By Venus Hew
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The secondary market for condominium homes in the Klang Valley has quieten down recently with buyers and investors favouring hotspots with proven capital growth such as Mont’Kiara, Bangsar and Kuala Lumpur City Centre, according to real estate agents familiar with the condominium sales market. However, despite the slowdown, prices have been maintained.

“There is a slowdown in transactions several months after the (March general election. Foreign investors are cautious and concerned about the uncertainties of our economy and political issues. Whereas, purchases by local investors were not as affected as they understand the local property market and economy better,” Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA) president K. Soma Sundram, who is also CEO of Soma Sun Realtors, tells City & Country.

According to Soma, areas such as Bangsar, Mont’Kiara and KLCC remains a favourite among investors.

Another agent, Lavender Estate Agency’s Leslie Aw says integrated areas such as in KL Sentral and Mid Valley City seems to be attracting more interest from local investors recently based on enquiries for units in these areas. This is due to a demand for properties located in areas where public transport conveniences are easily accessible.

Despite the market slowdown, prices of condominiums in this area have been maintained throughout these two months, according to Metro Homes Sdn Bhd director See Kok Loong. “Prices have been maintained. New launches come with higher selling prices due to rising construction costs. There are also fewer launches compared with a year ago. In other words, this will boost the secondary market,” says See.

Going forward, See says more property investors are expected to come in if the political situation and world economy stabilise early next year.

“Malaysian properties are among the lowest in prices compared to other countries in the region. I believe that with the help of the government in developing our public transport system, chances are prices would increase in the near future,” he adds.

Read on for what strata-titled owners in the Klang Valley are now asking for their condominium units.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 22nd, 2008 at 5:16 pm and is filed under Newsclipping. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.