Over the past 40 years, Kajang has played host to a growing population of people migrating to Kuala Lumpur while looking for an affordable place to stay outside of the big city.
Today, Kajang is on par with city-centre developments that focus on quality of life, tailored for upgraders and urbanites with its ready amenities and spacious landed offerings.
Despite being a thriving area, the PropertyGuru Market Index (PMI) shows a prolonged decrement from Q4 2016 to Q4 2017 in asking prices in Kajang before picking up thereafter.
As cited in news reports, this situation did not mean that property owners were driving down prices below the market value.
Some reports have pointed out that properties in this category are old and within established housing estates.
Some owners have likely either paid off their housing loans or have only minimal outstanding loans and most of them are selling because they see cash-out opportunities due to capital appreciation over the years.
Reports also state that due to stricter lending rules, asking prices could have also been capped and bank valuations of a landed home may not correspond to a seller’s intention to offer for sale at a higher price.
According to PropertyGuru’s Consumer Sentiment Survey H2 2018, consumer satisfaction has improved to 44%. This is an indication that the property sentiment index in Malaysia has increased in performance from the previous wave, due to more positive sentiment on affordability and outlook on the current real estate climate.
In spite of uncertainties faced in the country over the last couple of quarters, asking prices began picking up in Q1 2018 onwards.
The PMI shows Kajang properties experience a 2.8% quarter-on-quarter increment in asking prices from Q3 2018 to Q4 2018, with a further 0.6% quarter-on-quarter increase in Q1 2019.
Overall, a 6.4% year-on-year increases were seen from Q1 2018 to Q1 2019, indicating sellers were more confident with their asking prices given the push in demand for the area.
It was also stated that there are a handful of new residential project launches which are more appealing to buyers for featuring modern designs in well-planned townships with clubhouse facilities, verdant landscaping as well as security features.
Maturing Townships Around Kajang
Beginning as a small and humble old town that underwent multiple transformations over the years, Kajang has turned into one of the most populated cities in Malaysia with a population of about 800,000 in 2010.
According to DBS Group Research, the ready infrastructure with several highways have made Kajang the natural choice for developments.
This is supported by the availability of large tracts of land and these sub-districts have been recording among the strongest population growths in Selangor.
The close proximity to KLCC and Putrajaya will ensure KL South continues to thrive, it adds.
Due to its strategic location and lifestyle offering, many developers began creating real estate in neighbouring areas and among them, towards the north of Kajang is Bandar Sungai Long, a well-planned and matured township of 10,000 residents, with a campus of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman located there.
One notable housing estate, Saujana Impian, in Bandar Sungai Long is self-sustained and self-contained with its own amenities and facilities including hypermarkets, schools and even a golf course.
Hence, Saujana Impian provides luxurious living for the upper middle class.
Upscale Development
On the west side of Kajang is an elegant and upscale gated residential development known as Jade Hills.
This luxurious housing estate comes complete with facilities and amenities including its own international school, Eaton International school.
The icing on the cake, situated in westward, is the popular township Country Heights, popularly regarded as the ‘Beverly Hills of Malaysia’.
Meanwhile, in the heart of Kajang are prominent landmarks such as Kajang Stadium, Kajang Hospital and Metro Point. The town is strategically surrounded by affordable housing areas.
A newer addition featuring an abundance of nature and just minutes away is TTDI Grove, a gated and guarded housing locale. Though it is near the infamous Kajang Prison, it is well-known as the ‘The Trendsetting Township in Kajang’.
A town in the suburbs of Kajang is Sungai Chua, comprising double-storey shop-offices and a couple of units of factories. Pusat Perindustrian Sungai Chua nestles in the core of this town.
Affordable Housing
Image Source: Google Maps
Taman Bukit Mewah lies in the eastern suburb of Kajang featuring older properties, perfect for those looking for more established housing with amenities.
Further east is Taman Jasmin, a very popular choice for affordable and reasonably priced housing.
Then there is Taman Kajang Prima, designed specifically for family living and with a right mix of commercial and residential offerings.
Bordering the southern part and close to Semenyih is Kajang 2, a newly integrated development with appealing facilities including a recreational park and a nearby beautiful pond. Kajang 2 provides a very safe and harmonious lifestyle for its residents.
In the Kajang-Semenyih subdistrict lies a recently completed township, Kajang East. Houses here are designed with award-winning architecture for a luxurious living experience, with many key facilities in the vicinity.
Soon Kajang will emerge as the modern metropolis of Hulu Langat district for its diverse array of housing options and lifestyles on offer.
KL South Migration
DBS notices that terrace house prices in the Hulu Langat district have consistently outperformed those in Kuala Lumpur and Petaling district, likely due to the huge price disparity.
The National Property Information Centre (NAPIC) states that property prices in Hulu Langat are relatively lower compared to average terrace house prices in Kuala Lumpur and Petaling, driving greater property buying interest in the Kajang growth corridor, where lifestyle gated and guarded developments have been mushrooming.
DBS believes that the KL South migration is imminent where major developers in the Kajang/Semenyih corridor are rushing to buy land.
“This only reinforces our view that this will be one of the best hotspots in the years to come, possibly more visible when the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) stations are completed,” it states.
The MRT network has reshaped public perception of residential properties that were previously associated with long travel distance to and from the KL city centre.
Furthermore, availability of landed properties at lower prices compared to other established townships such as Kota Damansara and Petaling Jaya, especially with the appeal of public transport connectivity, has made Kajang the next choice for property seekers.
DBS also notes that additional advantage is the close proximity to Putrajaya, which has contributed to robust property sales in the area.
Upgraders from Cheras, Putrajaya and Cyberjaya also naturally look at Kajang when it comes to buying gated and guarded residential projects with lifestyle amenities.
Further But Well-Connected
Despite Kajang being located about 21km from the Kuala Lumpur city centre, there are several highways that have cropped up over the past few years, much to the benefit of Kajangites.
These include the Kajang Dispersal Link Expressway (SILK), Expressway Lingkaran Tengah or North-South Central Link (ELITE), the Cheras-Kajang Highway, the North-South Expressway, the new South Klang Valley Expressway (SKVE), the Kajang-Seremban Highway (LEKAS) and Cheras-Kajang Expressway (CKE).
In the next few years, two more highways – the East Klang Valley Expressway (EKVE) and Sungai Besi-Ulu Klang Elevated Expressway (SUKE) – will emerge.
Currently under construction, EKVE will span 39.5km connecting Ukay Perdana in Ampang with Bandar Sungai Long in Kajang. This expressway will be part of the Kuala Lumpur Outer Ring Road. EKVE is expected to be completed by 2019 and is projected to benefit 140,000 Kajang commuters a day.
Meanwhile, the 31.8km SUKE will complete a ring of networked highways in the Klang Valley including CKE, SUKE will act as an alternative route to Kajang from Ulu Klang with its construction to be completed in 2019.
One major plus point for Kajang is that its public transportation has improved since the Kajang-Sungai Buloh MRT Line began operating in July 2017, with travel to other parts of the city becoming more accessible. There are three MRT stations, at Saujana Impian, Bandar Kajang and Jalan Reko.
The MRT line was touted to give a further boost to property values, and property demand indeed started rising after MRT began operating, as seen in the increase in PMI.
What’s Upcoming?
The strong demand in Kajang is drawing more development that are to be completed in the coming years. Among them are four new serviced residences including Saville@Kajang that was completed in October 2017, L’MARQ Residence in Semenyih and 3Residence, as well as The Louvre in Kajang, are set to be completed in 2018.
For the condominium segment, Kajang will see three new projects take shape, namely Oasis 1, Lavender Residence and Camellia Residence. These projects will be completed in 2018 and 2019.
For the landed propositions, high-end semi-detached houses at Tropicana Heights will be ready in two years and Parkfield Residences and Ridgefield Residences are expected to complete sooner than expected, by early 2019.
Check out other projects in Kajang here!
Kajang Then And Now
The conventional bread-and-butter housing comprising single and double storey terrace houses mushroomed across Kajang in the 60s.
However, the town needed more than just housing and better infrastructure – something was lacking.
Noteworthy developers that were responsible for changing the housing landscape in Kajang were MKH Bhd, Tropicana Corp Bhd, Naza TTDI Sdn Bhd and Protasco Bhd.
The early 2010s saw a strong influx of developments that emphasizes on lifestyle living.
Developers such as SP Setia Bhd, Tropicana Corporation Bhd, UEM Sunrise Bhd, Ireka Corporation Bhd and Lum Chang Group began introducing facility-rich projects –central parks and clubhouses for those seeking affordable lifestyle properties.
Sunway Group recently earned its mark by introducing transit-oriented development (TOD), offering retail podium/ commercial lots and serviced apartments/small office-home office, among others.
More gated-and-guarded developments were being launched resulting in an increase in property prices of up to 30% to 40%.
Since the 1980s, massive developments had transformed Kajang into a concrete jungle leaving less and less green spaces for recreational activities and larger carbon footprints.
According to Kajangites, developments were carried out without proper town planning and basic necessities –for instance parks and conveniences were not factored in or upgraded to cater to the growing population.
However, the Kajang Municipal Council’s (MPKj)’s vision to make Kajang a city of choice with developed urban facilities and a sustainable environment was recently unveiled for public review via the MPKj Local Draft Plan 2035 (Replacement).
Some of the notable changes in the local draft plan include the conversion of former zones for various purposes into mostly future residential areas, with a few areas marked for the development of industrial zones.
Plans to improve public facilities in urban centres and placing emphasis on TOD were also listed in the draft, with equal attention to developing infrastructure and moves to conserve the district’s green spaces.
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