This article first appeared in City & Country, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on September 11, 2023 - September 17, 2023

The kopitiams and mamak outlets in the commercial hub of Damansara Perdana in Petaling Jaya are consistently busy during lunch and dinner time. On most days, finding a parking spot in the area requires a lot of patience.

It is not surprising, as Damansara Perdana offers an array of cuisines at more affordable prices than other commercial areas, making it a popular destination for office workers in the area and the surrounding neighbourhood.

“I work in Mutiara Damansara, but it’s hard to find a variety of cheap, hawker food here. So, I drive to Damansara Perdana for lunch,” says Lee, who has been working in the area for a few months.

Damansara Perdana has come a long way since its establishment almost three decades ago.

Originally an Orang Asli village, the site of Damansara Perdana was developed beginning in 1996, when MK Land Saujana Triangle Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of MK Land Holdings Bhd, began acquiring land in the area.

Today, Damansara Perdana is a thriving 750-acre township. According to the Department of Statistics of Malaysia Census 2020, the total population size of Damansara Perdana is 771,687 in 207,058 households.

Damansara Perdana is near established neighbourhoods such as Bandar Utama, Mutiara Damansara, Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI), Kota Damansara, Damansara Utama, Damansara Jaya and Bandar Sri Damansara.  It is served by a network of highways such as Lebuhraya Damansara-Puchong (LDP), SPRINT Penchala Link, the New Klang Valley Expressway and Damansara-Shah Alam Elevated Expressway (DASH).

In addition, the township is served by public buses whose routes include Bandar Utama, Kwasa Damansara and the greater Petaling Jaya area, and the nearest mass rapid transit (MRT) station is the Mutiara Damansara MRT station, which connects to The Curve shopping mall.

Bandar Utama, Mutiara Damansara and Damansara Perdana were once regarded as the golden triangle of Petaling Jaya and poised to be the city’s lifestyle hub. Yet, there are stark differences between Damansara Perdana and its counterparts.

According to Knight Frank Malaysia executive director research and consultancy Amy Wong, Damansara Perdana does not have the vibrant commercial activity and catalyst projects of the other two townships.

“Bandar Utama made its mark with the establishment of the regional mall, 1 Utama, which has attracted many local and international shoppers,” Amy says.

“Bandar Utama is also home to an interchange train station between MRT Kajang Line and [the upcoming] LRT3, which provides excellent connectivity for its main commercial hub with office towers, hotels and a shopping mall.”

Meanwhile, Mutiara Damansara has well-known retail developments as well as boutique office towers that can tap into the connectivity via the Mutiara Damansara MRT station.

In Damansara Perdana, there is a lack of well-known retail developments. Instead, residents are served by the commercial hub, Perdana Business Centre, which offers amenities such as kopitiams, mamak outlets and cafés, pharmacies, clinics and car workshops. Meanwhile, the retail podium at Metropolitan Square has F&B offerings, while Perdana Exclusive has Jaya Grocer as its anchor tenant to serve the local and immediate community, says Amy.

She adds that the location of Bandar Utama and Mutiara Damansara adjacent to established neighbourhoods has been a boon for property in the areas.

“Mutiara Damansara and Bandar Utama were able to tap the popularity of TTDI and the Damansara Jaya and Damansara Utama conurbations.”

Another aspect in which Damansara Perdana differs from its counterparts is the type of residential property. While Mutiara Damansara and Bandar Utama comprise mostly landed residential homes with a freehold tenure, Damansara Perdana has predominantly high-rise residences with leasehold tenure.

As a result, says Nawawi Tie Leung Property Consultants managing director Eddy Wong, the properties in Damansara Perdana are more affordable, although they are smaller in size.

“In the residential space, Damansara Perdana has generally positioned itself as an affordable alternative to Bandar Utama and Mutiara Damansara. You see more high-rise strata developments here (vis-à-vis landed housing in Bandar Utama or Mutiara Damansara), which cater to the younger demographics, compared to Bandar Utama and Mutiara Damansara,” Eddy says.

He adds that the product offerings that tend to be high-rises consisting of smaller apartment or condominium units have shaped the population of Damansara Perdana towards a younger crowd, comprising singles and small nuclear families.

According to Eddy, a less than 500 sq ft studio unit at Neo Damansara or Empire Damansara would cost slightly below RM300,000, a reasonable price for a starter home that a young couple can afford.

In October 2022, the long-awaited DASH highway opened to the public. It connects Puncak Perdana and Penchala and has a total of 13 interchanges, one of which is Damansara Perdana. DASH also improves Damansara Perdana’s connectivity to LDP, Penchala Link and the Guthrie Corridor Expressway (GCE).

Amy and Eddy highlight that the opening of the highway bodes well for Damansara Perdana.

“We should be able to see the impact on property prices over the longer term,” says Eddy.

“Generally, good accessibility and availability of infrastructure play an important role in driving property prices,” Amy concurs.

She explains that the expressway is expected to disperse traffic and increase the connectivity in Damansara Perdana, making it a value-added factor for homebuyers and investors looking for a property in the area.

“The improved connectivity and desirability will translate, however, into higher prices and rentals, which landlords and property owners will welcome but tenants will complain about,” Eddy says.

Amy notes: “Overall, it is believed that DASH will further attract developers or investors to unlock new potential, as roads and accessibility are a key factor that influences property prices and buyers’ decisions.”

In November 2021, City & Country had reported that the average rent for non-landed properties in Damansara Perdana was RM2.50 psf per month, with yields of 5% to 5.5%. Eddy says little has changed since then.

He notes that supply from upcoming developments will only intensify the competition in the market when they are completed. While these developments may not be within the boundaries of Damansara Perdana, they border the area and indirectly contribute to changes in the environment.

According to Amy, the volume and value of non-landed residential properties transacted in Damansara Perdana have shown a declining trend. She attributes it largely to the ageing of projects as well as a competitive market with new projects having sprung up around the locality.

Some of the older high-rise developments in Damansara Perdana are Ritze Perdana, Metropolitan Square, Perdana Emerald Condominium and Perdana Exclusive Condo.

“There has been increased interest in Damansara Perdana recently, perhaps owing partly to the opening of the DASH highway, but more likely because of the launch of Central Park Damansara, a RM9 billion project by Exsim Group,” says Eddy.

The 65-acre Central Park Damansara — previously known as Empire City Damansara 2 — was part of the sale of multiple assets to Exsim by Mammoth Empire Holding Sdn Bhd (MEH) in 2019. The sale also included a 4½ -acre undeveloped tract in the adjacent Empire City Damansara development (launched in 2011 by MEH).

Central Park Damansara will comprise residences, offices, a retail hub and a 10-acre green park. The township is expected to be completed in eight to 10 years.

“Exsim has launched several phases totalling almost 4,000 units [in Central Park Damansara] and the projects were reported to be almost sold out. We understand that the two new phases launched earlier this year [serviced residences D’Clover Residences and D’Terra Residences] are also quite well received,” Eddy says.

According to Exsim, D’Clover Residences has a take-up rate of 99.83% and D’Terra Residences is 99.35% sold.

Meanwhile, Amy says the ongoing 23-acre Empire City Damansara could be a landmark and cata­lyst project in the area, owing to its mixed components. It will house the 2.5 million sq ft Empire City Mall, retail shops, serviced office suites, SoHo and studio suites.

The completed projects in Empire City Damansara include residential components Halo Sunday, Colonial Loft and My Loft; as well as office components Signature Office Towers G and H, HCK Tower and MyEG tower.

“Empire City Damansara is expected to boost the overall appearance and outlook of Damansara Perdana and be the commercial and office hub in the area,” she says.

Exsim’s 4½-acre tract in Empire City Damansara was launched as two office suites towers — Mossaz Tower and Paxtonz Tower — with a combined gross development value of more than RM690 million.

The 38-storey Mossaz Tower will have 1,117 suites measuring 342 to 494 sq ft; and the 23-storey Paxtonz Tower will comprise 844 suites measuring 334 to 504 sq ft.  The Mossaz and Paxtonz Suites are expected to be completed by year’s end and 4Q2024 respectively.

Eddy says that when Empire City Mall opens in 1Q2024, it will enter a very competitive market because of the established shopping malls nearby.

“The advantage of Empire City Mall is that the residential components in [Empire City Damansara] and the surrounding neighbourhoods of Damansara Perdana and Central Park Damansara will provide a huge ready catchment,” he says.

Eddy believes the outlook for Damansara Perdana is positive, owing to its proximity to amenities such as malls and KPJ Damansara Specialist Hospital 2 and its connectivity to major highways. He notes, however, that the area would be more appealing if there were an MRT station in Damansara Perdana.

Amy foresees that the upcoming developments of Central Park Damansara and Empire City Damansara will change the demographics of Damansara Perdana.

“Traditionally, Damansara Perdana has targeted mid-range to high-end income earners,” she says, adding that working adults, families and investors have called Damansara Perdana home.

“These days, however, many of the units are tenanted by the younger crowd. [These developments] that offer various layouts and affordable prices, targeting first-time homebuyers, young families and millennials are expected to transform the demographic profile of Damansara Perdana.

“Overall, the completion of DASH and the future completion of master-planned developments such as Empire City Damansara and Central Park Damansara are expected to further increase the density in Damansara Perdana.”

Save by subscribing to us for your print and/or digital copy.

P/S: The Edge is also available on Apple's App Store and Android's Google Play.