The One Bukit Senyum mixed development project is set to enter its second phase soon, amid slower real estate and property development market in the country following global economic uncertainty.

Datuk Zamani Kassim, Chief Executive Officer of Astaka Holdings Limited, the developer of the project, said the property market is currently undergoing corrective period.

“We are now experiencing a part of the corrective period because everybody is talking about oversupply (real estate, property development), but I believe when new business takes place, there will be more demand than supply.

“That is the cycle we have to go through, but the market trend (for buyers) is more eastern towards China, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea rather than the Middle East,” he told reporters after a topping-off ceremony marking the completion of The Astaka building here today.

The event was graced by Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.

The second phase will comprise a 15-storey Johor Bahru City Council new headquarters, a 450-room five-star hotel, 1,012 residences, 254-keyed serviced apartments, a 1.5 milllion sq ft shopping mall and Grade-A offices.

Meanwhile, The Astaka, with a gross development value (GDV) of over RM1.4 billion and stands at about 915 feet (278.9 metres), is part of the first phase of the One Bukit Senyum project and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of next year.

About 70% of its 438 residential units have been sold since its launching in 2013.

“Twenty to 25% of the buyers are local with Singaporeans taking up some 40 per cent. We also have buyers from Taiwan, South Korea, Indonesia, Brunei, India, Nepal and Bangladesh,” he added.

Source : iProperty