Pavilion Group sees Mont'Kiara property making a comeback

by **Cals** Sat 28 Sep 2013, 18:29

Published: Saturday September 28, 2013 MYT 12:00:00 AM
Updated: Saturday September 28, 2013 MYT 11:26:19 AM
Pavilion Group sees Mont'Kiara property making a comeback
BY JOHN LOH
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Bre ath taking: The view from Pavilion Hilltop.
MONT’KIARA property hasn’t had the best luck since the 2008 financial crisis, but all that may change if demand for the Pavilion Group’s newest residential development is any indication.
Phase one of Pavilion Hilltop, released in April, saw a 100% takeup within two months, and the response to phase two has been no less impressive, with bookings touching 40% prior to the official launch several weeks ago.
At this rate, phase two is expected to sell out before year-end, and the final block launched by early next year, its marketing consultant tells StarBizWeek.
“The takeup was a surprise to us. It was like Banyan Tree Signatures all over again,” enthuses Tracey Lai, director of 1 Pavilion Property Consultancy Sdn Bhd.
The Banyan Tree Signatures, the local offshoot of renowned resort and spa operator Banyan Tree, featured luxury private residences tucked into a 55-storey tower in the heart of Bukit Bintang.
The project was previewed to much fanfare two years ago and snapped up just as quickly, setting the benchmark price for Kuala Lumpur’s Golden Triangle at RM3,000 per sq ft – a record it holds till today. 1 Pavilion Property Consultancy also handled marketing for Banyan Tree Signatures.

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An artist’s impr ession of Pavilion Hilltop from the ground floor.
Pavilion Hilltop, with a gross development value of RM1.18bil, is being developed byPermata Cermat Sdn Bhd, a joint venture of the Pavilion Group – best known for the Pavilion KL – and Kuwait Finance House.
Sitting on six acres of prime freehold land – one of the last few remaining undeveloped tracts in the tony Mont’Kiara neighbourhood – the high-end Pavilion Hilltop comprises three blocks and 621 units.
Sizes range from 1,200 sq ft to 2,874 sq ft, while prices start at RM900 per sq ft or RM1.1mil, which is the going rate for new developments in the area, Lai explains. Completion is slated for 2017.
The three towers, each at least 30 levels high, command a panorama of the city, the King’s Palace, KLCC and even Genting Highlands, given its location on the highest point of Mont’Kiara, Lai says.
“A lot of the buyers were repeat customers,” she quips. “We take this as proof that people still believe in the Mont’Kiara story.”
The sizes were also key. None of the units in Pavilion Hilltop come below 1,200 sq ft.

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Lai: ‘A lot of the buyers were repeat customers’.
“We made a deliberate decision to stay away from shoebox sizes,” Lai explains. “Our customers want to live, and not just invest, there.”
Although some may find the large units and accompanying price tag a put-off, Lai believes the sales figures speak for themselves.
“Our buyers are very savvy. It’s interesting that our 1,500 sq ft and 1,800 sq ft units were more popular than the 1,200 sq ft ones. We hit the right sizes.”
And as any reputable developer will know, it’s all in the details, Lai points out.
“People enjoy full-sized, luxuriant bedrooms that are like suites. We trimmed our 1,800 sq ft units to 3+1 rooms, which gives us space for a large master bedroom.”
This being a Mont’Kiara abode, Pavilion Hilltop’s amenities are none too shabby. Housekeeping, concierge, a café, kindergarten, and a shuttle to Pavilion KL are among the value-added services its owners can look forward to.
Instead of penthouses, Pavilion Hilltop is opting for 17 ground-floor villas that open up to the gardens and swimming pools.
The prices for these villas – all of them duplex suites with built-ups of over 3,000 sq ft – begin at RM3.4mil.

Market too hot?
Lai is all too aware of the bubble that had hit Mont’Kiara hard. But that is firmly a thing of the past, she insists.
“Before we launched Pavilion Hilltop people were talking about an oversupply in Mont’Kiara. Everyone was waiting to see how we would do,” shares Lai, herself an ardent proponent of Malaysian properties.
“Based on our market research, absorption is strong in the secondary market. Mont’Kiara is no longer a speculator’s haven. It used to be the property play.
“Speculators kept buying and making money. When the crisis came, they were left high and dry. Subsales literally came to a standstill in 2008-2009. Yet people fished for a good buy, which is what happens in a down market.
“The crisis is over now and you see a new balance emerging. Buyers have come back in full force.”
The market, Lai stresses, has flushed out much of the speculation.
“We learnt the hard way. The 1997 crisis was the first big kick. A lot of investors went under. In 2008, on the other hand, there were hardly any distress sales, especially for high-end property. The banks didn’t declare huge non-performing loans.
“The apartments that went for lelong (bank auction as a result of bankruptcy) were mostly foreign-owned.”
KLCC and Mont’Kiara, she points out, bore the brunt of the bubble bursting. Nonetheless, KLCC has bounced back and is hitting RM2,800-RM3,000 per sq ft now, Lai says.
Relatively new condominium units in Mont’Kiara can fetch rents of RM4 per sq ft, she notes, even as prices in less established suburbs are fast catching up.
A recently launched high-rise in Kota Damansara, for example, retailed for RM1,000 per sq ft, while Cheras, Bukit Jalil and Subang Jaya are not far off the RM700-RM800 per sq ft mark.
Property prices in expatriate-heavy Mont’Kiara, by contrast, have stagnated since the subprime crisis. What does this mean for buyers? To Lai, there are no two ways about it – Mont’Kiara is poised for more upside.
When the music stopped at the height of the meltdown, the value of homes there fell to RM800 per sq ft, and bottomed out at RM700 per sq ft. Prices have since normalised to RM800-RM900 per sq ft, with new launches touching RM1,000-RM1,200 per sq ft.
“We priced Pavilion Hilltop at a good level, which still allows for upside for our buyers. That is why the take-up was so phenomenal,” Lai explains.