City&Country: Cover Story-- The Edge/Rahim&Co Kota Kinabalu Housing Property Monitor (1Q2011)

By E Jacqui Chan of The Edge Malaysia

KK on the move



Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, fondly known as KK by Malaysians, was first called Api Api, and then Jesselton, before taking its present name in 1968. 

What started out as a small British settlement in the late 19th century has since become one of the country’s busiest cities and a popular tourist destination. 

Conferred city status in 2000, KK has grown tremendously and is now home to about 48% of the three million population of Sabah.


The city accounts for about 26% of Sabah’s total GDP, and was projected to contribute about RM9 billion to Malaysia’s GDP for 2010, ranking eighth among the country’s urban areas.

Mount Kinabalu

Over the past five years, the service sector has been Sabah’s key engine of growth, contributing about 50% to the state’s GDP, followed by the agriculture sector with 25%. In an effort to promote balanced development, the government has identified Strategic Development Areas (SDAs) within the Sabah Development Corridor (SDC) under the 10th Malaysia Plan to accelerate economic growth. The total value of investments targeted for the SDC by 2020 is about RM16 billion. 

Among the SDAs is the Kinabalu Gold Coast Enclave, which counts among its key economic activities a creative industry cluster, wellness and healthcare, floriculture and specialty natural products, marine sports, signature resorts and holiday homes.

“We foresee these economic activities to have a positive impact on the local economy, especially in terms of creating demand for commercial as well as residential properties,” says Saleha Yusoff, head of research, Rahim & Co, when presenting the inaugural The Edge/Rahim & Co Kota Kinabalu Housing Property Monitor. 

The overall property market in Kota Kinabalu saw an improvement for the 12 months from 1H2009 to 1H2010, registering an increase of 18.7% in transactions and 55% in transaction value.

Based on data from the National Property Information Centre, the growth in the number of transactions was led by the industrial subsector at 62.2%, followed by agricultural at 47.1%. The commercial, development land and residential subsectors rose by 42.4%, 27.8% and 9.1% respectively.

However, the residential subsector contributed 66.5% to total transaction volume, followed by commercial, industrial, development land and agricultural at 24%, 4.8%, 3% and 1.7% respectively. 

In terms of total value of transactions, the commercial subsector was the best performer, rising by 145.5%, followed by development land, agricultural, residential and industrial at 64.3%, 43.1%, 29.2% and 12.2% respectively.

Supply and demand

Over the last five years, the total supply of residential properties in Kota Kinabalu grew at a compound average growth rate (CAGR) of 5.16%, compared with a CAGR of 6.18% for the state.

The supply in Kota Kinabalu represented about 35% of total supply in Sabah, says Saleha. 
The highest growth in residential properties over the last five years was seen in low-cost flats (8.13%), condominiums/apartments (7.97%) and 2 to 3-storey terraced houses (5.47%). 

Two to 3-storey terraced houses made up 26.5% of total housing supply in 2010, followed by condominiums/apartments at 22.7%.  

Demand for residential properties in Kota Kinabalu grew at a CAGR of 8.5% over the last five years, compared with the state’s CAGR of 11%. 

In 1H2010, residential transactions in Kota Kinabalu amounted to 36.3% of total residential transactions in Sabah, followed by three other major districts — Tawau (19.1%), Penampang (15.5%) and Sandakan, Labuk, Sugut, Tungud, and Kinabatangan (13.3%). 

In terms of prices, the largest number of transactions recorded were for properties priced between RM250,000 and RM500,000, which comprised about 30.7% of total transactions recorded in 1H2010. 

The most popular housing type in 1H2010 were condominiums/apartments followed by 2 to 3-storey terraced houses, making up about 30.8% and 26.9% respectively of total transactions in 1H2010.

About 42% of the transactions for 2 to 3-storey terraced houses were priced at between RM200,000 and RM500,000.

Kota Kinabalu also recorded the highest number of transactions for condominiums/apartments in Sabah — 293 units or 76.5% of the state’s total. About 30.4% of the total condominium/apartment transactions were priced at between RM250,000 and RM500,000.

Take-up rates for newly launched projects have been very encouraging, ranging from 40% to 60%. Buyers were mainly locals as well as those from Sarawak, Brunei, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

Saleha notes that a few ongoing developments are attracting interest from locals as well as foreigners. These include The Manikar, Kingfisher Palm House, Taman Bukit Sepanggar, Alamesra and The Peak Vista.

“According to the developer, some of the buyers of The Peak Vista are Singaporeans and most are buying for investment,” says Saleha, adding that the leaseback option makes the development more attractive. 

The Peak Vista, priced at RM518 psf with built-ups of 1,293 to 2,448 sq ft, is the tallest condominium in KK, offering views of Tanjung Lipat and the South China Sea. 

Alamesra,  a 265-acre eco-cyber township located less than 10 minutes’ drive from the city centre, has launched boutique bungalows with built-ups between 3,950 and 5,000 sq ft. Townhouses launched in the development have all been sold. The boutique bungalows are priced at an average of RM460 psf, with a minimum selling price of RM1.8 million.

Saleha says the bungalows feature  innovative, contemporary and tropical concepts not commonly offered in Sabah. 

Capital values and rental rates

In the secondary market, 2-storey bungalows in Taman Bukit Sepanggar are selling at 
between RM380 psf and RM550 psf. Prices and rental values of residential units in the secondary market indicate a mostly upward trend, says Saleha. 

Sampling for the housing monitor shows that the value of 2-storey terraced houses rose 8.33% in 1Q2011, compared with a year ago. Two-storey terraced houses in Taman Indah Permai, situated within the maturing Sepangar area,  were going for RM260,000 in 1Q2011 compared with RM240,000 in 1Q2010. 

In more established areas such as Luyang Perdana and Millenium Heights, capital values of 2-storey terraced houses rose between 7.41% and 7.89% while those at Golden Hill Garden, touted to feature the most expensive 2-storey terraced houses in KK, rose 6% from RM500,000 in 1Q2010 to RM530,000 in 1Q2011. Saleha observes that the capital values for properties in Golden Hill Garden can go higher than RM530,000 for units with improvements.

Capital values for most of the standard 1-storey terraced houses with land area of less than 2,000 sq ft have yet to reach RM300,000 per unit. Taman Nelly Phase 9 registered the most notable growth with 13% appreciation in 1Q2011 compared with 1Q2010.

Condominiums

Meanwhile, upmarket condominiums in trendy areas such as Signal Hill, Likas and Damai have been showing attractive capital appreciation. 

Marina Court, Jesselton Condominium and The Peak Condominium registered the highest capital values of between RM400 psf and RM450 psf during the period in review.

The most notable growth was seen in the newly completed Alam Damai in the Damai area. Condos there, priced below RM300 psf when first launched in 2006, have now climbed to as high as RM380 psf in the secondary market.

Values in Marina Court — once touted as the KLCC of Kota Kinabalu — only rose 2% in 1Q2011 from 1Q2010. Saleha attributes this to the maturing market for other high-rise developments. 

Nevertheless, Marina Court  still commands the highest value on a psf basis in KK.  

Capitalising on its strategic location, The Peak Condominium in Signal Hill and Jesselton Condominium in Damai recorded transactions at prices of RM440 psf and RM400 psf respectively, representing a growth of 10% and 5%. The growth is partly due to the strong demand from foreigners, says Saleha. 

As for the rental market, residential units in the secondary market indicate a rising trend with upmarket condominiums such as Signal Hill, Likas and Damai registering attractive rates. Over the past four years, rents for condominiums have increased by 5% to 10% per annum. 

Nevertheless, the housing rental market in general is slow with low yields. “Unlike the property market in Kuala Lumpur where there is a good mix of investors and owner-occupiers, the KK market consists mainly of the latter. The rental market here is not as active, making it difficult to get good rates,” says Saleha. 

Market outlook

Saleha expects the residential sector to dominate the property market, supported by easy access to financing and favourable lending rates. 

Areas in Signal Hill, Luyang, Likas and along the Sulaman Coastal Highway leading to the north of  the city centre are the current hotspots for residential properties. The growing pattern of strata-titled properties is anticipated to continue in the next three to four years, mainly focused on areas such as Signal Hill, Likas, Damau and Kepayan. 

Developer Bina Puri Holdings Bhd is reported to be focusing on two high-rise residential developments — Jesselton View and OneJesselton @ Kepayan. Comprising 80 apartments, the estimated gross development value of Jesselton View is RM66 million. 

Despite concerns that the market is getting too pricey for the locals, take-up rates for high-rise developments with good accessibility and contemporary themes and lifestyle are expected to remain strong, with interest from both locals and foreigners.






This article appeared in City & Country, the property pullout of The Edge Malaysia, Issue 853, Apr 11-17, 2011