Over 11,000 luxury serviced apartments unsold in Johor amid foreign interest
A total of 11,512 serviced apartments priced at RM500,000 and above remain unsold in Johor Baru and Iskandar Puteri, according to Datuk Mohd Jafni Md Shukor, the state Housing and Local Government committee chairman. Despite the high number of unsold units, developers have started to receive positive feedback from foreign buyers, particularly those from Singapore, where property prices are among the highest in the Asia Pacific region.
“Local property buyers do not need to worry about this because the housing policy of Johor has stipulated that only properties worth RM1 million and above are offered to foreigners, including buyers from Singapore,” said Mohd Jafni during the Public Draw for Rumah Transit Bangsa Johor (RTBJ) at Taman Kempas Utama.
Mohd Jafni also announced that up to 50 developers will participate in the Johor Housing Expo, set to take place at Angsana Johor Baru Mall for four days starting July 27. The expo aims to help reduce the overhang of unsold built homes in the state. On May 6, he revealed that 80% of unsold residences in Johor involved serviced apartments located around Johor Baru and Iskandar Puteri.
In addition, Mohd Jafni shared that the state government plans to build an estimated 1,000 more RTBJ units in the next five years, following the success of the RTBJ pilot project at Taman Kempas Utama, which received nearly 500 applications. The RTBJ programme offers a rent-to-own scheme, allowing selected individuals to rent a property for RM650 per month, with RM460 deducted as monthly rental and RM190 saved for five years. The accumulated savings will then be used as a deposit to purchase a new house.
