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Can the Johor-Singapore RTS Link help soak up the 61,000 new high-rise homes expected across the Causeway?

Challenge for developers and investors is timing: buying now to capture value, while also managing the risk of new supply flooding the market

    • Johor Bahru is at the front and centre of real estate action in Malaysia’s southern state.
    • Johor Bahru is at the front and centre of real estate action in Malaysia’s southern state. PHOTO: BT FILE
    Published Tue, Dec 30, 2025 · 11:30 AM

    [JOHOR BAHRU] Johor’s property market is being judged by two clocks. One counts down to early 2027, by when the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link is expected to be operational, easing cross-border friction. The other runs to 2031, when many project launches are due for completion.

    Between those dates sits a headline-grabbing figure: 61,000, an estimate of how many high-rise units are in Johor Bahru’s development pipeline, underpinning warnings of oversupply. 

    Yet, rental agents report robust take-up rates, firmer rents and fewer incentives, suggesting demand may already be tightening ahead of the RTS’ opening.

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