Full steam ahead

Through boom or challenging times, United Malayan Land Berhad sees opportunities in every situation and is not afraid to seize them. Simon Phun finds out what the veteran property developer has in store for the market and how they view the current economic climate

United Malayan Land Berhad (UM Land) has gone through many market situations. After all, the company was incorporated in 1961 and subsequently listed on the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia in 1969. This gives it almost half a century's industry experience.

Since 1995, UM Land has directed their principal activity to property development. Today, the company has eight subsidiaries dealing with township and niche developments in key areas in the country. Their flagship projects include Bandar Seri Alam and Taman Seri Austin in Johor, Bandar Seri Putra in Bangi, Selangor, Suasana Bangsar and Seri Bukit Ceylon.

Despite the soft market situation, UM Land has launched several projects this year and already has plans for more offerings right to the following year. Zulkifly Garib, Operations Director of UM Land lets iProperty.com in on what to expect.

Townships launches

UM Land's township within the Klang Valley is Bandar Seri Putra which has seen brisk sales for all their units offered since inception of the development. Launches within the township have always been in demand and is usually sold out before the houses are completed. Most of the buyers are owner-occupiers compared to other developments.

Zulkifly says, "Bandar Seri Putra has always given real capital appreciation. For example, late last year we launched semi-ds and bungalows going beyond half a million under the  Anjung Suasana label. The project was oversubscribed as only about 110 units were offered. Nearing completion now, some of the units were made available again due to unapproved loan applications. These units were re-ofered and we had no trouble in selling those units at a higher price."

"There were instances that the units initially sold at RM480,000 to RM520,000 are later re-sold for RM580,000 to RM600,000 on the secondary market. About 15 per cent capital appreciation is a lot in such a short period," he emphasised.

The most recent launch in Bandar Seri Putra is the Laman Indah double-storey link houses. A total of 110 units of these attractively priced homes were launched and are scheduled for completion by May 2011. Later this year will see the launch of the second series of Laman Indah and possibly the 3rd and final series as well.

Homebuyers looking for larger homes in the township can also look forward to the Series 2 of  Anjung Suasana semi-ds and bungalows. Due for launch in August 2009, Zulkifly describes the design of the houses as being of a traditional “kampung” environment. Emphasis is made on the larger windows,  the serambi  larger gathering spaces. A total of 84 semi-ds and 24 bungalows will be launched.

Meanwhile down south in Johor, UM Land’s 500-acre Taman Seri Austin township has just seen the launch of 200 units of 20’ x 70’ double-storey terraces and 37 units of shop offices. This township enjoy  benefits from a mature neighbourhood which has existing retail shops, medical centre as well as the Jusco shopping centre.

“The market in Johor is markedly different from the Klang Valley. Buyers tend to adopt a wait and see approach instead of rushing to buy in. They also would prefer to see what they are buying  into rather than just rely on paper presentation. This is when we will run a second wave of marketing,” Zulkifly opines.

He adds, “Most of the buyers of UM Land’s properties in Johor are locals. There are few Singaporean buyers of late and this could be due to restored confidence. Before this their perception of security in Johor made them cautious but this has started to change since the Government focused their attention on Iskandar Malaysia.”

While general perception is that the Iskandar Malaysia will not pick up as quickly as anticipated, interest in UM Land's 3,000-acre Bandar Seri Alam is promising, albeit not by its original design.

"Iskandar Malaysia has taken off but maturity will take a longer time. But let us not forget that Iskandar Malaysia is a very huge project which covers about three times the size of Singapore in terms of area. I believe that the government is now focused on the development of the tip of Johor closer to Johor Bahru. A lot of money is being spent on infrastructure and the same goes for Nusajaya," says Zulkifly.

"The infrastructure will have to be there first to attract new investors as well as spur new development projects," he adds. Additionally with the completion of the Southern Link Highway, Zulkifly believes that there should be more activities in the area within 18 to 24 months time.

In Bandar Seri Alam, there has been numerous interest in the educational sector, where institutions like University Kuala Lumpur (UniKL), Mara Junior Science College (MRSM), a Japanese school, Nam Heng Chinese Primary School as well as seven other national primary and secondary schools are now being constructed within the township.

This list will expand as there are other proposed educational facilities to be built in the township like a second university campus,  a nursing college and  an art college. This has also prompted the relook at Bandar Seri Alam to accommodate its anticipated educational hub draw.

Zulkifly believes that all this will bring new population to Bandar Seri Alam hence it is time for a refresh of development plans.

“The focus for Seri Alam is to bring in more investors as well as population. There are plans to have more commercial areas in the township. Currently, Seri Alam has an estimated population of 50,000 without taking into account the student population.”

Niche developments

In the Klang Valley, UM Land’s latest niche project Suasana Bangsar has so far seen a sales value of  about RM100 million and there are renewed interests for the more luxurious RM1 million  condo units. Later this year, the company is hoping to launch another condominium project in Kuala Lumpur which is still unnamed. UMLAnd also has another development in the pipeline along Jalan Mayang in Kuala Lumpur city centre which is a joint-venture project with Bolton.

As for Johor, there are plans to launch more residential high rise with some commercial components in a prime area of Johor Bahru town itself. Zulkifly let in that the plans are in the midst of the approval process and it is hoped that it will be launched in 2010.

“There is a joint venture agreement with UEM Land in Puteri Harbour, Nusajaya. We are quite excited about this and hope that we can get this off the ground. At the moment, we are finalising the feasibility in terms of the numbers and what is to be done,” adds Zulkifly.

“In Pulai we have already announced a commercial high tech development and the company is in the midst of marketing the project and attracting investors.”

Track record

According to Zulkifly, UM Land has an excellent track record in handing over homes well ahead of their actual schedules. “The first launch in Seri Austin was handed over eight months earlier than originally scheduled. Another one would be the first series of Anjung Suasana which will probably be handed over six months ahead of time,” he says.

Economic climate

“The signs are there for a market recovery. So far, interests in UM Land’s projects are very encouraging. As in the case of Suasana Bangsar, there are fresh interests for the bigger, more expensive units,” Zulkifly opines on the current market situation.

“Interests in properties have not gone down, it has just reached a plateau for a while. There is a lot of caution from the general public and banks alike. That said, people are wary that prices are not likely to go down. The prices of materials have gone up and it is highly unlikely that developers will sell at a loss.”

“Fire-sale situations will not happen. Developers will be more inclined to hold back launches rather than lose money or at unprofitable margins,” says Zulkifly.