Iskandar Malaysia Property Glut Due To Inefficient Connectivity - Datamine

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 7 (Bernama) -- Market research firm, Datamine attributes the property glut in Iskandar Malaysia, in southern state Johor to multiple barriers particularly connectivity. Founder and head of research Jerren Lai said inefficient connectivity with Singapore like the delayed Rapid Transit System (RTS) and Puteri Harbour ferry connection to Singapore HarbourFront and KL-Singapore High-Speed Rail were major barriers preventing demand from reaching supply. Datamine estimated that some 600,000 white-collar Malaysians are currently renting or own a property in Singapore. “If connectivity between Johor Bahru Checkpoint (JB CIQ) and Singapore is significantly improved with the upcoming RTS and Thomson-East Coast Line MRT, a nominal 20 per cent who decide to relocate to Iskandar Malaysia would have already fully absorbed the oversupply,” Lai said in a statement Wednesday. He said the property oversupply in Iskandar Malaysia was fundamentally different from Klang Valley and northern state Penang. “The core difference for Iskandar Malaysia is demand can’t get to supply due to multiple barriers, which can be identified as there is no shortage of demand,” he said. To alleviate the issue, he said Singapore would be the ideal market to trigger the change because 80 per cent of Singaporeans live in leasehold Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats that would rapidly lose their value nearing 60 years as the bank would be reluctant to offer loans. “Many aspire to get freehold properties but are out of their reach in Singapore, while Iskandar Malaysia has an abundance of freehold properties so there is a viable option to sell their HDB flats fast and buy into Iskandar Malaysia properties,” he said. Meanwhile, he said the JB CIQ area at Bukit Chagar has been identified as the most significant property hotspot in Iskandar Malaysia. He noted that properties in the area were within 15 minutes’ walking distance to the CIQ hub where the future RTS would be located. Datamine’s latest Iskandar Property Census Tracker for the third quarter revealed that JB CIQ’s property median price is US$201,015 (RM836,125) or RM921 per square foot (psf), while the rest of Iskandar Malaysia is US$137,980 (RM573,931) or RM577 psf. (US$1 = RM4.15) -- BERNAMA