UCHING: Iskandar Malaysia’s property sector will soon be comparable with that of Klang Valley on the back of the mega government to government (G2G) tie-ups and support by the Singaporean government.
Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd (Kenanga Research) in its research report noted that Iskandar was set to be the next property engine. It highlighted that Johor-based developers had been hosting numerous foreign and local investors.
“We are heartened by the increased traffic on the Second Link highway. This is a big departure from a year ago, when there were very few cars on the road,” it observed.
The support shown by the two governments was also set to boost Johor developments. Among the projects that Temasek Holdings Ltd and Khazanah Nasional Bhd to develop Marina South and Ophir-Rochor in Singapore, Urban Wellness at Medini North and the 85.5 hectare Resort Wellness project joint venture development with E&O Bhd.
“Both governments have agreed to a Johor-Singapore My Rapid Transit and the KL-Singapore High-Speed Rail which is viewed positively by the rest of the world.”
Kenanga Research believed that Johor’s property sector would soon be comparable to Klang Valley. It highlighted that new launches of cluster homes in gated and guarded communities were being priced at RM700,000 to RM850,000 per unit in prime areas with semi-detached and bungalows easily clearing the RM1 million level.
These prices were almost a 40 per cent to 70 per cent increase from 12 to 18 months ago.
“Current pricing is narrowing towards average Klang Valley pricing while in the past, Johor used to command steeper discounts of 25 to 35 per cent over the last six years,” said Kenanga Research.
The research house predicted that prices would eventually exceed Klang Valley as foreign buyers and Johorians earning in Singaporean dollars have greater spending power in the backdrop of the state’s relatively cheaper real estate market.
“We believe that there will be a two-tiered market in Johor: the investors/foreign market and the local market. As of now, the non-Nusajaya market (areas closer to the Johor Bahru city centre) is mostly driven by locals working in Johor while the Nusajaya areas are mostly occupied by foreign buyers who enjoy ‘international lot’ status with no foreign buyers restrictions,” Kenanga Research explained.
As such, the non-Nusajaya areas are largely driven by sustainable organic population, typically owner-occupiers rather than investors.
On the other hand, Kenanga Research believed that Nusajaya would see greater price speculation given the number of foreign buyers who typically see properties as investments.
“This will result in a greater push of capital values as seen with recent launches while we understand high-end launches in the near future could be averaging between RM900 to RM1,200 per square foot.”
The research house expected this trajectory to continue over the next few years since residential yields in those areas had still been commanding six to 13 per cent for properties bought three to five years ago.
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