This article first appeared in City & Country, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on June 21, 2021 - June 27, 2021
Contractor-turned-developer EH Group’s latest development — small office/home office (SoHo) Alinea Suites — in Shah Alam has seen 160 out of 384 units sold since its February launch.
According to director Pua Kai Han, the buyers of these 160 units have signed the sale and purchase agreements. They are valued at RM50 million in total.
With a total gross development value of RM165 million, the leasehold development has 384 standard SoHo units, 96 SoHo bare units under the Mampu Milik Selangor scheme, and four shops on a 1.256-acre parcel adjacent to the Maybank Shah Alam main branch. With a built-up of 441 sq ft, the standard SoHo units will be fully furnished and are priced from RM327,000 to RM377,000.
“The buyers are mostly government servants as well as professionals such as lecturers, doctors, bankers and businessmen. Most of them are from areas within a 15km radius, such as Shah Alam, Klang and Subang. There are also buyers from Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya and Putrajaya who are mostly investors,” he says.
“They are aged 20 to 72, with the majority being Gen X aged 41 to 56 and Gen Y aged 25 to 40, who want to reside or invest in Shah Alam Section 14. There are 40% of Gen X and 30% of Gen Y buyers.”
The facilities there will include a children’s playground, an infinity pool, a treehouse, gymnasium, communal lounge, an open-air multipurpose hall and electric vehicle chargers. The development will also have a four-tier security system, with CCTV surveillance and security guard patrol checkpoints.
Located in the Shah Alam city centre, the development is near medical centres (Avisena Women’s & Children’s Specialist Hospital, Avisena Specialist Hospital and KPJ Selangor Specialist Hospital), the Shah Alam Stadium, Taman Tasik Shah Alam and Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Golf & Country Club. The development is also surrounded by educational institutions such as Open University Malaysia, Management and Science University and Dwi Emas International School.
Public transport facilities close to the development include the Shah Alam Bus Terminal, Shah Alam KTM Komuter station and the upcoming Dato Menteri LRT3 station. It is also accessible via the Federal Highway, New Klang Valley Expressway, Shah Alam Expressway and Kemuning-Shah Alam Highway.
The developer hopes to obtain the Certificate of Completion and Compliance (CCC) for Alinea Suites in 1Q2024. The fully furnished project allows purchasers to move in hassle-free after the CCC is obtained.
Pua reckons that the relatively lower price of the unit compared with a unit of a similar size in the secondary and subsale market as well as its location in the Shah Alam city centre are among the factors contributing to the positive response.
He adds that the Home Ownership Campaign 2020 contributed to sales in the first half of the year, and he believes the extension of the campaign until Dec 31, 2021, and the country’s vaccination efforts will sustain the company’s sales for the rest of the year.
“Most of our customers are second-home buyers who purchased units for the purpose of having a rest house for doctors and lecturers or investment for long-term rental and Airbnb,” he explains.
“The rental rate for a SoHo unit in Shah Alam ranges from RM1,000 to RM1,300; the hotel rate in Shah Alam Section 14 is about RM150 a night. So, it makes sense for our customers to purchase a unit here to be used as a rest house or Airbnb business.”
The developer is keeping the four shops, with built-ups of 1,786 to 2,365 sq ft, on the lower level of the building for recurring income. The businesses there will be accessible to the public.
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