Singaporeans like landed properties in Iskandar, say developers

VIP guest: Johor state secretary Datuk Ismail Karim (sixth from left), Johor Rehda organising chairman Simon Heng Kwang Hock (third from left), Hoe (fifth from left) and Johor Rehda deputy chairman Wong Kuen Kong (right) looking at a property model after launching Mapex 2015 yesterday.

Property sales in Iskandar Malaysia have managed to keep its momentum with demand for landed properties and well-planned business parks.

Johor Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda) branch chairman Hoe Mee Ling said such properties were especially popular with Singaporeans who were planning to set up businesses in Johor.

“They are looking for business parks that are near the highways and townships because setting up shop here is only about one-third of the cost of operating in Singapore,” Hoe said after the official launch of the second edition of this year’s Malaysia Property Expo (Mapex) yesterday.

She cited factors such as the geographical location, improvement of infrastructure, growing workforce and continuing investments had helped to boost demand for such properties.

“Property sales depend largely on the external factors like quality, concept and good after-sales service.

“Customers take these things into account before considering their investment decisions,” she said.

She added that the job opportunities in Iskandar Malaysia was another factor.

She said there is no denying the overall slow economy but “we are observing a positive property sales trend as the fundamental demand for properties is still there.”

She said that the current economic and political climate may have some short-term impact on the progress of Iskandar Malaysia but this would be mitigated by the economic region’s many inherent advantages.

She said Johor Baru, especially Iskandar Malaysia, did not show a gaping decline in the property sales trend.

The three-day Mapex expo ends tomorrow in City Square shopping mall here. A total of 35 developers and exhibitors are offering 19,000 properties with a combined value of RM18.6bil located in and around Iskandar Malaysia. - By Yee Xiang Yu (The Star)