Of late, it seems that not only condominiums that are gaining popularity but serviced apartment as well. Traditionally, serviced apartment developments are mainly located in city centre providing hotel-like services to their guests who are usually foreign business travelers staying on long term basis. However, the concept of serviced apartment has evolved lately to become more residential in nature, catering to local demand instead of business travelers. Hence, many serviced apartment projects in our market today are not purpose-built serviced apartment and operated by hotelier such as The Ascott, Lanson Place and Micasa Serviced Apartments. Instead, developers have adopted the concept of serviced apartment into their residential condominium development for land that is zoned for commercial development to capture the market segment of condominium dwellers.

Serviced apartment is fast gaining a strong foothold among house buyers in KL city, particularly young working professionals who prefer to stay nearer to work place. Some of the notable serviced apartment projects that are currently being developed in KL city are Berjaya Central Park, Goldhill Gardens and K Residence. Berjaya Central Park (located adjacent to Concorde Hotel) comprises of 1,402 units while serviced apartment in K Residence (opposite Petronas Towers) is a 30-storey development with 298 units. Price range for these units are from RM500 psf to RM1,000 psf. The newly launched Berjaya Central Park has breached the RM1,000 psf mark for serviced apartment in city centre. Besides the high-end projects, there are also other more affordable units such as Nas Pavilion (Jalan Imbi), Scott Sentral (Brickfields) and Golden Avenue (Jalan Ipoh). Pricing for these units ranged from RM250 psf to RM500 psf. Brisk sales are reported for both these market segments, indicating a pent-up demand for these units in the Klang Valley.

In the last five years, city-centre living has become alive again. There seems to be resurgence in city living with the mushrooming of condominiums and serviced apartments in the city centre. However, it is noted that the segment that is coming back to the city are mainly the higher income group as observed in the many launches of high-end properties in KL city centre over the past two years.

What Is the Cost Of Living In Kuala Lumpur?

Based on the latest research by HSBC, the cost of living in Malaysia adds up to RM7,200 a month for a couple with two children, and RM3,000 a month for a single person. This includes grocery, car maintenance and parking, utilities, transportation expense, education and recreation. Excluded are personal income tax, upscale entertainment, accommodation and travel.

The market for rental housing and apartments in the Kuala Lumpur area is large and reasonably priced by regional standards. A furnished, three-bedroom apartment in a prime area rents for RM2,800 to RM9,000, while a furnished house in the same location costs RM3,500 to RM15,000.

There are a number of international schools in KL offering British, American, French, German, Japanese and Chinese curricula. Tuition fees at the International School of Kuala Lumpur (US curriculum) range from US$6,700 for kindergarten to Grade 5 to US$8,400 for Grades 9-12.

Salaries for stay-in maids cost from RM700 to RM900 a month. Check the classified ads in newspapers for agencies. Maids from the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Bangladesh can also be hired but government levies are imposed.