High SG rentals a plus for Johor property sales

SINGAPORE: The real estate sector in Johor, boosted by the red-hot property market in Singapore, will be getting another boost as conditions are relaxed for the My Malaysia Second Home (MM2H) programme to attract foreigners to retire and live in Malaysia for extended periods, the Malaysian National News Agency, Bernama, reported this on Monday (Oct 23).

The report quoted Datuk Mohd Jafni Md Shukor, the State Housing and Local Government Committee Chairman, as saying that these two factors will address the problem of Johor’s unsold properties, breathing new life into the state’s housing developments.

“From the first quarter of 2022 to the first quarter of this year, Johor real estate sales have increased by 17 percent, following the doubling of rents in Singapore. We are seeing many who work there and Singapore citizens buying properties here. So, certainly, the easing of the strict MM2H requirements will further revive the real estate sector and help resolve the unsold properties issue as well,” Bernama quotes the chairman as saying. The Singapore government implemented cooling measures earlier this year to ease high property prices.

Mr Mohd Jafni answered questions on Oct 23 regarding the relaxation of requirements for the My Malaysia Second Home programme. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had said during the recent tabling of Budget 2024 that the government is looking into easing these requirements to make the country more friendly to tourists and investors. When conditions were tightened in August 2021, the number of MM2H applications dropped significantly—by as much as 90 per cent, The Edge reported.

“We welcome the Prime Minister’s announcement, as it will not only resolve the issue of Johor’s unsold properties but also predicaments faced by the nation as a whole,” said Mr Mohd Jafni on Oct 23, adding, “There were a number of MM2H conditions that were tightened after 2018, including the requirement of RM1 million as deposit for the purchase of a property and to stay in Malaysia for at least 90 days. Indonesia and the Philippines do not impose such condition.”

Bernama added that Sultan Ibrahim Almarhum Sultan Iskandar, the Sultan of Johor, is also said to have urged changes to the Malaysia My Second Home programme to make Malaysia more attractive as a destination.

However, details on the eased restrictions of the Malaysia My Second Home Programme have not yet been announced.

Read related: HDB: Q3 resale prices up 1.2%, private property up 0.5% /TISG