“This is a new record for sure. We had been expecting the price to reach this level for some time but Malaysian buyers have been very conservative,” said KK Yap, manager of Prestige Homes, a unit of international property consultancy Rahim & Co.
It is not clear if the buyers were locals or foreigners, but Regroup Associates said there had been a re-pricing of certain unsold units in prime high-rises overlooking KLCC in January.
“Developers have taken an aggressive but realistic approach to the fact that there are very few products available at the top end of the market,” its executive chairman Chris Boyd said.
OneKL did not have an official launch, preferring to sell direct from its own database of clients, with each unit said to be priced from about RM2.5 million. Its tagline is “94 apartments, 95 swimming pools”.
Touted as the most exclusive development in the KLCC vicinity, The Binjai, – developed by KLCC Holdings whose parent company is Petronas – will only be inviting prospective buyers after it has been completed.
“If you have deep pockets, why not wait in a rising market,” Yap points out. He said depending on the quality of the development, luxury units in the KLCC area are being sold at between RM800 and RM1,000.
Despite frenetic development around the area past few years with over 23 highrise projects being built, which would add an estimated 5,000 units to the market – and perhaps depress rental yields – the Binjai units are expected to surpass the RM1,600 psf mark.
Another project that is likely to attract such prices is the up-and-coming US$265 million Four Seasons Hotel and apartment complex to be built by Singaporean hotelier Ong Beng Seng and the Sultan of Selangor, Sharafuddin Idris Shah.
