These are a select of 4 developments which are scheduled for hand over in the first quarter of this year. So it’ll be interesting to see how each of these developments compares against each other, especially in the subsale market. But first, here’s a quick overview of the four developments, namely Kiaramas Ayuria (Asiaquest), Mont’Kiara Banyan (Sunrise), Hijauan Kiara (BKP), Kiaraville (Binaderas).

Mont Kiara Banyan	Hijauan Kiara	Kiaraville	Kiaramas Ayuria
Sunrise Bhd	Bukit Kiara Properties Sdn Bhd	Binaderas Sdn Bhd	Kiaramas Development Sdn Bhd
Freehold	Freehold	Freehold	Freehold
147 units / 1 block / 2.8 acres	188 units / 7 blocks / 5.4acres	404 units / 5 blocks / 6.75 acres	480 units / 3 blocks / 9.2 acres
5 units per floor	2 unit per floor	2 – 6 units per floor	4 units per floor
53 units / acre	35 units / acre	60 units / acre	52 units / acre
1838sf – 2648sf	2090sf – 3700sf	1593sf - 3935sf	1605sf - 2013sf
RM738,000 -RM2,300,000	RM782,000 - RM2,637,000	RM696,000 - RM3,062,000	RM542,100 - RM2,058,000
RM400psf	RM375psf	RM437psf	RM338
Q1 2008	Q1 2008	Q1 2008	Q1 2008

Recently, both Hijauan Kiara and Kiaraville have got pretty good press coverage due to its many unique features, many of which seem to add value to their development. Hijauan have been making the news for it’s outstanding landscaping, together with first-of-its-kinds in Mont’ Kiara, like the Spa Island, usage of Dedon outdoor furniture and claiming to be the first development in Mont Kiara with private lobby to its units. I would attribute these coverage to their excellent marketing department who seem to promote their brand further in the media, and this is a value-added service for their buyers to potentially increase the value of the development. Thumbs up for them!

As for Kiaraville, they installed a sculpture by Eng Tay, which was reported worth more than one million. Not sure how this adds value, but any publicity is better than nothing. Banyan and Ayuria have received the least coverage in the media. I’m interested to see how Ayuria will perform upon completion, and I think Ayuria being the lowest entry cost, offers the best value product.

Stay tuned as the reviews to these four developments will be posted in a separate post.

I have, in the past, been awed by the works by the guys at Seksan Design. I stumbled across their website by chance and truly loved the work they had done, particularly this refurbishing project on a rather old property in PJ Sect 16. I loved how the old and modern elements blend together, creating a space that I would truly dream of. Seksan had a feature on the papers yesterday, this time with another refurbishment project on a Sec17 70s home. They are asking for RM4.2 for that prop. A Sec17 property with about 6000sf land is currently going for about RM1.8m. Now if only I could guess the cost of such project but if they do manage to achieve their asking price, they are in for huge profits!

While snooping through their website, I have also just realised that Seksan was responsible for the landscaping of Hijauan Kiara. Much have been said about their amazing landscaping of this project, which has in a way helped generate much interest in the project. Bukit Kiara Properties have also been milking every cent out of the money they spent on the landscaping of the project by promoting how amazing the landscaping is (the first granite pool in Mont’ Kiara, RM200,000 Royal Dutch turf, first to have Spa-island - whatever that means, German-imported Dedon garden furniture, etc) in every way possible. But the question remains, did they miss out in the most important element in any project - the internal finishing of the units? Time will tell, so far the project has been VP-ed and am eagerly awaiting for owners feedback on the finishing.

Write up on the Section 17 refurbishment after the jump.

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PROPERTY TALK (The Star)
By S.C. CHEAH

IF you are looking to buy or rent a condominium in Mont’ Kiara in Kuala Lumpur, which would you choose?

Well, the newly completed freehold Hijauan Kiara stands out from the rest and makes me dream of owning one after seeing how my kids enjoyed themselves at the condominium’s recreational deck one recent Sunday.

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