Vila Vista, Cheras

Note: Credit to Stephen D. and Roger Lee for their extra input.

Hot on the trails of Vistaria Residensi and Sky Vista Residensi in is Villa Vista – Orando’s third high rise development in Cheras. Built on one-and-a-half-acre of leasehold land with a Gross Development Value (GDV) of some RM123 million, Vila Vista is a one-storey condominium which houses 137 units (1,576 – 2,039 sq ft) with the following configuration –

• Type A (1,672 sq ft)
• Type B (1,675 sq ft)
• Type B1 (1,661 sq ft)
• Type C (1,576 sq ft)
• Type D (1,608 sq ft)
• Type E (2,039 sq ft)

The higher levels (20-39) have four units per floor, while the mid levels (9-19) have six per floor.

Orando has a pretty good track record so far with a fairly impressive stable of developments under its belt – it started off with Sri Angkasa on Jalan Puchong (GDV of RM13 million) and a small project in Taman Yarl (four semi-d bungalows with GDV of RM3.5 million). It then scaled up with Vistaria Residensi (GDV RM44.5 million) which sold out within two days, and Sky Vista which sold out within a week. Pretty impressive.

Rental Policies

What’s unique about the layout is that the master bedroom is connected to both the inside of the apartment and the outside. The advantage of this configuration is that the inside entrance can be sealed off so that the master bedroom could be rented out as a studio apartment.

It is interesting to note that in order to protect the sub-sale value and the “rentability” of the condominium, should the owners rent out their units to blue collar foreigners they will need to pay ten times the “regular” maintenance fee (currently at RM0.20 PSF). This would no doubt serve its purpose of maintaining the sub-sale value, but at what price? Admittedly, we are not a fan of this policy, but we can see how it makes sense purely from a business decision.

Prices

The absolute price ranges from around RM740,000 up to RM1.8+ million. This corresponds to RM550 – RM715 PSF which is comparatively high for condominium in Cheras. For comparison, Sky Vista Residensi (in the same township) were sold for RM400+ PSF, and at the time of writing, the current units are sold for around RM650 PSF. Vistaria, on the other hand, were priced around RM230-250 PSF during launch, and has since doubled.

Accessibility

One of the major selling points of Vila Vista is its proximity to the Taman Bukit Ria MRT station (currently being built at the time of writing). Located within walking distance to the station, this brings major convenience to Vila Vista’s tenants. Vila Vista is accessible via MRR2, Jalan Loke Yew and Jalan Cheras.

If you need to locate Vila Vista, the GPS coordinates are N3.114556, E101.729860

Our Verdict

As Vila Vista is going to be completed only in 2016, we are going to give it a “cautious” thumbs up. Being near an MRT station is a big plus, and will be a strong selling point in the sub-sale market, especially in an area like Cheras where the traffic jams are, well, legendary. We also like the ability to “convert” the master bedroom into a studio apartment which gives it some bonus points in the rental market. Rental rates for Vistaria is at around RM2,500 per month currently, and is a good benchmark for Vila Vista given the similarities.

Like with any investment, you’ll only make money if you pay a FAIR price coupled with long-term value appreciation. To find out what’s the “fair market value” for a unit here, use GoodPlace.my’s free property valuation guide. Enter your details below to get the digital copy of the guide emailed to you for free.