[KUALA LUMPUR] The number of property transactions in Johor Bahru – the southernmost city in Malaysia – is on the rise, as buyers hunt for deals ahead of the opening of a new railway shuttle link with Singapore in three years’ time.

The Johor Bahru-Singapore rapid transit system (RTS), as the project is called, is a 4 km cross-border service that’s on track to be completed by the end of 2026, with as many as 10,000 commuters moving in both directions per hour.

In the first three months of this year, the state of Johor had 7,497 residential property transactions worth nearly RM3.2 billion (S$947 million) – the second-highest in terms of transaction volume and value after Selangor.