The reopening of international borders post-pandemic has had a very pronounced effect on the property market. One reason is the return of foreign students to local varsities. This number is high and significantly boosts demand for rental property in areas near these institutions of higher learning. (According to ICEF Monitor website, while neither EMGS nor the Malaysian government releases official figures on foreign enrolment in the country, various media reports put the total at between 130,000 and 170,000 students for 2022. Malaysia has a long-term goal to build that enrolment base to 250,000 students by 2025.*)
One such area is the education hub of Subang Jaya, which is home to a large number of universities and colleges which include Taylor’s Lakeside Campus, Monash University, Metropolitan University and SEGi College. The last is about to open its doors at the edumetro development is USJ1, Subang Jaya and that announcement was greeted enthusiastically by property owners who welcome the additional footfall into the area.
The edumetro development is part of HCK Capital Group’s series of education cities, where each development is anchored by an education element. SEGi College will bring a young and trendy crowd into the development making its retail components even more appealing to potential tenants.
As it is, HCK has already put in a number of value-added attractions to selected retail units, not least provisions for these retail units to be used as FnB units already compliant with municipal regulations. These include necessary drainage systems as well as ventilation hoods to ensure fumes are properly sucked out. Such renovations can be extremely expensive to new businesses, hence its inclusion is a real boost to potential FnB outlets looking to capitalise on the (future) student population at edumetro.
Rental demand for edumetro’s Lakeview, The New Duo and Colonial+ LoSo suites also look set to receive a timely boost with returning students looking to set up shared study spaces – a new trend of co-sharing amenities to create a vibrant yet cost-effective space to chill, hangout or study.
Values on the secondary market are beginning to reflect this with some property owners in the area remarking that they have seen a 15% increase in value once students started flooding back to campuses. The edumetro development represents a great opportunity for investors to capitalise on the anticipated student footfall.
For more information on edumetro, please go to: https://edumetro.com.my/
