Contessa

Bangsar is one of Kuala Lumpur's oldest upmarket neighbourhoods, a few kilometres south-west of the city centre. Its name comes from Bunge and Sargent, the partners who ran the rubber estate it was built on. Today it is fully built out and settled: leafy hillside streets of bungalows and landed homes, low-rise and mid-rise condominiums, and a reputation as the city's original lifestyle address. Expats of many nationalities, affluent Malaysian families, professionals and retirees who prefer greenery to glass towers all live here.

The social centre is Bangsar Baru, around Jalan Telawi: cafes, restaurants, bars and small independent shops, with Bangsar Village and Bangsar Shopping Centre for the bigger errands and Mid Valley a short drive away. Everyday services are close at hand, from 24-hour marts to laundries and salons, and the Sunday night market is an institution. The hills, Bangsar Hill Park and the Jalan Kapas and Bukit Bandaraya enclaves above all, are green, private and quiet despite being so close to the centre.

Getting around is easier than in most of the city. LRT Bangsar on the Kelana Jaya line gives a direct run to KL Sentral and the centre, several condominiums are a few minutes' walk from it, and KTM Komuter stations serve the area too. Damansara Heights, Mid Valley, KL Sentral, Mont Kiara and the TRX financial district are all a short drive. The flip side is traffic: roads around schools, offices and the commercial centre jam at peak hours, parking in Bangsar Baru is hard, and walking between the hills and the shops often means busy roads with poor pavements.

Bangsar changes slowly. Landed supply is tight and new launches are rare in Bangsar proper, though several integrated projects are reshaping its edges and older shop lots and flats are expected to be redeveloped in time. Older condominiums still trade well, and demand at the upper end has proved resilient.