Residensi 38 Bangsar Reviewed: RM663,000 Entry, Leasehold, and the Trade-offs

Photo: Slleong / Wikimedia Commons, CC0

Residensi 38 Bangsar has the lowest from price of the three Bangsar projects compared below. Our Residensi 38 Bangsar listing shows a leasehold project by UDA Holdings Berhad, priced from RM663,000, starting at RM910 psf, with a completion year of 2024. This review covers what that price gets you, where the sources disagree, and who I think it suits.

Where it sits next to its neighbours

Per square foot it is level with Bangsar Hill Park, RM910 against RM911, so the difference is in the ticket size. Residensi 38 starts RM172,000 below Bangsar Hill Park and RM151,000 below The Lantern Bangsar. A from price is the cheapest unit on offer, not a typical one, so compare same-size units before you draw a conclusion. The Lantern Bangsar is the only freehold project in the table, and our data gives it no starting psf, so I cannot compare it per square foot.

What the sources say about the building

EdgeProp's 2021 launch report quoted 281 units, sizes from about 580 sq ft to 1,442 sq ft, and prices from RM758,000 to RM1.9 million. Most other sources give 278 residential units in one 38-storey tower, so the 281 probably includes three ground-floor shop lots. Confirm the figure with the developer or your lawyer.

Property listing sites describe layouts from studios up to three-bedroom, three-bathroom units, with some dual-key layouts, and list a swimming pool, a multi-purpose hall, parking and security. Sources put the building between about 300m and 450m from Bangsar LRT station (UDA's CEO said 350m in 2021). Walk the route at the time of day you would commute, because a straight-line figure says little about crossings and slopes.

The price gap since launch

The 2021 launch range started at RM758,000, which is RM95,000 above our listing's RM663,000. Sources suggest asking prices have since fallen, to roughly RM900 to RM970 psf from about RM1,300 psf at launch, and that the RM663,000 figure matches a unit of about 720 sq ft. If you are quoted a price near our from figure, ask which unit and floor it applies to and whether any rebate or discount applies.

Dividing RM663,000 by RM910 gives about 729 sq ft. Agent listings show a unit of about 720 sq ft at roughly RM662,400, so the two probably describe the same unit. This is our own arithmetic, not a floor plan.

The real drawbacks

• Leasehold. Our listing says leasehold and does not give the remaining lease term. Ask your lawyer for the title details before you pay a booking fee, and think about what a future buyer will see when you sell.
• Source mismatches. The unit count (281 or 278) and the top of the size range (1,442 sq ft in most sources) are reported inconsistently.
• Unverified walk to the LRT. The distance is reported between 300m and 450m, so check it on foot rather than trusting the number.
• Few comparable figures. Our listing gives a from price and psf only. It does not give a price range by unit type, so I cannot tell you what a three-bedroom costs.

Who it suits

I think it suits a buyer who wants a Bangsar address at the lowest ticket among the three projects above and is comfortable with leasehold. It also suits someone who values a completion year already behind us over waiting until 2028 for Bangsar Hill Park, assuming the listed years hold. It does not suit a buyer who needs freehold, and in that case The Lantern Bangsar at RM814,000 is the closer comparison, with its 2026 completion year.

My own view is that RM910 psf for a leasehold unit is only a good deal if the unit you are shown is the unit you are quoted. Get the exact unit, size, floor and net price in writing, confirm the lease and title with your lawyer, and compare it against recent transactions in the same building before you decide.

Sources

• EdgeProp: UDA Holdings set to launch 38 Bangsar in second quarter 2021
• Mudah.my: Residensi 38 Bangsar
• Bangsar 2, Slleong, CC0, Wikimedia Commons