Rental demand for Johor homes surges amid soaring Singapore rents; Q1 sales volume beats pre-pandemic levels

[KUALA LUMPUR] With rentals soaring in Singapore, more Malaysians working in the Republic are opting to move across the Causeway to Johor Bahru (JB), where there are much cheaper accommodation options.

Jessie Chin and her fiance, who are currently renting a room in a Yishun flat for S$1,200 a month, have decided to head to JB when their tenancy agreement ends. They will move to a fully-furnished, two-bedroom apartment with a built-up area of 850 square feet (sq ft), about 20 kilometres away from Woodlands Checkpoint in Singapore. The rented property will cost them just RM1,700 (S$498) a month.

Even though they face the prospect of spending up to two hours in traffic and going through immigration, in commuting to and from their respective workplaces in Singapore, the couple said the extra effort will be worth the significant cost savings.