Conceptualised by the Government about 20 years ago in the mid-1990s, Cyberjaya continues to be planned and built as an information technology (IT)-themed city. It was in 2009, after the completion of the Maju Expressway (MEX) that developers began to show real interest there.
Says Setia Haruman Sdn Bhd business development head Sudhev Sreetharan: “As a result of the MEX Highway, 16 developers took an interest in Cyberjaya as MEX shortened the distance between Kuala Lumpur and Cyberjaya considerably.”
Prior to that, among the earliest and main developers there was EMKAY Group, the private vehicle of Tan Sr Mustapha Kamal Abu Bakar. Mustapha is also the controlling shareholder of MK Land Holdings Bhd which developed Damansara Perdana in Petaling Jaya.
He is also the chairman of Setia Haruman Sdn Bhd, the master developer of Cyberjaya.
Henry Butcher chief operating officer Tang Chee Meng says after the completion of the MEX Highway, other developers began to show an interest in Cyberjaya.
Tang says: “The completion of MEX Highway resulted in multiple launches. MEX shortened the travel time to just 20 minutes from toll to toll.
This offered potential and property buyers began to give the place a second look. With so many developers, the supply of stock increased dramatically. Some of these projects – student accommodation and SoHos (small office, home offices) – were aimed at investors.”
Tang says Cyberjaya is in a unique situation. “People who work there do not live there. They live in Kajang or Puchong instead. The day and night time population is very different,” he says.
At the end of 2011, there were only 3,200 residential units in Cyberjaya and it was felt that this was insufficient. At that time, there was a daytime population of 53,000 comprising mostly knowledge workers and students.
That has increased to 58,000 today. The number of completed units has increase to 5,100. Of these, about a third or 1,500 are landed units. The remaining 3,600 are high rise units.
Setia Haruman’s Sudhev says while 5,100 are completed units, about 10,500 units are under construction, with 9,500 units being high rise units. Under the planning stage are 17,000 units, of which 16,000 are high rise units and the remaining 1,000 being landed units.
This effectively means that landed units will continue to be limited in the years ahead as the emphasis is on high-rise.
There are a few reasons for this emphasis on high-rise units and this is tied to the reason for Cyberjaya’s existence. The city wants to attract more IT workers. It also has an emphasis on education, which means a need for student accommodation.
The interest in Cyberjaya coincided with the buoyant property market which started in 2009/10 and went on till 2012/13. Coupled with easy credit, freebies and developers interest bearing schemes, many bought with the aim to flip, according to Tang.
“(But) they have found that it is not easy to do so,” he says, adding that more than half who bought into Cyberjaya were investors. The percentage of investors in Cyberjaya is higher than in Petaling Jaya and Subang Jaya.
Tang says: “Those who bought into Ara Damansara (near Subang airport) stay in Petaling Jaya. Those who bought into Cyberjaya were attracted to developers’ concepts, rebates and freebies.
“As congestion worsens in the Klang Valley, there will come a time when the situation will reach a tipping point and people will think ‘OK, I don’t mind staying in Cyberjaya’. When this happens, things will fall into place and Cyberjaya will have its critical mass,” he says.
Another property consultant who declined to be named says the emphasis by the guardians of Cyberjaya over the years has been to create another IT township the likes of Silicon Valley or Bangalore in India.
“The emphasis has been to attract companies, local and foreign, to relocate there.
“That was how MSC (Multimedia Super Corridor) status companies came about. That status gave companies certain privileges. There was this emphasis on the work component, but nothing on the play component as in the work, live and play configuration. It was built under a controlled situation.”
On how he expects property aspect to pan out, he says investors will try to sell. Failing that, they will try to rent. There may be a “war on rent followed by reality checks. If owners are unable to sustain the loan instalments, they will come under pressure.
“Cyberjaya may be in that last stage now.” He adds: “What we will see, or are already seeing in Cyberjaya, will be magnified many times over in Iskandar Malaysia.”
The executive director of Raine & Horne Lim Lian Hong says Cyberjaya and Iskandar Malaysia have different templates.
“Iskandar was built with Singapore in mind. If Singapore and Johor can be connected via public transport, Iskandar will be successful. Iskandar has different plans.
“In time, Cyberjaya will fill up. It just takes time and how long it takes will depend very much on the national and the global economy. 2008 (the global financial crisis) was a hiccup,” says Lim.
Rahim & Co (Selangor) Sdn Bhd manager director Choy Yue Kwong says Cyberjaya having more supply than demand is a common grouse in any location where there are many investors. “It is not unique just to Cyberjaya. Where there are too many investors, this is the result.”
Which takes us to Setia Haruman’s head of business development Sudhev comments with regards to the over supply situation. Says Sudhev: “We are not too concerned about the negative comments with regards to Cyberjaya properties. We have many people who invested in Cyberjaya who are laughing all the way to the bank.
“The problem is this – they are speculators, not investors. Speculators flip the properties when they get their keys in the hope to make quick money.
“Properties are not meant to be flipped one to three years after purchase. It is meant to be a long-term investment,” says Sudhev.
On the provision of affordable housing, Sudhev says about 3,000 units are scheduled to be launched this year, of which 2,500 units will be by the EMKAY Group.
