PROPERTY SNAPSHOT Sentul comes of age

• Following from last week’s focus on Kuala Lumpur’s Jalan Ipoh, we take a look at non-landed residences in the neighbouring Sentul area this week.

• The Sentul area has undergone extensive redevelopment over the past decade with transformation of the area spearheaded by YTL Land & Development Bhd’s Sentul Masterplan. The ongoing urban renewal project is now home to a performing arts centre, parks and a number of upmarket condominiums and office buildings. The Sentul masterplan is divided between Sentul West and East, divided by railway lines. Sentul East is in this week’s study while Sentul West was included in last week’s focus on Jalan Ipoh.

• Elsewhere, vestiges of old Sentul remain with clusters of low-cost apartments around the Sentul and Sentul Timur LRT Station while matured housing estates can be found along Jalan Sentul.

• Based on theedgeproperty.com’s analysis of transactions, the average price per square root (psf ) spiked in 3Q2014 to RM387 psf, up 17.5% y-y on 3Q2013.

• This more than reversed the 2.3% y-y fall recorded in the preceding year.

• In contrast, transaction activity has been muted, with total transactions for the 12 months to 3Q2014 falling 41.8% y-y from 328 to 191 units.

• However, analysis of data reveals that this may be because sales of the successful launches of YTL’s The Capers and The Fennel in 2011 and 2013 respectively have yet to be reflected in the transaction data. These two projects, located within the Sentul East development, set new pricing benchmarks and are currently under construction.