The Mews - E&O's upcoming development within KLCC!

The wife and I were invited to an informal session by E&O Property Division last week. Other than providing information about private property investment opportunities around the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) vicinity, the good folks at E&O also showcased their upcoming development - The Mews Serviced Residences.

The Mews is located in one of the lanes off Jalan Yap Kwan Seng. The wife and I must admit that we do not know the area personally, but this is supposedly a stretch of road that is less than 1-km long, and lined with old bungalows that have been converted into commercial establishments (e.g. F&B outlets, lifestyle businesses and even car park lots).

The development is also just across from The Australian Embassy and a short 10-minutes walk to KLCC.

For the uninitiated (such as ourselves), "Mews" is a British term commonly associated with a row of stables that have been converted into houses or a country lane.

The Mews is a RM400 million freehold project comprising two 38-storey blocks of 256 units of serviced residences. The apartments on offer range from one to three-bedroom and penthouse units, with built-up areas ranging from 922sqft (one-bedders) to 2,623sqft (penthouses). Given the notoriety of shoeboxes and micro/compact units in Singapore these days, 922sqft for a one-bedroom unit is really quite a refreshing change. About 75% of units will be one- and two-bedroom units and the development is expected to be completed in 2017.

E&O pride themselves as a niche lifestyle developer, and have teamed up with Mitsui Fudosan Residential Co Ltd, a unit of Mitsui Fudosan Co Ltd, to develop the 1.3 acres where The Mews will reside. Mitsui Fudosan is one of Japan's largest property developer. The partnership started a few years ago to market E&O's developments. As a result of that relationship, Japanese buyers form the second largest segment of E&O's foreign buyers today.

The wife and I understand that The Mews is marketed somewhat differently from the other new developments around the KLCC vicinity - it is targeted primarily at women buyers. Other than the marketing materials, which has a distinctive feminine touch, The Mews also come with the following "women friendly" features:

 

• The development will have CCTV surveillance around its parameters and concierge services
• Wider than normal parking spaces in the multi-storey car park - we were told that this is not a dig at parking skills of women, but because female these days are driving bigger cars (right...)
• The apartment units are column-free and will be fully fitted and equipped with appliances
• The apartments will come with generous walk-in wardrobes and full-length shoe cabinets
• Shuttle bus services will be available to places around KLCC (better for shopping, dining out etc)

The wife and I generally liked what we have learned about The Mews. But since we do not know Jalan Yap Kwan Seng at all, we cannot comment on the location (except for the fact that there seemed to be a lot of old, low-rise buildings around the area, which we were told will be preserved). The only "negative" thing, if we can call it that, about the development is the orientation - the two towers are shaped like a "V" and units on one side of each tower are direct west facing. So unless you are a real fan of saunas, residents in these west-facing apartments will be feeling the heat for quite a bit during the day.

So why should you consider The Mews, other than the supposed good location and more than decent-sized apartments? Besides the excellent quality and maintenance program normally associated with E&O projects, the developer will absorb all interest payments during the 4-year construction period of The Mews. Buyers can also take advantage of the E&O rental program, whereby the developer will help "match make" owners with intention to rent out their apartments with prospective tenants.

The expected launch price for The Mews is around RM1,500psf. However, "early-bird" buyers can expect some very attractive discounts, And compared to other upcoming developments nearby, such as W Residences and Four Season's Place, which will likely be launched at RM2,000psf or above, the pricing of The Mews does sound like a fairly reasonable deal. Having said that, we believe that the other two developments have better locations and come with international brand names, so we may not be comparing "apple to apple"  here.

Rental wise, the wife and I were told that investors can expect about 6% of gross rental return for The Mews. The monthly maintenance is fixed at 55 cents psf.

E&O has already launched The Mews in Hong Kong last month. The Singapore preview (for units in Block A) was scheduled to be held on April 10 for existing clients and business associates of E&O. This will be followed by a soft launch in June/July, while the sales gallery in K.L. is scheduled to open its doors during the September/October period.

For those who are interested, we understand that the current booking fee is S$4,000 with the balance of the 10% down-payment payable upon signing of the SPA. So drop us a note if you wish to be put through to the marketing people at E&O (no, we are not on commissions).

 

Click on link below to view the marketing brochures and floor plans of The Mews:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/135812309/The-Mews-Brochure#fullscreen