Johor Baru to get 80,900 high-rise residentials

Authorities in Johor Baru have approved 80,900 units of high-rise residentials, of which 8,000 are currently being constructed, said KGV International Property Consultants.

This figure is expected to increase to about 90,000 units by 2017.

Executive director Samuel Tan said the 10%, or 8,000 units, was not an issue if the other 90% were not built.

“As it is, many developers in the area are already pulling their brakes. Some may cancel (their plans),” he said at the 8th Malaysian Property Summit organised by Association of Valuers, Property Managers, Estate Agents and Property Consultants in the Private Sector Malaysia.

If the developers limit the supply for the next two to three years, it would help until the four game changers, which would change the face of Johor, nears completion.

These four are the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail, the rapid transit system linking Johor with the city state, infrastructure projects and the Pengerang petroleum complex.

Tan said high-rise residentials had been the staple of developers in Johor since 2013 with Country Garden launching 9,000 units at one go that year in Danga Bay.

Since then, the mainland Chinese developer has changed its strategy as it has realised that the Johor market is unable “to take such a large number”.

Tan said the value and volume of transactions for all the property sub-segments comprising residential, commercial, development and others saw a huge jump in 2012 and 2013.

Volume increased from about 7,400 transactions to reach about 20,000 in 2012 and 2013. In average value terms, it jumped from RM456,000 to RM940,000 in a span of just two years.

This spike was followed by a drop in 2014, with value dropping to about RM840,000 and volume down to about 18,000 units, which is still high by comparison to the earlier years of Iskandar Malaysia that was officially launched in 2006.

“It’s been a marathon, not a sprint. And it is time for a breather,” Tan said.

He said Iskandar would go through different stages of growth but what was important was that “it must generate sustained growth and give confidence to the stakeholders.”

Going forward, he expects the interest to shift from residentials to shop offices priced from RM1.7mil with a monthly rental of RM5,000 and above.

The main areas of interest would be Nusajaya, Tebrau, Southern Link and Kulai/Senai. Private factories would be concentrated in Nusajaya, Kulai, Seelong/Senai and Pengerang in the future.

Quasi-government industrial parks would be in Sedenak and Tanjung Langsat. - By The Star