INFRASTRUCTURE development is still key to determining good property investment locations, according to Ho Chin Soon Research Sdn Bhd.

Two significant infrastructure developments under the Economic Transformation Programme will create new hot spots in Greater Kuala Lumpur, says Ho Chin Soon, the chairman of the mapmaker.

The first is the Malaysia-Singapore high-speed rail station at Putrajaya, located between Sungai Besi and Seremban.

The other is the realignment of the Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya MRT Line 2, which will head straight from the Tun Razak Exchange station to the yet-to-be-built Bandar Malaysia. Both projects are being developed by 1MDB.

“This is a significant change and there are areas that will potentially benefit from the rerouting,” says Chin Soon, adding that a drastic shift in the MRT alignment, especially southwards, will open up many areas.

Ishmael Ho, CEO of Ho Chin Soon Research, says plans for the realignment will become conclusive by May.

Besides these two yet-to-be-constructed projects, other ongoing infrastructure works will also impact the property market.

“When we talk about property hot spots, we always refer to where the future infrastructure projects are,” says Ishmael.

Among the significant developments he highlights is the Land Public Transport Commission’s planned bus rapid transit (BRT) routes, which he believes will affect the secondary market. There will be 12 different BRT routes, one of which will ply Bandar Sunway and be ready to run by mid-year.

Apart from that, affordable housing will also impact the secondary market. One will have to look at the supply, location and how quickly such housing will be made available to determine its effect, Ishmael opines.

In terms of a mapping perspective, Chin Soon sees the centre of gravity for Greater KL staying put for a while.

“We have chosen the centre of gravity for overall Greater KL to be somewhere in Puchong. It won’t move in the short term but perhaps in another five years or so as development continues to head south,” Chin Soon says. For the city centre, the centre of gravity in the Golden Triangle will shift in years to come, he adds. He explains that the centre of gravity is an area that has the convenience of connectivity and accessibility, and is akin to “being the centre of everything”.

Details of the impact of infrastructure projects and affordable housing on the property market will be presented by Chin Soon and Ishmael at The Edge Investment Forum on Real Estate 2015, to be held on April 25 at The Royale Chulan Damansara in Mutiara Damansara.

This article first appeared in City & Country, The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on April 6 - 12, 2015.

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