These days, especially for those looking for a property within the Greater KL, one primary question asked would be how far would it be from the nearest MRT station. Let me share in brief that I have been using the MRT occasionally for the past few months to go to work. On every occasion, the MRT is not full of people and the number of passengers within the train is very far away from term ‘packed’. Among all my ex-colleagues, there are many times more people using the LRT versus the MRT. So, do you really do need to buy beside the MRT station then? I think it comes back to the actual need. Hope everyone gets the idea. Think WHY buy that property and not WHERE the property is. MRT is great to have but is not the key unless the WHY needs for the MRT to be the key. 🙂 I define nearby MRT as anywhere within walking distance. Personally, 1km to me is still okay. It takes around 10 minutes.
A family with kids where the father drives to work and the mother drives the two toddlers to the nursery may not need to pay a premium just to have a home nearby the MRT. (Yes, I am talking about me) Even if this family wants to invest in another property to rent out, it may not need to be nearby a MRT, unless their target market would be professionals needing the MRT on a daily basis. A couple, both professionals working in the KL city centre and needing a cheaper place to rent and hates the jam do need to buy near a MRT station but not the ones nearby hotspots which are already expensive. It would have to be MRT stations in areas further away. In brief, I do not think the issue is just as easy as buying next to the MRT. Just buy based on what you need. By the way, unless the cost of driving and parking is many times more than the cost of taking the MRT, the MRT will be hard to be very popular. Stay nearer and cycle to work maybe? 🙂
Moving on with regards to the MRT, we can refer to an expert instead. This was mentioned by Savills Malaysia executive chairman Datuk Christopher Boyd in an article in Edgeprop here. He said, “Working together with ride shares, the MRT is providing a credible public transport network that is long overdue in this city. This will focus demand around stations and reshape the pattern of property values in Greater KL. In other countries such as the UK and Australia, you see many agencies advertising a property based on its distance from the transit lines. This is now happening in Kuala Lumpur. Not only will this apply for residential properties but also for commercial and retail properties.” With regards to the 2017 and 2018 property market, he shared, “At the end of 2016, many analysts predicted that 2017 will be the year that the residential market will pick up. However, demand remained subdued last year. Nevertheless, Malaysia is still a young country. Employment figures are still high. This year may see an increase in turnover in residential properties.” Do refer to the full article here.
There are today plenty of choices next to, nearby and even MRT stations which are just within 10 minutes by driving away. MRT is also not yet extremely popular. I repeat, NOT YET. The advantage of buying next to MRT today is simple. Properties nearer to MRTs, especially when MRTs are very popular would fetch higher premiums. This is based on more advanced property markets. MRTs in Malaysia is still new. We just need to refer to those who had MRTs earlier to understand. However, buying next to MRT is definitely not compulsory. Happy buying and cheers.
Please LIKE kopiandproperty.com FB page or Sign Up for free to get daily updates about the property market.
written on 3 Jan 2018
Next suggested article: Effects of MRT on developments along the line
