Niecon to woo Malaysians to Gold Coast apartment project

Niecon Development aim to sell the remaining units of 'The Oracle' to high networth individuals in Malaysia within the next three months

NIECON Development aims to sell about a fifth of its A$850 million (RM2.4 billion) luxury twin-tower apartment project in Australia's Gold Coast, dubbed "The Oracle", to Malaysian investors.

The 515-apartment project, located on Broadbeach, Gold Coast, is 83 per cent sold with prices averaging A$1.4 million per unit (RM4.11 million).

The bulk of the buyers are Australians and the rest from Malaysia, Singapore, China, Russia and the UK.

Chief executive officer of Jalin Realty International Pte Ltd, the exclusive marketing agent for Niecon in Malaysia, Ian T.K. Chen, said although the apartments are expensive and the market is soft, the units were sold in six months from its launch.

The Oracle is one of the most prestigious projects in Australia and interest is strong as it is close to Jupiter's casino and the Gold Coast Convention Centre.

Launched in early 2008, it features 510 units of 1-3 bedroom apartments ranging from 850 sq ft to 3,000 sq ft, worth A$690,000 to A$3 million (RM2.2 million to RM8.8 million).

The two duplexes are worth up to A$5 million (RM14.7 million) each, and three penthouses for over A$9 million (RM26.46 million) apiece.

Chen said one penthouse was recently sold for A$9.6 million (RM28.22 million), smashing the Gold Coast record for highest penthouse value transacted.

"Australians are relatively wealthy and people are buying into The Oracle because it is an iconic building with beach frontage," Chen said in an interview in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

The Oracle is being developed on 8,000 sq m of offices and 4,500 sq m of retail space, making its appeal more attractive to buyers. The whole development, which will be completed by end-2010, is worth A$1 billion (RM2.94 billion).

Chen added that Gold Coast is the fastest growing regional city in Australia currently.

He said since The Oracle was launched, the value of the apartments have appreciated by 10 per cent and he expects the trend to continue year-on-year, as it has for other properties in the region.

"We aim to sell the remaining 77 units of the 1-3-bedroom apartments to high networth individuals in Malaysia within the next three months. We have a long list of potential buyers," Chen said.

The units will be launched tomorrow at Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Kuala Lumpur.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Malaysia ranked 10th in terms of top investors in Queensland in 2008.

"Malaysians spent A$22 million (RM64.68 million) to buy residential properties, a bulk of which are in Gold Coast. So we are confident of sales here," Chen said

By Business Times (by Sharen Kaur)