This is for anyone in Johor Bahru choosing between a completed resale home and a unit still being built, whether to live in or to rent out. The short answer for 2026: new high-rise launches near the RTS Link are asking well above what completed JB units have been transacting at, while landed demand runs mostly through subsale. So the real question is what you are paying for the gap.
I covered the general trade-offs in new launch vs subsale in Malaysia. This article stays on JB numbers.
The price gap in JB high-rise
Consultants measure slightly different things, so I show their figures side by side rather than blend them.
| Segment | Price per sq ft | Who said it, when |
|---|---|---|
| JB serviced apartments, average transacted, 1H2025 | RM709 | JLL Malaysia, July 2025 |
| High-rise transacted, JB city centre, 2024–25 | RM850–RM925 | Nawawi Tie Leung, January 2026 |
| High-rise transacted, outside city centre and Iskandar Puteri | RM550–RM615 | Nawawi Tie Leung, January 2026 |
| New serviced apartment launches within 5 km of the RTS terminal | Mostly RM850–RM1,300 | Olive Tree, October 2025 |
| New serviced apartment launches around Bukit Chagar | RM1,000–RM1,500 | JLL Malaysia, July 2025 |
| New launches, JB central business district | RM900–RM1,200 | Olive Tree, March 2026 |
To put that in ringgit: an 800 sq ft unit at the RM709 psf average works out at about RM567,000. The same size at RM1,000 psf is RM800,000, and at RM1,300 psf it is RM1,040,000. That is a gap of roughly RM233,000 to RM473,000 for the same floor area. This is an illustration from the cited figures, not a valuation of any project.
Part of the gap is real: newer facilities and, for some projects, a short walk to the RTS station. Part of it is simply the newest price in the market. Buying new is a bet that resale prices catch up by the time you sell or refinance. My Bukit Chagar area guide covers what is near the station.
What the condo pipeline means for resale
Supply is why I am cautious about a large premium. NAPIC’s residential overhang count for Johor, which excludes serviced apartments, was 3,852 completed unsold units in Q1 2026, second highest in the country. Serviced apartments, most of JB city’s condo stock, are counted separately. In February 2025 the state housing committee chairman said Johor had 102,438 serviced apartments, of which 11,810 were unsold, with another 27,688 under construction and 24,592 awaiting planning approval.
Olive Tree counted at least 20 launches within 5 km of the RTS terminal in a single year, expected to add about 30,000 units within two to three years, mostly small units under 1,000 sq ft. Its CEO named a repeat of the last cycle’s overhang as the biggest risk.
If you buy new, you may complete alongside thousands of similar units, which can weigh on rents and resale prices. If you buy subsale, the same supply gives you more choice and room to negotiate.
Landed homes: mostly a subsale market
Nationally, about 83% of residential transactions in 2024 were on the secondary market, according to NAPIC’s 2024 report. I could not find a published Johor split, but in mature JB townships such as Mount Austin, Taman Molek and Bukit Indah, new landed supply is limited, so most landed buyers there buy resale. Olive Tree’s 2Q2025 monitor put a 1,400 sq ft terrace in Taman Mount Austin at RM800,000 on resale.
On my listings page for subsale houses in JB, there are 263 listings with a median asking price of RM548,000, and my subsale condo and apartment page has 82 listings with a median asking price of RM258,000 (IQI co-broke inventory, 17 October 2026). Asking prices are not transaction prices and the condo median includes older apartments, but the entry point is clearly lower than new RTS-area stock. Juwai IQI reported that Johor’s subsale prices rose 8.3% in 2Q2026, so resale is not standing still either.
Side by side in JB
| Subsale (completed) | New launch (under construction) | |
|---|---|---|
| Price evidence | Recorded transactions nearby | Launch price set by the developer |
| Move in or rent out | After completion of the sale | After vacant possession, often years away |
| Loan release | Released in full at completion; full instalments start | Released in stages as works finish; interest on the drawn amount |
| Main risk | Condition, older facilities, bank valuation | Late delivery, completing into heavy supply |
| Bumiputera lots | Check the title for restrictions | Some units reserved; release needs state approval |
How the loan works differently
With a unit under construction, the bank pays the developer in stages under the statutory schedule, from 10% at signing through foundations, structure, walls and services. You pay interest only on what has been released, so early instalments are small, but your total cost rises if the project runs late.
With subsale, the whole loan is released when the sale completes, so full instalments start straight away, but you can live in or rent out the home from day one.
Timing risk: late delivery and LAD
Under the standard housing developer agreements, a landed home (Schedule G) is due within 24 months and a strata unit (Schedule H) within 36 months of the agreement date. If the developer is late, you can claim liquidated damages at 10% a year of the purchase price for the period of delay.
As an illustration from those rules: a RM600,000 unit handed over six months late gives a claim of about RM30,000. That may not cover lost rent plus the interest paid meanwhile. I explain the claim in late vacant possession and LAD. Projects under construction with a KPKT permit are on my JB homes under construction page.
Bumiputera lots in Johor
New projects in Johor set aside a share of units for Bumiputera buyers. If you are not Bumiputera, those units are closed to you unless the state releases them. In 2022 the state housing committee chairman said developers could apply for release once a unit had stayed unsold for a year, and paid the state a fee of 7.5% to 10% of the unit price. Ask the developer which units are open to you.
On resale, ask your lawyer to check for a Bumiputera restriction on the title before you pay a deposit.
How I would choose in JB in 2026
- Living in it soon, and want landed: subsale, in a township you know.
- Buying a condo to rent out: compare the launch psf with recent transactions in the same area, and ask how much nearby supply completes in the same year.
- Paying for RTS access: work out the premium in ringgit, not psf, and compare it with a completed unit a little further away.
- Stretching your budget: check you can carry the full instalment once the loan is fully drawn, not just the early interest.
Questions about your situation?
Send me the area, your budget and whether you will live in it or rent it out, and I will show you subsale and new launch options side by side.
Sources: EdgeProp, “JLL Malaysia: New four-figure psf serviced apartments pushing average transaction prices in JB”, July 2025; The Edge Malaysia, “Olive Tree Property Consultants Johor Bahru Housing Property Monitor 2Q2025: More serviced apartments in the pipeline”, October 2025; The Edge Malaysia, “Best Property Deals: Are property prices in Penang and Johor catching up with Kuala Lumpur’s?”, January 2026; EdgeProp, “Inside Johor’s SEZ boom: Cross-border capital, digital growth, industrial revival”, March 2026; The Star, “Significant drop in Johor property overhang”, February 2025; Penang Property Talk (NAPIC data), “Penang ranked 5th for residential property overhang in Q1 2026”, July 2026; REHDA Institute, “Summary of NAPIC Property Market Report 2024”, May 2025; Bernama, “Subsale House Market To Continue Growing In 2H 2026 – Juwai IQI”, August 2026; Free Malaysia Today, “The progressive payment schedule for property in Malaysia”, April 2019; The Iskandarian, “Johor is Releasing Unsold Bumi Lots – Exco”, August 2022
Jason Lim, REN 84424, IQI Realty Sdn. Bhd. E (1) 1584/6. General information checked on 17 October 2026, not legal, tax or financial advice.