Expert sees spectre of ghost towns in Johor
PETALING JAYA: A veteran property consultant has warned that many places in Johor will become ghosts towns because of the top-down nature of development there, particularly in the Iskandar region.
In an interview with FMT, chartered surveyor Ernest Cheong said he feared there wouldn’t be enough people to occupy the thousands of houses and commercial buildings being constructed.
“Just Forest City alone is estimated to be able to house some 700,000 people,” he said. “Who will take up these houses? Johoreans? That is unlikely. There are fewer than two million locals in Johor Bahru, and that’s a generous estimate. Many of them already own houses.”
Exactly! I've said this many timers before.
He noted that some people expected Singapore and Chinese nationals to move in, but he said it was doubtful that enough of them would do so.
“Singaporeans who are rich wouldn’t want to move to Iskandar as they can live anywhere else around the world. Those who aren’t rich may not find it feasible to move to Iskandar and commute across the island every day. It is costly and time consuming.”
Spot on!
But of course, there are still some die hard fans who don't mind all the wasted time and hustle daily
He also said it was doubtful that Singaporeans wishing to migrate would choose to move to Malaysia.
“People usually want to migrate to places where they believe the grass is greener. Why would Singaporeans, who enjoy a higher standard of living there, want to come here? It doesn’t make sense.”
As for Chinese nationals, Cheong said Iskandar would be just one of the many places they would have properties in.
He said many rich Chinese had a number of properties in cities around the world and would look at Iskandar as a place to invest in rather than to relocate to.
“So, even if all the units being developed by Chinese companies are sold, who will stay there?
“There is a demand for affordable housing from locals, but the Chinese developers aren’t building affordable housing. How many can afford to buy or rent these places?”
The reason is very simple, the developers can't make big money from such projects, they are only keen on huge profits and are not responsible for social duties and responsibilities.
Cheong, who has worked at his trade for more than 40 years, said he was concerned that a low rate of occupancy in the Iskandar region would affect the value of surrounding properties “because no one wants to stay in an empty neighbourhood”.
“Sadly, this is the reality of development in Malaysia,” he said. “Developers think they can just build on a plot of land and people will come in. They don’t understand that demand is not just about people wanting homes; it’s about them wanting homes they can afford.”
Data from the National Property Information Centre show that developers in Johor plan to build more than 350,000 private homes in the state. Some of these are already under construction.
