a yearly basis,” Bryuns said, adding: “This is a good indicator and benchmark that we are moving towards our vision and mission – to provide quality lifestyle development. The whole Mah Sing Group is responsible for this award – from the management to the design team who captured our message into reality, to the salespeople who conveyed our message to the world.”

Equally significant is iProperty.com's clean sweep of the awards for Best Property Portal.   Malaysia's No. 1 property website, iProperty.com Malaysia (www.iproperty.com.my) emerged victorious alongside the group's other property portals within the extensive iProperty.com network –  including Singapore (www.iproperty.com.sg), Hong Kong (www.gohome.com.hk) and the Philippines (www.iproperty.com.ph) – in the same category. This is a historical achievement as iProperty.com is the first company to have ever won an award in four countries for the same category at the International Property Awards.

Patrick Grove, executive chairman of the iProperty.com Group, said: “This is truly a great achievement for our Malaysian website and the iProperty.com network as a whole. In Malaysia, we are already the clear market leader in the online property space, with over 35,000 quality property listings by over 1,500 accredited real estate agents, and the country's top developers. The fact that we have won the Best Property Portal award in every single market we operate in is clear testimony that the iProperty.com network can not only compete but also triumph within the highly competitive Asia-Pacific online property arena.”

The CNBC Asia Property Awards is part of the International Property Awards, the premier annual programme that distinguishes companies with the highest levels of achievement in 21 categories. Winners are identified as players who continually raise the standards of the industry by providing excellent skills and services, and continually reaching new heights in quality and innovation. Entries are judged by a distinguished panel of professionals, including those from the national and international publishing industry, the media, realtor associations and building councils, as well as the architecture, interior design and relocation industries.

The Asia Pacific winners – Meru Valley Resort, Leisure Farm Resort and The Troika – will be among those representing the Asia Pacific region in the global CNBC International Property Awards 2008 ceremony to be held in Florida in November, competing among winners from the European, American, African and Arabian Property Awards.

The Malaysian winners for CNBC Asia Pacific Property Awards 2008 were:

Best Apartment

• Matahari Luxury Super Condos by Maymont Development Sdn Bhd (four stars)

Best Development

• Leisure Farm Resort by Mulpha International Berhad (five stars) – also winner for Asia Pacific
• Country Heights Damansara by Country Heights Holdings Berhad (four stars)
• Damansara Idaman by TA Properties Sdn Bhd (four stars)

Best Golf Development

• Meru Valley Resort by Kinta Properties Group (five stars)
• Borneo Highlands Resort by Country Heights Holdings Berhad

Best High-rise Architecture

• The Troika by Bandaraya Developments Berhad (BRDB) (five stars) – also winner for Asia Pacific

Best High-rise Development

• The Troika by Bandaraya Developments Berhad (BRDB) (five stars)
• The Avare – Kuala Lumpur by Magna Prima Berhad (four stars)
• Axis Crown by RK Group Holdings (Malaysia) (four stars)

Best Interior Design

• Ivory Palm Villas by Sepang Goldcoast Sdn Bhd (four stars)

Best Property

• Golden Palm Tree Water Villas by Sepang Goldcoast Sdn Bhd (four stars)
• Garden Bungalow Type C1 in Kemuning Residence by Mah Sing Group Berhad (four stars)

Best Property Portal

• www.iproperty.com.my by iProperty Group Asia Pte Ltd (four stars)