PETALING JAYA: OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Bhd has signed a RM299.5 million bridging loan agreement with Astrum Ampang Sdn Bhd to promote sustainable urban housing among millennials.
The Astrum Ampang project comprises 5,228 Soho (small office/home office) transit homes, Rumah Mampu Milik Soho and serviced apartments along with 27 retail units with a total gross development value of RM1.6 billion, with a Soho transit concept alongside a proposed direct-linked pedestrian bridge access to the Jelatek LRT Station.
Astrum Ampang units are priced at as low as RM230,000 to offer the opportunity to single executives, start-up entrepreneurs, young professionals and first-time homebuyers to own a property in the urban city area.
OCBC Bank managing director and head of corporate & commercial banking Jeffrey Teoh Nee Teik said the bridging loan agreement comes at a time of growing market recovery and the increasing need to provide sustainable options for millennials to own homes in the city.
“Sustainability is undoubtedly the way forward, and affordability must factor in the mix for the younger generation who would be making the single most expensive purchase in their lives. We trust the development will receive buoyant interest from millennials as the country moves into endemicity. We certainly see growing appetite for sustainability-linked properties and would like to finance more of these,” he said in a statement today.
Speaking for Astrum Ampang, Setia Awan Group central region COO James Bruyns said the bridging loan enables the company to progress without obstacles toward completion of the first phase in 2026.
“We are like-minded in our recognition of the heavy vehicle traffic and pollution that are increasingly becoming issues of concern, not to mention the rising costs of purchasing and maintaining motor vehicles, parking payments as well as fuel. The Jelatek LRT Station which is only 150 meters from Astrum Ampang certainly provides its residents with a sustainable and efficient transportation option.
“Given the softer housing market conditions in recent times, Astrum Ampang focuses on the development of more affordable housing segments with phase 1 of this residential development priced at a low entry cost of RM230,000 to RM270,000 and slated for completion in 2026. This is below the National Property Information Centre median house price of RM310,000 (as at 2021) and well within the reach of Bank Negara Malaysia’s median household income at RM5,209, addressing the mismatch of supply-demand of the current property sector,” he added.
