RM1m floor price won't impact Iskandar projects

THE new RM1 million (S$385,500) floor price for foreign property buyers will not have much impact on Iskandar Malaysia as only an estimated one in five purchasers is a foreigner, according to a property consultant.

Speaking at a 2014 property outlook briefing by the Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA) in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, Loo Kung Hoe of Rahim & Co (Johor) said that half of the residential property buyers in the economic zone are Malaysians working in Singapore and about 30 per cent are locals.

As foreigners are more inclined to acquire properties costing more than RM1 million, Mr Loo said the new ruling, which takes effect on May 1, would have little impact. Some areas of Iskandar, including Medini, Putri Harbour and China Garden's Danga Bay development, are also exempt from price restrictions or quotas, though homes there are more likely to exceed RM1 million than not.