Located in the constituency of Segambut, Mont Kiara, often styled as Mont’ Kiara, is a hot spot for expatriates from around the world.

According to Knight Frank Malaysia, Mont’ Kiara is home to a large community of expatriates from more than 30 countries. It is characterised by high-rise living and continues to see rapid development.

The area is surrounded by shopping complexes and has excellent amenities. It is regarded as one of the most strategic business locations in the Klang Valley.

In addition, Mont’ Kiara offers an exclusive lifestyle with a proliferation of restaurants offering foreign cuisine, premium/foreign-brand grocery stores, international schools and so on.

So, it is no surprise to see many expatriates living and doing business in this area, said Reapfield Properties Sdn Bhd real estate senior negotiator Brandon Lim.

“Due to rising land cost and scarcity of land within Mont’ Kiara, the demand for living in one of the most prestigious expat-centric locations is high.

“Another reason expatriates like to live there is because it is convenient to commute to a variety of top international schools.

There are two international schools — the British Garden International School and the American Mont’ Kiara International School. The Lycée Français De Kuala Lumpur is situated just 3 km from Jalan Dutamas Raya,” he told Property Advisor.

Based on the statistics and figures from the Valuation and Property Services Department, Malaysia’s latest transaction data, property in Mont’ Kiara has an annual compound growth rate (CAGR) of 4.8%.

“This is a good indicator that the area is showing strong growth. The blue line depicts Kuala Lumpur and the black line Mont’ Kiara. From CAGR, there is a possibility that it would translate into a whopping 9.2% return on investment in 2020,” said Reapfield Properties negotiator Jonathan Low.

He added that the chart shows that Mont’ Kiara’s prices have proven to be most resilient, regardless of the challenges the property industry has faced. Most of the time, prices have remained above the average rates in Kuala Lumpur.

Low believes Mont’ Kiara is one of the most desirable addresses in the Klang Valley. “In fact, I own a unit there. I get a certain sense of pride from telling people about my purchase there and that I will be moving there someday,” he said, adding that he believed this was a sentiment many others shared, especially those living in the city centre.

“Personal feelings aside, Mont’ Kiara is also one of the most self-sustaining townships, with everything from shopping malls such as Publika and One Mont’ Kiara to offices.”

He said KL Metropolis is an upcoming business hub close to Mont’ Kiara. It is located in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim (also known as Jalan Duta), close to the townships of Damansara Heights, Sri Hartamas and Bangsar.

A mere 10 to 15 minutes’ drive to Kuala Lumpur via the Penchala Link Highway, Mont’ Kiara is also connected via the SPRINT Expressway, North Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE), Federal Highway, Kerinchi Link and DUKE highways to neighbouring townships and suburbs.

The area is also located within a comfortable 10 to 20-minute drive to Bandar Utama, Mutiara Damansara, Bangsar and Mid Valley City.

Lim said Mont’ Kiara also caters for lifestyle activities. “One can go horse riding or even for a game of polo at Bukit Kiara Equestrian & Country Club.

“We have an international golf club, Tournament Players Club (TPC) Kuala Lumpur, with some of the finest greens in Malaysia offering pristine playing conditions,” he added.

The area also boasts a few fitness centres, including KOA Fitness, Fitness First, Anytime Fitness Malaysia as well as local and international banks.

Potential growth in Mont’ Kiara

Due to the current Covid-19 situation, Lim said the demand for properties in Mont’ Kiara has actually increased, as existing residents realised the need for a bigger built-up space to work from home and for health and fitness purposes.

“I have come across buyers who are currently living in a condominium and are looking to upgrade to a landed property to give their children more space for leisure activities such as cycling and swimming,” said Lim, who has been in the industry in Mont’ Kiara for the last 20 years. He added that property prices will come to more realistic levels soon.

Low, on the other hand, predicts that home prices will remain steady and will not spike next year.

However, Raine and Horne International Zaki + Partners head of sales and corporate advisory, Gideon Liau said home prices in Mont’ Kiara are expected to fall, especially after the moratorium period ends.

“People will take the opportunity to sell their houses due to the capital gains exemption until next year.

“But pent-up demand will help the market in the short term as a lot of people who intended to buy in the past four months have put their decision on hold.”

He said investors will suffer the most as rental demand for luxury units to expatriates will be less due to travel restrictions.

Liau added that Mont’ Kiara will attract Hongkongers and Indonesians through the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) initiative, which allows wealthy foreigners to live in the country and buy property.

“Hongkongers will probably come to live here due to the political issues (in Hong Kong) and Indonesians because of the high rate of Covid-19 infections.”

Among the ongoing and upcoming projects in Mont’ Kiara are Sunway Mont Residences by Sunway Bhd, due for completion in this year; Trinity Pentamont by Trinity Group, slated for completion in 2022; Residensi Astrea by UEM Sunrise Bhd, expected to be completed in 2023; and MET 1 Residence @ KL Metropolis by Naza TTDI Sdn Bhd as well as Inspirasi Mont’ Kiara by MKH Bhd, both scheduled to be completed next year.

This article was written by Sharina Ahmad of PropertyAdvisor.my, Malaysia’s most comprehensive source of property data, property analytics and insights.