Every article on this site, grouped by topic: policy and tax, transport and infrastructure, the Johor economy, cross-border buying between Singapore and Johor, new launches, and what to understand before and after you buy. Each piece states which document or statement it came from and the day it was published, and is compiled by licensed real estate negotiator Simon Wang San Teik (REN 56506).
Johor Bahru City Council has tabled a RM278 million development budget for 2027, up about 10% year on year. Roads 19%, beautification 18%, flood management 17%, street and traffic lights 11%, sports and recreation 10%. The Lido waterfront park is…
Johor has approved 42 data centre projects worth RM164.45 billion (Menteri Besar, Q2 2025). The lists circulating online add up project investments, construction costs, green financing and land purchase prices as though they were the same kind of money. They…
Malaysia’s Department of Statistics put the June 2026 median monthly wage for citizen formal employees at RM3,000. Only 9.5% earn RM10,000 or more, and the top decile starts at RM9,600. The 25–29 band is the largest at 19.2%, or 1.38…
The Johor Economic Transformation Plan names 83 investment projects worth RM167.4 billion, targeting state GDP of RM260 billion and more than 200,000 new jobs by 2030. Over the same period 609 residential projects and nearly 115,000 homes are in the…
Over the past 12 months only 535 of Singapore’s 11,993 condo resales went for S$800,000 or less, and the cheapest was S$570,000 — 398 sq ft on a 60-year lease with about 47 years left. In the same period 5,548…
Johor publishes one threshold — RM1,000,000 and above, for every category. The RM600,000 and RM500,000 figures in circulation are project-by-project State Authority approvals, not a second threshold. The official rules, the quotas, and nine things closed to foreigners at any…
The housing ministry said on 26 October that the national short-term rental framework is in final review. But for a strata owner the harder gate is already in place: in 2020 the Federal Court held that a management body may…
Announced on 9 October: a first home up to RM500,000 pays no stamp duty on either the loan agreement or the transfer; from RM500,000 to RM750,000 the first RM500,000 is free and the balance is halved. It applies to sale…
Malaysian home loans differ in two ways: how the rate is set (floating or fixed, conventional or Islamic) and whether you can take back what you overpay (basic, semi-flexi, full flexi). Non-residents may also borrow from Malaysian banks, with no…
When you buy from a licensed developer in Malaysia, the SPA follows a statutory form: Schedule G for landed homes (24 months to deliver) and Schedule H for strata units (36 months, though some condo projects state 48 or even…
A subsale purchase has none of the statutory protection of a new launch, so the checks before signing matter more: an official land search, charges and caveats, state consent to transfer, maintenance arrears, quit rent and assessment, and the RPGT…
A completed unit can be inspected and handed over quickly. Before signing, still check the certificate of completion and compliance (CCC), whether the strata title has been issued, when the defect liability period and maintenance fees start, and utilities.
With an under-construction project you pay as it is built and collect the keys two or three years later. Your protection comes from the Housing Development Act: the licence, the advertising and sales permit, the statutory agreement and the delivery…
A new project's maintenance fee is not set at the developer's whim. The Fifth Schedule of the Schedule H agreement fixes the formula: estimated annual expenditure ÷ total share units × your unit's share units, plus a sinking fund of…
A strata title is a separate title for each unit in a building, with common property owned by all owners together. An individual title is a separate title for a plot of land. Both are issued by the land office;…
A new home in Malaysia comes with a 24-month defect liability period from the day you take vacant possession. Defects from workmanship or materials, or work not built to the approved plans, must be fixed free within 30 days of…
Late developer instalments: 10% a year, day to day. Late home loan instalments: 1% a year on the overdue amount. Late maintenance fees: up to 10% a year. Johor quit rent after 31 May: a 20% penalty. Each rate is…
An under-construction condo in Malaysia is paid for in stages fixed by law in the Schedule H agreement: 10% on signing, 65% during construction, 17.5% at vacant possession, 2.5% with the strata title, and a final 5% held by the…
Home insurance comes in three layers: the building, what is inside it, and the loan. A condo building is insured by the JMB or MC at reinstatement value, revalued every five years; landed owners insure their own house; and lenders…
Buying a condo means owning a share of the whole building. Under the Strata Management Act 2013, management passes from the developer to the JMB to the MC. The developer must hold the JMB’s first meeting within 12 months of…
Owning property means two annual levies: assessment tax to the local council and quit rent to the state land office. The assessment account must be transferred within three months of a sale; in Johor Bahru it is done online for…
Once the developer gives notice of vacant possession, the defect liability period, service charges, quit rent and assessment, and the lawyer’s retention all start running. Settle the final stages, inspect against the Fourth Schedule, and pay utility and service charge…
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