JUDGING from recent enquiries made by potential clients, real estate agents say Jerudong is set to be the next hot spot on the market.
While Jalan Muara and Gadong remain prime areas for buying real estate, Jerudong is considered attractive because of its location, said Amy Liew, a real estate agent from Bruworld Real Estate.
Interviewed at the Property Roadshow by the Tabung Amanah Islam Brunei (Taib), held at The Mall in Gadong yesterday, Liew said, “A lot of people today were asking about Jerudong property and land and possibly because Jerudong will be one of the prime areas soon, because of its location.”
That's not a doll house: Children look at house models at a property expo in Gadong. Picture: BT file
A supervisor from J-Fa Realty Agency and Marketing said she has also received a lot of enquiries on Jerudong properties. Aleya Abdullah added, “I think people see it as a nice location.” She said that at the moment her agency is getting more enquiries from permanent residents. “Last time people who asked about property or land in Jerudong, was mainly because the price was very low, but now there is demand for Jerudong property and land, so the prices for them are about the same as the prime areas,” said Alleya.
Liew also said that, surprisingly, there were a lot of foreigners and permanent residents who were enquiring about property regardless of the Strata Title provision.
“A lot of the foreigners and permanent residents here prefer to have freehold property, because they can own it under the Power of Attorney contract, and Strata Title is only for 99 years,” she said. Liew also said that developers have yet to register their property to be sold under the Strata Title.
Tchung Real Estate has also been getting a lot enquiries from foreigners and permanent residents keen to buy property, said Jessie Chin, the agency’s sole proprietor.
“At the moment we are also getting lots of enquiries from foreigners and permanent residents who want to own their own property, but since the Strata Title still isn’t ready, so most of them have to buy with the Power of Attorney contract, just as usual,” she said. Rather than Jerudong, her customers are mainly interested in the prime areas of Jalan Muara, Beribi and Gadong. In these areas, she said, a double storey house can cost about $300,000.
She added that just outside of the prime areas, such as Kilanas, a double storey house “can go about $260,000 to $280,000″. The Strata Title, she said, does not have any bearing on property prices in these areas because “the strata title is only eligible for apartments and semi-detached houses” and not for detached houses.
The Land Code Strata Act allows permanent residents and foreigners to buy units within a building. The act came into force on July 1, 2009 by command of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam during his titah on his 63rd birthday celebration.
Under the act, holders of strata grants can sell, give or bequeath the units they own to anyone they wish. Along with the Land Code Strata Act, another act called the Valuers and Estate Agents Order 2009 was also introduced.
The order allows valuers and estate agents who are currently serving or will serve as the managing agent for each stratum to supervise the management of the strata unit in question. With the legislations enforced, the government hopes to lure foreign direct investment and therefore help create jobs in an attempt to boost and diversify the economy.The Brunei Times
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