Family friendly: Guocoland Malaysia Bhd group MD Datuk Edmund Kong (fifth from left) celebrating with his team after winning The Family-Friendly Excellence Award (from RM350,000) with the Emerald Hills project.
WHETHER it is within the perimeters of the Klang Valley or in other states, in the cities or in the countryside, Malaysian developers have evolved over the years.
Over the years, the StarProperty.my Awards have showcased some of Malaysia’s most noteworthy property developers and will continue to do so.
At the latest and third StarProperty.my Awards 2018 gala event held in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, property developers once again came together to celebrate some of Malaysia’s most comfortable and well-thought out designs and neighbourhood.
“These developers have not only displayed their capabilities through their state-of-the-art developments, but have launched business models that fuse their corporate values with social responsibilities by developing sustainable communities for the future,” said Star Media Group managing director and CEO Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai.
There were a total of 23 categories including the All-Star Award.
In addition to last year’s 17 categories, this year’s StarProperty.my Awards 2018 presented four new categories, and three new sub-categories. The expansion was needed because over the years, Malaysian property developers have turned into reality some of the most innovative concepts of property developments in the region.
While the bread-and-butter projects like double-storey units continue to garner demand, there has been a proliferation of properties that inspires and aspires due in part to developers’ focus on landscaping and greening. Many of them continue to be essentially two-, sometimes three-storey structures. Eco World Development Bhd’s Eco series in different parts of the country and Gamuda Land’s Gamuda Gardens are just two examples.
As for lifestyle high-rise projects, there is a long list to choose from and this can be seen in the coffee table book 2018/2019 Malaysia’s Most Exceptional Developments, a tangible and lasting impression of Malaysian properties.
In current times, location and price continue to be dominating factors. Some developers and real estate personnel say now is the time to buy because there are some good deals out there.
Developers continue to give freebies, be it in monetary value or its equivalent for residential segment.
In the industrial and vacant land segment, Iskandar Malaysia in Johor continue to see interest, according to two personnel from property consultancy Savills and the Sunway group due to the ringgit’s favourable exchange between Singapore and the US currency.
This has spurred interest the last three months, both concurred at the awards gala event.
“Property purchase is such that buyers generally look around, do a bit of research, check out some locations and projects before committing themselves.
“Some have been looking around the last two to three years and are expected to decide this year, while some have committed,” said one of them.
The rationale is “buy on weakness”, said a real estate professional who was on the panel of judges for the StarProperty.my Awards 2018.
Herd mentality can sometimes be hazardous.
“Your ideal location and home, and the practical price that fits your budget is your prize when you embark on this journey to buy that house, so this decision-making process is important. Only you can turn a house into a home. And you are the one saddled with this loan.
“So consider carefully the many designs available, the choice of environment you want for your family, the types of amenities you want, the degree of access available to you and who you want to buy from and what you can afford,” he said.
> For the full list of award winners, read the upcoming StarProperty.my Awards 2018 supplement on March 29 or visit bit.ly/spawards2018.
