Will the new rail line encourage more Singaporeans to choose to live in Johor Bahru as living costs and rents soar in the city?

The capital of Malaysia’s Johor state has seen a boom in construction, with new high-rise apartment buildings within walking distance of border crossings and a new train station directly connected to Singapore’s vast mass rapid transit corridor.

Gregory Low, who describes himself as “half Singaporean, half from JB,” as the Malaysian city is colloquially called, said the city-state’s soaring rents have spurred a surge in Singaporeans choosing to move to Malaysia. He said he was doing it.

“Rental prices are soaring in Singapore, which has led to a surge in Singaporeans investing and relocating to JB,” real estate agent Low said in Asia this week.

Since moving to JB in 2012, he said rent in Singapore has more than doubled compared to when he lived in his hometown. Meanwhile, Singapore’s Urban Redevelopment Authority reported in 2023 that private housing rents increased by 29.7% from 2021 to 2022 alone.

The situation has been exacerbated by the recent hike in Singapore’s Goods and Services Tax to 9% from 7% at the start of the year, as well as the highest increase in electricity prices since late 2022.

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Sharmila Devi, a Malaysian banker, found this out the hard way after accepting a coveted job offer in Singapore. She was used to living alone in the privacy of a cozy apartment in Kuala Lumpur, but now she can share rooms with strangers because her $2,000 can buy her a small room with a bathroom. I had to.

“I had to rethink my needs and desires,” she said in Asia this week. She asked, “Do you want to spend 20 percent of her salary and share a unit with her five or six strangers? Or do you want to pay half of her salary and have her own space?”

Sharmila, who last lived in shared accommodation 15 years ago when she was a student, said her rent amounted to more than 7,000 ringgit (US$1,480), a 2,000-square-foot apartment near Kuala Lumpur’s landmark Petronas Twin Towers. You can get a condo with square footage.

“It’s strange when you think about it in that sense,” she argued.

The changes in work culture and the flexibility of remote work that have emerged post-pandemic have made it increasingly easier for people to switch from Singapore to JB.

Harjinder Singh, a Singaporean who works as a logistics manager in Tuas, Singapore, says his current work arrangement only requires him to come to the office once a week for a meeting on Monday, and he spends most of his time in his new town, Horizon.・He said he would be able to spend time at Hills. He rents a terraced house with land just outside Johor Bahru.

“I’ve always wanted a place where my dog ​​can run around,” Harjinder said in Asia this week.

The town is conveniently located between the causeway and the Second Bridge, the only land connection between the two countries.

“Tuas is right across and the bridge has less traffic than the Causeway. If you need me for work, I can be in Singapore within an hour,” he said.

This has been reinforced by the strength of the Singapore dollar and the depreciation of the Malaysian ringgit, with the gap between the two currencies widening, with the dollar now worth more than 3.5 times the ringgit.

Mr Low, a real estate agent, said that due to the strong currency and relatively affordable options, Singaporeans are not crazy about the size of properties they buy in JB, but would rather buy a 1,000 sq ft public property in Singapore. He said he was just looking for a small upgrade from a residential apartment.

“Many people prefer attached homes and apartments that are around 1,400 square feet,” he said.

Even more important is connectivity.

‘Unprecedented’: Malaysia and Singapore promote special economic zones

Guangzhou-based R&F Group’s Princess Cove complex is one such property. The complex, a vast mixed-use commercial development complete with apartments and an opera house, is “selling like hotcakes” with Singaporean buyers, attracted by its “one-of-a-kind property” claim, according to real estate agents. “I’m here.” It is 1,056 meters away from Singapore. ”

The property, which overlooks the causeway, is also becoming increasingly popular as it will eventually be connected to the long-awaited Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System Link (RTS Link), which is expected to be operational by the end of 2026.

The 4km RTS link, located just east of the congested causeway, allows for one-time border checks between the two countries, and the use of QR codes instead of passports for quick transfers, even during rush hour. It can process more than 10,000 people per hour during.

More than 350,000 people use the more than 100-year-old causeway to enter and leave the border each day, making it one of the world’s busiest land border crossings. There are high expectations on both sides.

Singapore created Malaysia in 1963 along with Malaya, North Borneo and Sarawak. However, it seceded in 1965 due to disagreements with the federal government in Kuala Lumpur.

The two leaders also witnessed the signing of the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ). This will establish a one-stop business and investment center in Johor to help Singapore businesses establish their operations beyond the causeway. These include QR code immigration inspections that do not require passports, and bilateral cooperation on renewable energy projects in special economic zones.

Malaysian Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli said of Malaysia’s vision for the region: “I hope that one day the international community will be able to discuss this JS-SEZ in the same way that we have talked about Shenzhen and Hong Kong in the past.”

Singapore was the second-largest foreign investor in Johor in the first half of 2022, accounting for about 70% of total foreign direct investment in manufacturing.

The two neighboring countries are also each other’s second largest trading partners, with bilateral trade reaching S$153 billion (US$115 billion) in the same year.

This line-up of leaders, along with Johor’s current monarch Ibrahim Ismail, who is poised to take the throne as Malaysia’s next king next month, is seen as the perfect group to bring meaningful attention to the experienced region. There is. There was a false start under previous leadership.

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Launched with much fanfare in 2006, Malaysia branded an area of ​​2,217 square kilometers, three times the size of Singapore, as Iskandar Malaysia, a development corridor aimed at capitalizing on Malaysia’s land-rich land and proximity to Singapore. .

With the RTS Link’s track and schedule back on track, Prime Minister Anwar’s government is considering reviving the high-speed rail project that would bring Kuala Lumpur, let alone Johor Bahru, closer to Singapore.

While the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula is excited about these developments, locals in Johor Bahru complain about the constant construction work around them that is taking away the charm of their city.

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Malaysia’s multibillion-dollar China-linked ghost town project stalled due to coronavirus and capital controls

Malaysia’s multibillion-dollar China-linked ghost town project stalled due to coronavirus and capital controls

“Lido Beach, Danga Bay, those were our stepping stones and now they are gone,” said Farooq Rahmat from Johor Baru’s Bandar Baru Uda district.

Coastal development, primarily by Chinese companies, has transformed the once-tranquil cityscape as the coastline is reclaimed to make way for high-rise mixed-use developments similar to R&F Princess Cove.

“That’s why I like pandemic lockdowns,” he said. “For two years, no Singaporeans came.”

Meanwhile, Nurul Huda Md Zein, a recent university graduate, said her prices were out of reach for locals and instead catered to the demands of Singaporeans. I’m grieving for the future.

“It feels like everything here is just there to serve them, not us,” Nurul said.

When I ask her if she’s considering working in Singapore, she says jobs in Johor Bahru itself don’t pay as well, so that’s likely to be the only option, other than moving further north to Kuala Lumpur. .

Forest City housing built by China ‘remains empty’ as Malaysia attracts expatriates to Singapore

Although they are aware of the government’s plans for Johor Bahru and the state as a whole, many Malaysians believe that past experiences of large-scale development taking place around them to serve the needs of others have led them to believe that it will not affect them. There remains skepticism about what benefits it will bring.

One such project is Forest City by another Chinese developer Country Garden. It has been touted as a failure and a “ghost city” marketed to Chinese investors who were similarly drawn to the mystique of its proximity to Singapore.

A recent visit by This Week in Asia in December found the area overgrown with vegetation, many closed shops and many high-rise apartment buildings with few residents.

“When you see it, you believe it,” said Rosita Buan, who runs a small general store in a village near Forest City.

But real estate broker Gregory Rowe is bullish.

“When I moved here in 2012, there were only three cafes in JB. Now there are over 100,” he says, adding that the quality of life in the two cities is becoming similar. emphasized. “The dream of Shenzhen and Hong Kong may come true.”