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The New Lifestyle is to Go Vertical
Astaka @ Bukit Senyam, Johor Bahru
Jesselton Twin Towers, Kota Kinabalu
High Rise Living
Housing is a basic need and the
increase in population and income
has lead to the rise of housing
demand. The 1991 Population
Census Report showed that
Malaysian population has increased
with an average yearly rate of 2.7%
per year, from 13.74 million people
in 1980 to 19.35 million in 1991,
followed by 20.69 million in 1995
and increase to 23.27 in year 2000.
The rapid rate of urbanization,
increase in demand for housing and
the scarcity of land for development
of landed residential properties
in major urban areas such as
Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Selangor,
Johor Bahru and Kota Kinabalu, has
resulted in the prompt development
of high rise residential schemes in
these high density areas. Viewed
from the end of 2000, the property
outlook suggests that with land
prices experiencing an upward
trend, strata properties, particularly
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Jesselton Twin Towers, Kota Kinabalu
affordable schemes, continue to
receive encouraging demand in
the local housing market. High rise
living in urban centers is a logical
response to soaring land prices. This
has been successfully implemented
in Singapore and Hong Kong where
the traditional lifestyle is high
density, high rise living. According
to statistics obtained from the
National Property Information
Centre (NAPIC), it is estimated that
there were at least 780,176 units of
strata properties inclusive of flats,
condominiums and apartments
already completed nationwide by
the end of 2002 and the number is
growing yearly.
The concept of high rise or strata
living in this country is not new. It
was introduced in the seventies.
The rate of construction of
condominiums in Malaysia keeps
increasing while the number
of dilapidated and abandoned
condominiums also increases.
Some are converted for other
incompatible uses, which may
hinder the prospect of the city’s
socio-economic development.
According to Cathrine Anson,
Assistant Sales and Marketing
Manager of Bina Puri Properties,
“Since the demand of
condominiums and apartments
has increased over the years,
people have higher expectation
especially when it comes to safety
and quality issues, plus the facilities
that are provided by the developer.
In order to remain competitive in
this industry, a developer has to
be creative and take initiatives to
improvise and make their products
suit the market demand.”
The Up Side
Condominiums and high rise
apartments are without doubt
cheaper than landed houses. They
are also very popular with foreigners
and well to do young adults wanting
to make it on their own. Apartments
and condominiums tend to have a
much lower resale value than landed
houses so it is better for buyers
wanting to leverage on rental. Not
many people would want to rent an
entire landed house and those that
do would be affluent enough to rent
one in an upscale neighbourhood.
A condominium attracts a larger
group of interested parties, is
easier to maintain and is certainly
easier to market. As long as the
unit is presentable, fairly priced and
conveniently situated to amenities,
buyers most often will be able to
find a tenant, provided that is it
marketed well. Condominiums are
also great as long term investments
and buyers can fetch a tidy sum in
the long run, given how dense cities
are becoming these days.
High rise living is also becoming
more attractive due to its exclusivity.
Buyers these days are more