While its construction was aimed at connecting the bottom 40 percent (B40) and middle 40 percent (M40) groups to the city and commercial centres, the Sungai Buloh-Kajang mass rapid transit (MRT) has made prices of nearby homes unaffordable to such groups, revealed a study by the Centre for Governance and Political Studies.
This is due to the poor planning of the locations for the stations, which were mainly situated in affluent neighbourhoods.
“When the price per square foot for properties within 1km of each of the 31 stations along the MRT Sungai Buloh-Kajang (SBK) line is evaluated, we find that that there are no properties within reach of the B40 group,” said Zaidel Baharuddin, director of strategy and alliance at Centre for Governance and Political Studies.
“Only properties in eight out of 31 stops, all headed towards the Kajang MRT, can be categorised as affordable for the M40 group.”
Houses within 1km from the Pusat Bandar Damansara MRT station emerged as the most expensive, with a median price of RM4 million, reported Free Malaysia Today.
Homes priced at RM400,000 and below – which are considered affordable to the M40 group – can nowhere be found in residential areas within 1km of the Taman Suntex MRT station to the Sungai Buloh MRT station, excluding the Kampung Selamat station.
“Only several housing areas within a 1km radius of the Kajang Stadium, Batu 11 Cheras, Bandar Tun Hussein Onn, Sri Raya, Taman Connaught, Taman Pertama and Maluri MRT stations can be afforded by the M40 group,” noted Zaidel.
“Property developments from the Sungai Buloh MRT to the Bandar Utama MRT are classified as beyond the reach of this group.”
And if the size and pricing of homes were to be considered, only several houses within 1km of the stations are suitable for families and couples.
Even assuming that a small family would only require a house measuring between 1,000 sq ft and 1,500 sq ft to live comfortably, only properties within several MRT stations meet the criteria.
“While there are affordable housing with a floor area of 700 square feet, we are of the view these are only suitable for those who are not married.”
“If this study is an early indicator of the failure to plan public transportation in Malaysia, there is still room to fix this,” added Zaidel.
Image source: Tune Hotels
This article was edited by the editorial team of PropertyGuru. To contact them about this or other stories email editorialteam@propertyguru.com.my
As a property buyer, it is important to be well informed on the buying process and laws governing the housing industry. Read more here!
