The recent opening of Legoland Malaysia (pictured) in September has so far attracted more than 250,000 visitors from across the region, including those from Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines.
The influx of tourists will likely bolster the retail property market in Johor, but its impact on residential buying interest and investment is still uncertain.
According to UEM Land, the theme park is expected to enhance the value of its nearby developments such as the Residences @ Medini North.
In fact, many developers are banking on Legoland’s popularity. For instance, there are more than 300 active sale listings for properties in Iskandar on PropertyGuru Malaysia.
Gavin Tee, Founder and President of SwhengTee International Real Estate Investors Club, said: “Developments like Setia 88 and IGB’s Southkey Megamall in ‘older’ areas of Johor such as Tebrau do stand to benefit from the establishment of Legoland.”
But experts feel that Legoland is not a stand-alone catalyst that will single-handedly boost Johor’s property market. The region needs the holistic effort of all the projects in Nusajaya and Medini such as Edu City and the Wellness Centre.
“Indeed, Legoland is definitely a crowd puller, but such as in the case of the Johor Premium Outlets (JPO), the branded theme park cannot be solely depended on to boost the real estate and economic industries in the area,” said Tee.
Adrian Un, Director of Mortgage Broker added: “Legoland is definitely an iconic landmark. However, I don’t see property investors using Legoland as the only reason for their future purchase of properties in Iskandar and I certainly don’t see a mad rush to buy properties just because of Legoland.”
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor of PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
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