E&O rides on increasing demand for luxury residences

With the biggest high-net-worth population growth rates being recorded in Asia Pacific, the state of Penang in Malaysia has been one of the hotspots for luxury residences.

The world’s richest may have dumped their riskier investments in the wake of the 2007 global financial crisis, but they have stayed fiercely loyal to one particularly alluring asset: Branded luxury residences. Knight Frank data show that high-net worth individuals (HNWIs) have been increasing their exposure in residential property investments in recent years, more than any other wealth investment option, including offices, retail and hotels.

Branded residences have been the apple of the super wealthy’s eye, outperforming their non-branded counterparts and the entire residential property sector as a whole.

Branded residences may carry higher price tags that average 31% more than non-branded equivalents and rack up more expensive service charges, yet they remain irresistible to HNWIs due to their luxurious services and world-class designer amenities.

“By fusing the best of hotel and other services into a residential template – this innovation attracts buyers who are looking to buy into the latest trends,” said Liam Bailey, Head of Residential Research at Knight Frank. “The benefits and convenience of the service offer is prized by buyers to the extent that they are happy to pay for the higher service charges associated together with the uplift in headline capital value,” he added.

The demand for prime property, especially cross-border transactions which tend to favour branded residences, has benefited from the recovery in the fortunes of the world’s wealthy since 2009. With the biggest high-net-worth population growth rates being recorded in Asia Pacific, the region has been one of the hotspots for luxury residences and the state of Penang in Malaysia, enjoys such attention.

SBR and E&O
In light of the growing demand for branded residences in the region, Singapore Business Review (SBR) partnered with Eastern and Oriental (E&O), a premier lifestyle property developer in Malaysia, for the Penang Property Outlook Briefing 2014. E&O’s country manager Aileen Han and senior sales manager Jeremy Chee talked about E&O, their latest developments and offering in Penang. E&O is listed on the Main-Board of Bursa Malaysia. With a series of exclusive addresses in Kuala Lumpur and Penang, E&O has established its reputation as a premier lifestyle property developer. E&O is now expanding its property portfolio to areas such as Iskandar Malaysia, as well as further afield with its maiden international foray in Central London.

In Penang, E&O’s master planned seafront development Seri Tanjung Pinang is one of the most sought-after residential addresses among locals and expatriates, home to over 20 nationalities. Quayside Seafront Resort Condominiums is the first in the region with a 4.5 acre private waterpark and neighbours Straits Quay, the first festive retail marina on the island.

E&O’s core business of property development is supported by a cachet of complementary lifestyle elements. In the hospitality domain, E&O is best known for its iconic heritage hotel from which the Group proudly derives its name - the landmark Eastern & Oriental Hotel in George Town, Penang as well as the Lone Pine Hotel, the first to operate along Penang’s Batu Ferringhi beach.

World-class waterfront community
Touted to be the finest on Penang Island, E&O’s Quayside Seafront Resort Condominiums is the latest gem in Seri Tanjung Pinang. Sited on 8.5 hectares of the most prime section of the master-planned development, Quayside accentuates family fun with an impressive water park for residents’ exclusive use – at more than one hectare, the first of its kind in Malaysia.

Following the success of Quayside, E&O will be launching the Andaman Edition 18 East sea-fronting condominiums. With its outstanding location and world-class suite of facilities, the Andaman Edition 18 East is an extraordinary development that will be a challenge to replicate. Every detail – from its concept, location and furnishings right down to a purchaser’s return on investment – exudes exclusivity at its best. On a land-scarce island like Penang, this exclusive abode provides residents a sweeping vista of the Andaman Sea, the Penang city skyline, surrounding hills and the recreation park. It has a good price appreciation potential in view of the completed world-class facilities being sited on prime land.

As an exception to the norm, potential buyers of Andaman Edition 18 East will have the opportunity to view and assess the development’s fully completed common facilities and recreation areas, which include an outstanding 1,300 square metre two-storey clubhouse as well as 1.4 km of jogging and cycling tracks within a 2.8 hectare park area.

The completed facilties and built common areas showcase the robust product standards and quality that potential buyers of Andaman Edition 18 East stand to own.