Artist’s impression of Melia Residences. Source: UEM Sunrise
UEM Sunrise, the master developer of Gerbang Nusajaya, a 4,551-acre commercial and business precinct in Iskandar Puteri in Johor, has reported strong sales at Melia Residences, its newest strata landed housing development.
Within two days of its launch in April, buyers snapped up all 206 units in the project’s first and second phases, the majority of whom are Singapore permanent residents from Malaysia.
Melia Residences consists of five phases and 625 units. The project sits on a 73.64-acre site, with built-up areas ranging from 2,006 sq ft to 2,594 sq ft. The landscape architect behind Singapore’s Bishan – Ang Mo Kio Park is helping to develop the project’s lakeside living concept.
Prices start from RM872,888 (S$294,390), with the project’s average price ranging between RM350 psf and RM430 psf (S$118 psf – S$145 psf).
According to UEM Sunrise, there was a large turn-out of Singaporeans at the sales gallery during the project’s launch last month. There has also been interest from Indonesia, China, Taiwan and the Middle East.
To meet this demand, a limited number of units in phase three have been launched. The project’s third phase comprises 160 terraced houses.
With prices above RM1 million (S$337,260), the latest sales phase is expected to be boosted by foreign buyers. Currently, foreigners in Johor are barred from purchasing property below RM1 million.
Melia Residences is located close to Singapore’s Tuas Checkpoint, Nusajaya Tech Park, and motorsports hub FASTrack Iskandar, which is backed by Singaporean billionaire Peter Lim.
The project is also expected to benefit from the future High Speed Rail terminus in Gerbang Nusajaya.
Raymond Cheah, UEM Sunrise’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “We are extremely pleased with the strong level of interest from both owner-occupiers and investors.
“To date, we have achieved a total of approximately RM206 million in sales, exceeding our target of RM196 million for 2016.”
The project is targeted to be fully completed in 2020.
Meanwhile, despite the perceived slowdown in Iskandar’s residential market, Cheah believes there is strong demand for landed homes that are competitively priced and strategically located.
“Buyers are unique creatures. They are instinctive with purchasing homes, regardless of how the market is doing.
“When the price is good, the location is strategic and the property is well-designed and well-built, then buyers will still make the purchase,” he told PropertyGuru.
Khalil Adis, founder of Khalil Adis Consultancy, added that many of Melia Residences’ buyers could be UEM Sunrise’s existing clients who are undeterred by negative sentiment about the oversupply of residential units in Iskandar.
“They (may have already) bought property from UEM Sunrise, and seen their property prices appreciate. Hence, they remain confident despite the bearish market.”
He noted that property values in Iskandar Puteri have risen in recent years due to various infrastructure and economic drivers. “Iskandar Puteri is quite developed with Legoland Malaysia, Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios and the Iskandar Coastal Highway.”
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
