Prices of homes in Iskandar Malaysia will increase in the next six to 12 months, according to Koh Moo Hing, Branch Chairman at the Johor Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (REHDA).
“Our members have not much choice but to pass the cost to consumers and we are seeing at least five percent increase in months to come,” said Koh, adding that it is mainly driven by rising prices of building materials like cement and steel as well as labour shortage.
Land prices have also climbed since Iskandar was launched around six years ago.
While property prices in Iskandar are expected to increase, these will not be as high as the levels in Penang and Klang Valley, Koh noted.
He expects that properties in Iskandar will continue to see healthy demand amid the unfavourable property market, with interest coming mainly from “first time house buyers and upgraders as well as Malaysians working in Singapore”.
These buyers are expected to follow through with their purchases as they had anticipated the price increases. Moreover, they have strong purchasing power due to the strong Singapore dollar.
Meanwhile, Koh urged Johor’s REHDA members to prepare for future challenges while refraining from being too ambitious.
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