New projects include 11 high-end condominiums, 7 office towers and 6 shopping centres

by FARA AISYAH / pic by HUSSEIN SHAHARUDDIN

KLANG Valley property market is poised to gather more developments in 2020 despite the oversupply situation witnessed in 2019.

New projects include 11 high-end condominiums, seven office towers and six shopping centres.

The Real Estate Highlights for the second half of 2019 (2H19) by Knight Frank Malaysia noted that the 11 high-end condominium projects in Kuala Lumpur (KL), will add 6,151 units to the cumulative stock in the 1H20.

“Those are Tower 2 @ Star Residences (482 units), 8 Kia Peng (442), Sky Suites (986), The Manor (212), Novo Ampang (421), 18 Madge (50), The Estate (328), Agile Mont Kiara (813), Arte Mont Kiara (1,707), TWY Mont Kiara (484) and One Kiara (226),” the report read.

The cumulative supply of high-end condominiums in the Klang Valley amounted to 59,358 units for the first six months of 2019, following the completion of five projects that delivered another 2,572 units.

The five projects were Tower 1 @ Star Residences (557 units), Aria KL City Centre (KLCC) (598) and Stonor 3 (400), Novum Bangsar (729) and Sunway Mont Residences (288).

Four notable projects were also introduced in 2H19, including Alix Residences, Agile Embassy Garden Conlay and Core Residence @ Tun Razak Exchange (TRX).

Knight Frank Malaysia said the overall outlook for the KL highend residential market remains challenging amid the supply and demand imbalance.

However, aggressive marketing push for high-end residential products abroad, coupled with various available initiatives and incentives, would stimulate sales in the property market in 2020.

Office Market

Knight Frank Malaysia said two office buildings in the KL city namely TS Law Tower and Legasi Kampung Bharu with a combined net lettable area (NLA) of around 510,000 sq ft (47,380 sq m) are scheduled for completion in 2H20.

Meanwhile, in Selangor, five buildings to be completed by the second quarter are Block G @ Empire City, Block J @ Empire City (HCK Tower), Q Tower @ twentyfive.7, Tower 5 of PJ Sentral Garden City and i-Bhd Corporate Tower. The NLA was not stated.

“The growing availability of good grade space at competitive rentals in city fringe and decentralised office locations heightens competition in the tenant-led office market.

“Well-connected office locations supported by improved road and rail infrastructure, as well as a wide array of amenities, continue to garner strong demand,” Knight Frank Malaysia said.

The company added that it sees a growing trend of old office buildings being repurposed for new, or alternative usage depending on the location and neighbourhood.

The completion of the 1 Powerhouse Building and Tropicana Gardens Office Tower in 2H19 has brought the cumulative supply purpose-built office space in Klang Valley to about 108.07 million sq ft.

Retail Market

Six shopping centres, or supporting retail components within integrated developments, with a collective retail space of about 2.23 million sq ft are scheduled for completion or opening in 1H20, Knight Frank Malaysia said.

The retail spaces include Tropicana Gardens Mall, Pacific Star retail podium, retail components at The Exchange 106 @ TRX and Lot 91 @ KLCC, KL East Mall and Queensville Lifestyle Shopping Mall.

The firm said amid heightened competition and increased challenges in the retail market, selected existing shopping centres have embarked on asset enhancement initiatives to cater to the current trend.

“To survive in this digital age, shopping centres will need to re-invent themselves as retail spending continues to shift online.

“In the short-to-medium term, we expect to see more operators and retail players embracing technological changes, as well as interactive and experiential engagements to drive footfalls and boost sales as the country’s e-commerce market, which reportedly tripled in size since 2015, continues its strong growth momentum,” Knight Frank Malaysia noted.

The cumulative supply of retail space in the Klang Valley remained at 60.48 million sq ft as of 2H19, as new malls were delaying their opening to 2020.