HSR’s termination will impact property prices in Johor area
JOHOR BAHRU: The High Speed Rail ( HSR) termination means that the Rapid Transit System (RTS)–Gemas double tracked railway will be the only future rail connection between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. JB CIQ area will become a major interchange for the two lines.
Jerren Lai, head of research at Datamine Malaysia said that the JB CIQ area is not only a major interchange in future but already a hotspot for many dwellers who work in Singapore.
“JB CIQ properties will be significantly influenced by Singapore Woodlands valuation once RTS construction starts,” he said in a statement.
“It is projected that JB CIQ property prices will be 30 per cent lower than Singapore Woodlands once RTS is up and running. The current six-year delay on the RTS has not only stagnated prices at RM921psf but resulted in some distressed sales.”
The most common type of real estate valuation method in Malaysia is comparison on location proximity, condition and property size. JB CIQ’s valuation path will not likely be a ‘straight line’ progression from its current 240 per cent gap versus Woodlands to the forecast point of 30 per cent.
Lai opined that, “Strong rental demand, which influences valuation, will only take place upon completion of the RTS in 5 years’ time.
“During the construction phase, valuation will likely fluctuate in tandem with perceived efficiency on factors such as timeline, immigration clearance system, crowd control system that will interplay to form the market price.”
Once the RTS is completed, it is faster to get to Singapore Woodlands from JB CIQ than to, say, nearby Larkin area. The journey will take five minutes and another 35 minutes via the upcoming Thompson-East Coast
MRT line to downtown Singapore Orchard Boulevard station.
The latest Urban Redevelopment Authority 2020 (URA Singapore) reports that Woodlands (District 25) private property median price stands at S$737 per square feet (psf) (RM2,211psf) while Orchard (District 10) stands at S$1,968psf (RM5,904psf).
In contrast, the latest Iskandar Property Census research that systematically tracks Johor properties since 2012 recorded JB CIQ median price at RM921 (S$307). This represents a 2.4 times price gap compared to Woodlands and 6.4 times gap to Orchard area.
JB CIQ median price is computed from Datamine Malaysia census data comprising 8 properties – Skysuites (RM635psf), Sky Habitat (RM800psf), V Summerplace (RM748psf), TriTower (RM1,253psf), Suasana (RM1,350psf), R&F Princess Cove (RM910psf), Twin Tower (RM791psf), Paragon Suites (RM880psf). — Bernama