Article
A GOLDEN AGE FOR LIFESTYLE PROJECTS
by Lim Lay Ying
Property Times, New Straits Times
1st January 2005
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Everyone who is anyone – from the fashion industry to the food business, the furniture trade, sports-related retailing, and those in building and construction – is interested in Asia today.
Hard Rock Cafes in Asia are doing better than their counterparts in the US. Marks & Spencer is carrying vacuum-packed chapattis and Maggi laksa-flavoured pot noodles in its UK stores. Kickboxing or Muay Thai is a hot option over aerobics, while global chains of gyms such as Fitness First are taking the world by storm.
Economists predict that by 2010, affluent Asians will number between 800 million and one billion. Of the 3.6 billion Asians out of the world’s 6.2 billion population today, about 1.7 billion are under the age of 30, and two-thirds of them are literate. For the next few decades, they’ll be part of a young workforce who’ll earn money – and spend it.
By 2020, the Asian economies (including Japan and India) are projected to be bigger than the economies of Europe and the Americas put together. But what makes Asia more fascinating than ever are the rapid social and lifestyle changes and corresponding attitude shifts taking place.
The youngsters in Asia are not keen on being just salaried workers and overworked like their fathers. They are fast-paced, brash, creative, confident, independent, outward-looking, and hedonistic. The women don’t want to be housewives like their mothers, and are getting married later and having fewer babies (should they want to).
Together with their parents, these “echo boom” off-springs in their mid-to-late teens and twenties are becoming part of a development renaissance. They have considerable income and are seeking experience-rich, high-quality properties for themselves and their families. At the same time, the passage of accumulated wealth from their parents has enhanced their ability to purchase homes as retreats and family gathering places.
Asians in general have come a long way, worked hard, and earned their keep. They are learning quickly how to reward themselves and this phenomenon is impacting the real estate industry tremendously. Here are just a few of the trends that have been set in the last couple of years and are likely to be around for a while.
1. Buyers’ market spurs “new stuff’
A buyers’ market means a market where the buyer dictates its trends. It is something some developers aren’t too excited about since it usually brings about stiff competition. For a buyer, this is the perfect setting! Developers would compete to woo buyers by offering unique and attractive products and packages. Thus, it isn’t surprising to find a property “beauty pageant” going on in the industry.
The contest to lock-in buyers has inevitably brought about new product concepts and strategies. Among the various strategies that have been employed by developers to entice buyers include offering a wide array of amenities, value-added features, green environments, and even unique product labels. For example, MK Land’s Armanee Terrace Condominiums focus on a Balinese environment, while Perdana Parkcity’s Desa Parkcity township takes on the gated and guarded ‘parkhomes’ concept.
Other value-added features include not only “imported” concepts or themed landscaping, but also sculptured streetscapes, property facades, amenities, and even product labels such as Garden Villas, Courtyard Villas, Condovillas, Linked Bungalows, etc. Some developers took cognizance of different spatial preferences of buyers and have offered, for example, larger master bedrooms, or higher ceilings, and so forth.
New products are also being ventured into such as Serviced Suites and the SOHO / Home Office concept. With more and more developments testing new concepts, developers are raising the bar for future developments. As buyers, this should be good but be prepared to meet the price.
2. All things pretty and green: Visual attractions and landscaping
The growing awareness of the environment has brought about lifestyle benefits in properties in the form of green amenities such as parks and gardens. Such awareness is more apparent in places where lots of developments are taking place and sights of greens are rapidly disappearing. Property buyers today have grown to appreciate green amenities so much that some buyers are even willing to pay premiums for them. To this end, developers have offered everything from landscaped central parks and gardens, to landscaped water features such as ponds and lakes. They have capitalized on nice scenic views that can be seen from some properties.
Today, just about every kind of property including landed residential to condominiums and serviced apartments and even commercial office buildings and retail centres are jumping onto the same bandwagon of offering themed landscaping and various green amenities in an effort to entice buyers and investors. An example would be the tropical forest garden with Koi ponds found in the new phase of the popular shopping centre One Utama.
3. Security concerns
Since 2001, surveys have shown that a large portion of homebuyers desire to have at least some form of security in their neighbourhoods. The security issue has become even more prominent lately as a result of the unfortunate rise in crime. Whether security comes from government-related sources or provided by the developer as an amenity, it is almost certain that security will become yet another factor and criterion for homebuyers to assess a purchase. For developments already offering security services, it becomes a factor by which people assess the developer’s reputation. At the same time, it is becoming an avenue of competition for developers.
Security features or services offered today in many developments, especially condominiums and gated homes include 24-hour security guard post, security patrol in the neighbourhood, CCTV monitoring, intercom and panic button linked to the guardhouse, guest screening, motion detectors, and so forth.
4. Broadband ushered in
The age of broadband has arrived in Asia. Its applications are spreading like wildfire in property development especially condominiums and serviced apartments. MK Land’s Damansara Perdana became the country’s first E-lifestyle township when it announced its provision of wireless broadband services within its high-rise developments. Today, many cafés have also begun to offer wireless broadband services as a crowd puller to enhance its daily business.
5. Recreation, leisure and entertainment
These “experience-driven folks” want lots of service, fine restaurants, shopping and diverse activities. Moreover, advances in technology are supporting their entrepreneurial lifestyle, explaining the euphoria that’s currently taking place to cover Asian soils with lifestyle centres in a build-out reminiscent of the mall expansion that took place between the 1970s and 1990s.
Because lifestyle centres have been seen to generate returns of 10 to 12 per cent, which although are comparable to malls, they are generally smaller and less costly to build. Besides, lifestyle centre tenants also save about 15 per cent in common area maintenance charges compared with mall retailers, according to records in such projects in developed countries. The primary lure however, is the amount of sales per square foot generated – a sizeable 22 per cent higher than malls.
The growing affluence of urban socialites throughout Asia has shaped new social realms. The concept of the “Third Place” has emerged. The term draws from the idea that the home is the ‘first place’ and the office is the ‘second place’. The ‘third place’ is devoted to recreation, leisure, and entertainment needs.
Subsequently, town centres and shopping centres are implementing new layouts and concepts that until lately have not seen any developer courageous enough to attempt. These include the growing popularity of the Power Centres or Box retail (e.g. Ikano Power Centre, Ikea, and stand-alone hypermarkets such as Tesco and Giant), Lifestyle Centres, ‘Main Street’ Shopping centres (as a result of the “de-mailing” trend), and others.
Mega-sized malls such as Suria KLCC, MidValley, One Utama, and Sunway Pyramid are especially feeling the hunger of society for recreation, leisure, and entertainment. These malls are evolving into Urban Recreation & Entertainment Centres, incorporating fun and leisure activities into the whole shopping palate. Such strategies involve having entertainment outlets such as cineplexes, bowling centres, fitness and recreational clubs, alfresco dining, sidewalk cafés, and many more.
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