Was passing through Mutiara Rini’s sales office in Mutiara Damansara last week and realise that they have the Surian Residences Show Unit signage up, so decided to check out if the show unit was truly opened. The show units are available for viewing if you enquire from the sales office. This project is yet to be launched and is expected to launch in October 2009. Sizes available for viewing are the 1400sf and 1800sf, with indicative price of Rm600psf .

Surian Residences will be the last of the 2 condominium developments in the freehold Mutiara Damansara, with Surian Condominium as the first in the now very in-demand neighborhood. All units in the Surian Residences would afford panaromic view of Mutiara Damansara, so this with land being so scarce in Mutiara Damansara, would be a huge factor in determining the pricing.

There are 2 types available for viewing, one 1400sf, and a larger one at 1800sf. The general feeling after viewing the units was that this is very good improvement from their first condo, and this one definitely is modern-looking development, opting for glass balustrades, and many ceiling height windows in the living and master bedrooms. This gives the unit a rather airy and light feeling. However, the interior designed opt for this is clunky, outdated and perhaps a bit on the rural side. Somehow I feel very claustophobic in the 1400sf due to the many unnecessary ID partitions. Overall, it is looking good, no more cheap specs like those given in Surian Condominium.With the price tentatively at RM600psf, a 800sf studio unit will be at about RM480,000.  This is already almost like Mont Kiara pricing. Mutiara Rini is definitely banking on the rising prices and demand for properties in Mutiara Damansara and is not worried about a very (very) high asking price.

More (and I mean a lot!) photos after the jump.

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More photos of progress for Ameera Residences at SS2. The construction on the tower block has reached rooftop and progress is good. The photo above is a shot of the plant boxes for the low-rise block. Kinda strange actually as I don’t see such boxes in the scaled model. The scaled models had more criss-cross vertical bars to minimise the view of the low cost blocks. Let’s wait and see if the above turns out to be better.

For the tower block, the louvered windows at the lower floors are installed. The other villas have their coat of paint on. Looks really good, almost like the rendering. Also I have managed to obtain photos from unit B-15-3A. I’m not too sure if I’m entirely happy if I were to see Ken signages everytime I look out from the balcony/living room…!

More photos after the jump.

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Just stumbled upon some interior shots posted over at the SkyscraperCity site by OshHisham, and it is exactly how I have envisaged it to be! Concrete slabs walls with black sleek aluminium frame windows with full height glass windows, seems like my perfect home! It certainly exudes a certain class that is unmatched of. If only I was few years early into this REI game, I could have a slice of this! It seems untouchable to obtain a unit there now with prices skyrocketing beyond belief, and not even the downturn will affect Troika prices. I mean, seriously, who wouldn’t want a piece of Lord Norman Foster’s work?

More photos after the jump.

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The slip road from Persiaran Surian to Bandar Utama has been open for quite some time now and since then we have been able to see the exact location of the main entrance of the fast under-construction 9 Bukit Utama. Many of the visitors to the site has been asking about the official launch date about this project as the building pace is picking up by the day.

Unfortunately the project is still not being launched just yet, which I believe is wise of developer to do so when the market is now much softer compared to say a year ago. I suspect the project will be launched perhaps much nearer completion in time for the market to pick up. I’m surprise that many people are still interested with this development. We can use Bukit Utama condo and Sutramas Condo near Mont Kiara as a yardstick to see how the end product perhaps to be delivered. Please note that this mega development has a massive 900 units over 3 blocks, though location itself is a huge factor plus Freehold status. Will post more information once I do get hold of it. More photos after the jump.

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Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) today again reduced its key overnight policy rate by 50 basis points to 2.00 percent, after just a month after slashing it by 75 basis points. This could be good news for those who are looking to get financing for their property purchases. The bad news is, our economy is quickly deteriorating. The current BLR in many major banks are at 5.95%. Full press release here.

UPDATE 1-Malaysia cuts key rate again as recession looms
Tue Feb 24, 2009 4:10pm IST

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 (Reuters) – Malaysia cut its key rate for a third straight meeting, the latest sign of concern that the country may slip into a recession, just days before fourth-quarter economic data that is expected to be sombre.

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) cut its key overnight policy rate by 50 basis points to 2.00 percent on Tuesday, nearly a month after slashing it by 75 basis points.

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