NEW STRAITS TIMES. 14TH JUNE: Johor’s problem with unsold serviced apartments costing more than RM500,000 might be a thing of the past given the favourable feedback local real estate developers are receiving from potential buyers, particularly expats arriving from Singapore.
The decision by Singapore to increase property taxes on non-citizens of the country may aid in the reduction of unsold real estate in Johor, particularly in Johor Bahru and Iskandar Puteri, where there are more than 100,000 completed but unoccupied units.
Taxes on non-residents were increased by the Singaporean government from 30 per cent to 60 per cent.
Ir Samuel Tan, executive director of KGV International Property Consultants (Johor) Sdn Bhd, said the higher tax along with the “fast and furious” rental increase in Singapore should boost the real estate market in Johor.
According to a recent report, 21 four-room HDB flats sold for more than SG$1 million in the first quarter of this year, which is triple the number of such units sold for more than SG$1 million in the same period in 2022. This is the highest number in recent years.
In the Iskandar Puteri and Johor Bharu city centres, there are presently 11,512 unoccupied serviced apartments with a value of more than RM500,000, according to Datuk Mohd Jafni Md Shukor, chairman of the state Housing and Local Government committee.
He said that overseas purchasers, particularly those from Singapore, whose home prices are reportedly among the most expensive in Asia Pacific this year, have begun to provide good feedback on the unsold units.