Kota Semarak

Was at Nu Sentral and saw the Kota Semarak booth there, so went to have a look - I was aware of this development some time back but I think the promotion is only just starting to rev up now - they are also just taking registration only, not deposits.

Pricing, layout and other details are available already but since I was rather in a rush that day, what I got was this:


  • Large scale development - will end up with around 1,200+ units over 4 separate buildings
  • The land area is pretty large - 27 acres, so it's pretty massive
  • Leasehold
  • Location is actually very close to town, just down Jln Semarak - heavy traffic though
  • Location has no LRT nearby
  • You'd have to travel in the opposite direction away from town to get to town - e.g. the condo is pretty much equidistant to both Sri Rampai and Ampang Park - if you're working in town, you might as well just drive (of course, parking considerations etc etc)
  • Next to the DUKE Highway with access to both directions of the highway
  • Unit sizes ranges from 800sf to about 1,200 sf
  • Cost per square foot is between RM500 to RM600 on average - of course, more at the higher floors, naturally - non-Bumi price starts from RM420,000
  • Has 4 floors of retail space so it has it's own shopping area - convenient and help alleviate some traffic as residents need not drive out for shopping
  • The nearest neighbourhoods around it are Kg Ayer Panas and Kg Rejang - sad to say, these are low income areas, so it's not a "posh" area for the price you are paying - why I say this is because you can actually get condo units in Mon't Kiara at the same cost per square foot, I kid you not.
Quick thoughts - buy or not?
  1.  It is like Seasons Garden; high density but relatively "affordable"; good buy for 1st time buyer and young families
  2. For investment, I would say it is an average-to-good choice - you'd need tenants who want to live near town BUT would likely drive; so your executive type
  3. Not suitable for people who want low density exclusivity - you won't get it here, this is essentially a vertical township
  4. May be ok for a buy and flip if you can wait 5 years
So all in all, not bad lah.. quite nice also with enough acreage to put in a park and lake (uh ... maintenance alarm bells... mosquitoes) and with such a large number of units, there can be problems with the future residents management committee with 1,000+ owners!

Ok lah, the convenience of the DUKE highway and its own mall goes a long way if one is planning to live there, it is a decent choice for households with income of around 7k to 9k.

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