PROPCAFE Review : Anggun Residences @ KL City Centre by UDA Holdings

Buying property in this current weak economy and generally over supplied environment is getting more challenging and it certainly needs a clear understanding of the location, type of property, developer profile, and unique selling points before you can think about the exit strategy, which come much later. Having said that, those sweet old times to flip the property like “roti canai” are over, at least for the next 3-5 years. If you are “roti canai” lovers, make sure you have your special ingredients in the flour to attract your buyers, or else make sure you save your bullets or buy the property that is “flexible enough” to help you get through the trough of this property cycle. 

PROPCAFE first came across Anggun Residences was in the middle of 2015 after we witnessed the opening of Quill City Mall at Jalan Sultan Ismail. However, few concerns were raised during that time. Firstly, developer’s execution on its Gaya Bangsar was “extremely slow” previously. Secondly, PROPCAFE was not too sure about the finishing product of The ROW KL, 1940s heritage shops besides Sheraton Hotel, which was under massive refurbishment during that time. Thirdly, Jalan Doraisamy and the streets nearby were still very “un-developed” and run down.

After one year, PROPCAFE revisited the place and realised that things can changed and turn around so fast. It made us feel that it never too late to re-explore this project again as many new developments, be it commercialsor residential, are changing the “face” at this part of Jalan Sultan Ismail just over a year and half. Let’s dig deeper on each of important points that all investors or ownstayers need to know.

Who is the Developer?

The developer of Anggun Residences is IJSI from UDA Holdings. In case, you do not know, UDA was established by Malaysia government in 1970s for urban development purpose and it is now wholly owned by Ministry of Finance after its delisted from KLSE. Although the risk of abandon is low, our previous experience on Gaya  Bangsar was not good. It was delayed and progress was in snail pace before it lastly vacant possessed. Then, what’s make it different this time? Timing and progress of the project! If you travel at Jalan Sultan Ismail, you would not miss Anggun Residence which facing the Quill City Mall. The progress has reached the top now at 38^th floor by its contractor Crest Builders and expecting to deliver on time or early than expected date in 2018. Needless to say, to enter now, the risk of delaying or abandon should be very low based on the progress that ahead of schedule and the best thing is the “nett” price does not change since it launched in 2015! Do your maths on the interest. Lower risk and saving on interests!

Location x 3

Anggun residences is located at off-Jalan Sultan Ismail and 10-15mins from everywhere in the heart of KL. It is opposite Quill City Mall and currently you need to walk through the famous Jalan Doraisamy to reach the project. The exact address is yet to be known as this project is sandwiched in between Jalan Doraisamy and new access road called Jalan Medan Tuanku Utama.

This residential building is right after the rejuvenated Asian Heritage Row, called The Row KL. The Row KL has recently revamped the scene of this street which previously only famous for clubbing for locals and expatriates. Now, the 1940s shops have transformed and visitors can now enjoy the new life of heritage walk with award winning cafe, famous pub and restaurants, shops, co working offices and cool event space! (See below).

My personal favourite restaurant is Limapulo which is a fantastic Baba Nyoyak restaurant. What more to say about the 2 OX and Bacchus Astrow restaurant? If you are coffee lover, you would not miss the Butter + Beans! Come on, my best coffee house! Timbre, which comes with live music, will not be new to Singaporean, it is a fun gathering spot!

The north block of the shops which infront of Anggun (see below) are still under renovation. In times to come, it will add in more elements like residential, outdoor communal spaces and etc on this stretch of charming heritage row.

http://therowkl.com/

http://www.eatdrink.my/kl/2016/01/07/eight-restaurants-to-visit-at-the-row-kl/

http://www.timeout.com/kuala-lumpur/food-and-drink/go-now-new-openings-at-the-row

The clubs (see below) and pubs are still one of the crowds pulling factors at Jalan Doraisamy for expatriate, locals and tourists.

There are plenty of boutique heritage hotels nearby. Most noticeable one will be the  YTL’s Stripes which is located at the another street next to Anggun Residences. Together with this classy boutique hotel would be the Meridien M101 building (Soho). Both project are likely to complete in 2017/2018 and make this place more vibrant.

By walking around this area, you can also notice few nice heritage designed hotels (see below) to serve lower budget tourists.

Food again. If you are in Kuala Lumpur, you just simply cannot miss this all time favourite restaurant – Yut Kee, which next to YTL Stripes hotel/ Meridien M101. Ask any Kuala Lumpur folks, they will “force” you to try their pork chop, ginger pork rice, roti babi, and etc! This article can become a food blog if i keep continue this.

From the site, you can head to north and easily reach Jalan Sultan Ismail which is 10-15mins away from KLCC. Then from the south, you are allow to go to a totally different scene of KL city (i.e. Dang Wangi) and the cultural exploration of Masjid Jamek. This part of Dang Wangi may not be the liking for everyone but others see this as the preserved culture that good to have in Kuala Lumpur. Anggun residents have the best of both worlds – Skyscrapers and Heritage!

Accessibility and Public Transportation

The main access for Anggun Residences will be from Jalan Sultan Ismail (turn left after Sheraton hotel entrance). Currently, you need to drive through the Jalan Doraisamy “Lorong” to reach the project. However, there will be a new access to Anggun Residences and UDA Office Towers which the work already started and in progress (see below). This access will by-pass the front of current Anggun sales gallery and go through the new road – Jalan Medan Tuanku Utama which is behind the Row KL (see photo under future development section below). Alternatively, you can detour from Dang Wangi.

In term of public transportation, it is about 5-10 minutes walk to Medan Tuanku Monorail station (200m away) or Dang Wangi LRT station (500m away), depend on your ultimate destination. With the completion of  government’s Klang Valley Integrated Public Transport masterplan, it will be seamless for Anggun residents to reach all key locations in Klang Valley and airports in future. You may refer below (red box) the map for the connectivity of Monorail, LRT and MRT below.

Future Development at the Site

There are two blocks of UDA office towers to be built at the land behind the Row KL (see below). The land clearing is on-going. The project plan already submitted for approval and it is expected to start in 2017/18. The towers clearly need better access to cater the traffic and this new access road, Jalan Medan Tuanku Utama, scheduled to complete before the vacant possession of Anggun Residence, will be the main access for the Anggun residents and UDA Towers’ workers. (see photos above).

Anggun Residences – Facts and Density

Anggun Residences is a freehold property with 38 storeys and 384 units within 0.9 acres land in the heart KL City Centre. High density? It is good to note that density measurement evolves nowadays as many projects are hosting tiny or small units. Therefore, going forward, it is wiser to look at it based on number of bedrooms in a building when come to density measure. For example, 384 units of studio per block vs. 384 units of 3 bedders 1100sf, the answer is clear. It is pretty scary to see developments nowadays that comes with thousands unit of 3 bedrooms type, though unit size is small. The human traffic definitely will add more weight on the new dimension to determine the density of property. Given Anggun Residences’ majority are studio/1 bedroom units, this building is considered low density. It has 122 units of studio (32%), 96 units of 1 bedroom (25%), 92 units of 2 bedrooms (24%), 50 units of 2+1 bedrooms (13%), and 24 units of 3+1 bedrooms (6%) type.

Each unit come with at least one carpark lot depends on the size of unit.

The façade of Anggun Residences is not spectacular and nothing to shout about. However, this safe and evergreen design should survive at least for next decade.

Pure Residential Property – Blessed or Cursed?

Nowadays it is blessed to be non-integrated or non-mixed development after seeing the struggle of many community malls in Klang Valley. In many occasions, the retail lots at the ground or first level make the building looks “cheap” and less privacy if not managed properly. To accommodate the commercial retailers and visitors, lobby and private access normally locate at the back or side of the building to compromise for commercial activities. While commercial component is important for project location that lack of amenities, it seems like a better choice without this element in the hustling and bustling  city centre. Anggun residences has all necessary needs within walking distance and therefore, without this element, developer has all luxury to provide tighter security, nice lobby and privacy to the residents and visitors.

Facilities – Less is More?

Anggun Residences has three facility floors and first 7 floors are designed for car park lots:

8th floor – Infinity pool, children pool, jacuzzi, game room, squash court, dining room and shop

9th floor – Library/Reading room, gymnasium, A/V room, meeting room, surau, management office.

Rooftop Garden – Children playground, bbq area, seating area, and meditation area.

It is a good idea to the split the facilities in different floors so that crowds will be spread over three floors. Less is MORE! It doesn’t mean lack facilities! In every facility floor you would see more private space (and less facilities)!

Layout – Optimal is the word!

Type A – Studio (show unit available in sales gallery).

Unlike many studios come with vertical rectangle or longish design that make the unit smaller, narrower, less windows and lack of natural light, Anggun residences’ studio/1 bedroom is designed toward “squarish” layout (around 23ft x 29ft) with full glass windows and panel throughout the unit (see red highlight in layout below). Kitchen space is nicely allocated but if you want to be picky, then you may demand at least a window near to the kitchen to have better ventilation. Unfortunately, this is rarely given for studio. Due to size issue, it is  getting more common for developer to have the toilet that only accessible from bedroom i.e. guests need to go through the room for them to use the toilet. However, it is not the case for Anggun’s studio unit. Also another point to add is, this studio can easily convert to one bedroom unit by just adding the partition in between the bed and living area with no compromise of space and natural lights  (which will become the same layout like Type B one bedroom unit. See red line in the layout below). Bravo!

Type B – 1 Bedroom type is no much different from Type A studio except it has a extra utility area.

Type C – 2 Bedroom type comes with optimal layout with extra bonus of nice bathtub given.

Type D – 2+1 Bedrooms type (show unit available in sales gallery)

This nice horizontal rectangle unit has an extra study room compares to Type C  with a proper powder room  allocated near to living area. However, based on the show unit, somehow the kitchen area seems a little bit too small for this size.

TYPE E – The 3+1 bedroom unit is also come with horizontal design. These limited and fast selling units have all you needs for family living. Utility room, study room, good size kitchen, powder room are all there. Again, it has large window and glass panel for all rooms to get the natural sunlight. The only downside is no en-suite bathroom for room 2 and 3.

Furnishing – More and Quality

Developer provides great furnishing that come with nice kitchen cabinet, built-in shoe rack, full height glass panel cabinet at the side near to living area/kitchen, glass panel wardrobe (studio), quality Damixa bathroom sanitaryware, Samsung digital lock and smart control panel. Free white goods includes Samsung washer cum dryer, Teka hood and hob, Teka oven, microwave, and Samsung fridge. On top of this, developer is also giving solid timber floor for bedroom &  living area and marble flooring for kitchen area.

Based on the show units in sales gallery, developer put in a better quality material for bigger size units to push for the sales. Overall, based on market standard, it is safe to say that UDA  is very generously in term of material and furnishing for Anggun buyers compares to other developments, especially all developers are under the financial stress and facing cost cutting environment. In many cases, many developers sell cheap in term of RM psf but the furnishing is getting lesser and unacceptable. So, do not just take the face value and please estimate the cost of furnishing and freebies when you evaluate the pricing of a project. See show unit – Type A Studio below.

Pricing – Very High Premium on High Floor!

As mentioned earlier, this project launched in 2015 and on paper or price in sales chart the price has gone up a lot but the nett price is still around the same. Other than saving the interest, the best part is the package makes buyers easier to purchase with nett price from RM1150psf up (Type A -studio and Type B 1 bedroom), . The price increases RM5 – 8k every floor and there is a big jump on price from 18 floor above. For those who like to have KLCC view, 90-100k+ premium is attached compares to the same Type B & C that facing Maju Junction. Type C (2 bedroom), Type D (2+1 bedrooms) and Type E (3+1 bedrooms) starts from RM1165psf and RM1030psf, RM1230psf respectively. (Note: Nett Price could have changed as latest news told us that the developer may up the price soon due to advanced progress of the project).

Floor plan below shows that Type A – Studio units only available from 10th to 25th floors and Type D – 2+1 Bedroom units from 26th floor onwards. The limited Type D units only available from 33rd to 38th floor.

 

Orientation – What do you expect here at the border of KLCC?

There are few orientations for this project. Facing north, you are having the view of Quill City Mall, The Row KL and Sheraton hotel. Another one is facing Dang Wangi with a peep to KL tower but you need to pay at least rm12k premium for it. There limited units at both sides of the building to face Maju Junction mall and KLCC view.

Few tips to be share here. Firstly, those units that facing The Row may need to bear the noise from the future construction of UDA towers which will start after the completion of Anggun Residences. Certain units’ view will be blocked by these towers (do you homework properly). South facing units, you may peep KL tower but fronting one of the old low rise plaza. The nice Capsquare and other corporate buildings like AIA make this scene slightly better and also it is safer as it  should not have any more surprises to block the view in near future expect the old mamak shops and petrol station infront. Those units that face KLCC towers may pray for the YTL hotel and M101 Dang Wangi not blocking (or partial) their view. So, better check thoroughly with the sales personnel on this. Lastly, the view of Maju Junction may not be there as there are few plot of lands along the way which likely to be developed in future.

KLCC View

Sales Chart (as of December 2016)

“Who” else are nearby?

Within the proximity, there are three competitors. First, Quill Residences that attached to the mall has just pre launched and the price is much higher at 1400psf. The longish layout of studio/1 bedroom is not idea as the living area is after the bedroom. The furnishing shown in the show unit also does not meet the standard for this price. However, it has advantage of being linked to the mall and shorter distance to monorail. Second competitor is The Infinitum which is behind Quill City Mall. The first phase Colony, mostly dual key units, does not come with good layout as it tries to squeeze in the dual key concept and compromise the “right” space for a proper apartment living. The SOHO concept has also faced more difficulty to rent for residential purpose due to the mixture of offices in city centre and some projects have observed lower capital appreciation in KLCC area. The infinitum also has the accessibility issue and the walking to Monorail station (walking condition at main road) and mall operation hour restriction will make it difficult to residents. Also, its location always perceptually categorised as Kampung Baru site which not many like to associate with it. In addition, it has higher density and the pricing (nett) is slightly higher than Anggun Residences, which is around nett RM1200psf up. The closest competitor would be Meridien M101, its pricing is slightly above (RM1200psf up) Anggun Residences but its absolutely price is much lower. Its negative points would be its SOHO status, slight inferior location (longer walking distance to mall and monorail station), small land (size of few shoplots) with higher density as majority units are from 400sf up.  By gathering all the information above, still Anggun Residences should have an edge over the competitors in this part of KL city centre.

In short, Anggun Residences should be one of the top choices for expatriate and tourists. Both of these segments need the following to be ticked.

1. Public transport – Few mins walk to monorail and LRT. This will link you to MRT in future. TICKED.
2. Amenity – Few minutes away from Quill City Mall, so you get all you needs there! You want more? KLCC is just 10-15mins away by train. TICKED.
3. Foods and Beverages – Not just nice restaurants, you get the best foods nearby mentioned early! BIG TICKED.
4. Cultural – Tourists love the place that come with or near to cultural sites. This site will not disappoint you.
5. Night life – The night will be always be too young here! Plenty of night activities at Jalan Doraisamy and KL city which are just a stone’s throw away!
6. Big Name Hotel – Why? The big hotelier has done massive research for its location. So, why you worry if it is right beside it. Lol. It save your time and it would not go too wrong, right? TICKED.

The above makes FLEXIBILITY possible. Even the expatriate tenant market continues to shrink, Anggun Residences should be still flexible enough to turn it as airbnb/ homestay mode. You don’t need to be an expert on homestay business, you just need to put yourself into the shoe of tourists. All the TICKS above  have answered you that this site can be the Heaven of Airbnb! Property Re-visit – The End.

Buy with Pleasure, not Pressure! Happy hunting!