Get all the data you need about the real estate market in Johor
SUMMARY
Buying an apartment in Johor can still cost as little as RM200,000–RM300,000 for older or discounted stock, but a realistic budget for a modern Johor Bahru condo is closer to RM400,000–RM700,000, while prime central projects can reach RM1 million and well beyond.
The statewide average hides more than it reveals. Johor’s official high-rise average sits near the lower end of the market, while newer projects in Southkey, central Johor Bahru and other Singapore-facing locations can cost two or three times as much per square foot.
Budget changes the type of apartment more than it changes the city. RM300,000 still buys older flats, some Forest City resales and occasional discounted stock, while RM500,000 is where buyers start getting a much wider choice of modern condominiums.
Location premiums are now severe. A fixed budget can buy roughly twice as much floor area in a RM500 psf Medini resale as in a RM1,000 psf prime central-JB apartment.
Small units make some expensive projects look deceptively affordable. A Southkey apartment can have a relatively low total price while still being expensive on a per-square-foot basis because the unit itself is only 400–600 sq ft.
Johor is also becoming a two-speed apartment market. Better-connected projects are repricing around the RTS and Singapore-facing growth story, while older suburban buildings and weaker investor-heavy developments can remain cheap for years.
New-build premiums deserve particular scrutiny. In parts of Johor Bahru, new developments can be marketed around RM800–RM1,200 psf even when nearby completed resale stock trades closer to RM400–RM700 psf.
Oversupply has not disappeared. Johor still carries an unusually large serviced-apartment overhang, so rising prices in stronger projects should not be mistaken for a broad shortage of apartments across the state.
Foreign buyers are effectively shopping in a different market. Johor’s RM1 million minimum purchase threshold removes most of the cheap and mid-market stock from consideration before taxes and state approval costs are even added.
The acquisition-cost gap is substantial too. A foreign buyer at RM1 million can face an 8% federal transfer duty plus Johor’s 3% state approval charge, while a Malaysian buyer pays the normal progressive transfer-duty scale.
The practical conclusion is that Johor still offers genuinely cheap apartments, but not all of the market is cheap anymore. Malaysian buyers can still find meaningful choice below RM500,000; foreign buyers effectively enter around RM1 million; and the strongest central Johor Bahru projects are already trading as a separate premium market.
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How much does an apartment in Johor cost now?
A realistic apartment budget in Johor currently starts around RM200,000–RM300,000 for older or cheaper stock, reaches roughly RM400,000–RM700,000 for many modern Johor Bahru condos, and can pass RM1 million quickly in the best-located projects.
The official statewide number sits toward the bottom of that range. NAPIC's latest full-year house-price data puts the average Johor high-rise home at roughly RM272,000. That is useful for understanding the state as a whole, but anyone browsing new condominiums around Johor Bahru will immediately see much higher prices.
Recent listings make the gap clear. Older flats around Mount Austin can still appear below RM200,000. Skyline One in Southkey currently has small units advertised from about RM400,000, with larger layouts approaching RM740,000. R&F Princess Cove near the city centre moves easily toward RM700,000–RM1 million, while large units at The Astaka can cost RM2 million or more.
For most people asking what an apartment in Johor costs today, RM300,000–RM700,000 is the useful starting range. Buyers targeting central Johor Bahru should expect more.
| Johor apartment segment | Rough price today | Typical price per sq ft | What that usually means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Older local flat | RM150k–RM250k | RM200–RM350 | Older building, suburban location |
| Mainstream resale apartment | RM250k–RM450k | RM300–RM500 | Wider Johor Bahru |
| Modern condo | RM400k–RM700k | RM450–RM700 | Newer suburban or Iskandar stock |
| Prime serviced apartment | RM500k–RM1.2m | RM700–RM1,100+ | Southkey, Danga Bay, central JB |
| Luxury condominium | RM1.8m–RM3m+ | Around RM900–RM1,200+ | Large prime-city units |
Why do Johor apartment prices vary so much?
Johor apartment prices vary enormously because an older suburban flat and a new Singapore-facing condominium are now almost separate products.
We found older units around Mount Austin advertised in the RM200–RM300 psf range, while transactions and asking prices at stronger central Johor Bahru projects can sit around RM800–RM1,100 psf. That gives us a spread of roughly three to four times between the cheaper and more expensive ends of the market.
Even within the same broad area, the building changes the price dramatically. Around Danga Bay, older Danga View stock has traded around the low-RM300s per sq ft, while Country Garden Danga Bay has been closer to the high-RM600s. The Astaka, several kilometres away in Bukit Senyum, has transacted around RM1,000 psf.
Age explains part of that difference. Buyers also pay more for walking access to the border, newer facilities, stronger management, views, freehold tenure in some projects and easier access to the parts of Johor Bahru connected to Singapore.
A Johor-wide average therefore tells us very little about the apartment someone is actually considering.
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Are Johor apartment prices still rising quickly?
Johor high-rise prices have been rising unusually fast lately, although the gains are clearly concentrated in some parts of the market.
NAPIC's most recent full-year house-price index showed Johor among Malaysia's strongest major housing markets. High-rise prices in the state rose far faster than the national high-rise index over that period, while Johor's overall house-price growth also outpaced the larger states.
That fits what we are seeing on the ground. Apartments close to Johor Bahru's border infrastructure, the RTS corridor and established commercial areas have increasingly separated from older suburban stock. Recent Southkey listings, for example, are still asking roughly RM793–RM923 psf at Skyline One. Prime central projects can be around RM1,000 psf.
The increase still needs to be read project by project. Johor simultaneously has Malaysia's largest stock of completed unsold serviced apartments, so saying that “Johor condos are booming” is too generous.
Price growth is real. The harder part is choosing the buildings actually benefiting from it.
What can RM300,000 buy in Johor?
RM300,000 can still buy an apartment in Johor today, but buyers at this budget will mostly be choosing older flats, peripheral locations or developments where resale prices remain heavily discounted.
Mount Austin still provides examples of older apartments below RM200,000. Around Forest City, compact resale apartments can also appear around RM250,000–RM300,000, with roughly 500–650 sq ft commonly available around that level.
Johor Bahru's newer high-demand areas are harder. Current Southkey asking prices start closer to RM400,000 for compact units, while the stronger city-centre projects generally sit higher again.
RM300,000 therefore buys much more space when the buyer gives up proximity to central JB. A 750 sq ft older flat can cost less than a new 430 sq ft serviced apartment in Southkey.
| RM300,000 budget | What is currently realistic? | Approximate size | Main compromise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Older Mount Austin flat | Yes | Around 700–800 sq ft | Age |
| Forest City resale | Yes | Around 500–650 sq ft | Location and resale depth |
| Medini | Sometimes | Compact or discounted resale | Distance from central JB |
| Southkey | Usually no | Smallest units already around RM400k | Price |
| Prime central JB | Very unlikely | — | Budget far too low |
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What can RM500,000 buy in Johor?
RM500,000 is currently the point where Johor buyers start getting a genuinely wide choice of modern apartments.
At that budget, we found recent Southkey examples around RM400,000–RM500,000 for roughly 430–600 sq ft. A current Skyline One listing asks RM499,000 for 576 sq ft, equivalent to about RM866 psf.
Move farther from central Johor Bahru and RM500,000 stretches much further. Modern Mount Austin condominiums can offer around 900–1,000 sq ft near this budget. Medini resales have historically traded closer to roughly RM500 psf, which means RM500,000 can theoretically buy almost twice the floor area of a small Southkey apartment.
That difference shows where Johor's market has moved. Buyers are paying heavily for convenience, especially when a project sits closer to central JB and Singapore-facing transport links.
For a Malaysian buyer who wants a modern condo without entering the luxury market, around RM450,000–RM600,000 is one of the most useful budgets to search today.
What can RM1 million buy in Johor?
RM1 million buys a strong apartment almost anywhere in Johor, although it no longer guarantees luxury in the most expensive parts of Johor Bahru.
At R&F Princess Cove, recent asking prices have placed smaller two-bedroom units around RM700,000 and larger units close to RM1 million or above. Southkey offers significantly more choice below that level. Around Danga Bay, RM1 million can buy larger waterfront units depending on the project.
Medini gives the buyer much more floor area. With transactions around roughly RM500 psf in developments such as Medini Signature, RM1 million theoretically represents close to 2,000 sq ft of purchasing power. At a prime-city rate of RM1,000 psf, the same budget only buys around 1,000 sq ft.
The expensive exception is The Astaka. Its apartments are unusually large and commonly run into seven-figure prices even before reaching the biggest layouts.
| RM1 million at different Johor price levels | Approximate floor area the money represents |
|---|---|
| RM500 psf | 2,000 sq ft |
| RM650 psf | 1,538 sq ft |
| RM800 psf | 1,250 sq ft |
| RM1,000 psf | 1,000 sq ft |
| RM1,100 psf | 909 sq ft |
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Where are apartments most expensive in Johor Bahru now?
Central Johor Bahru and the stronger Singapore-facing locations currently contain the most expensive apartment stock in Johor.
The Astaka provides the clearest high-end example. Recent transaction evidence has placed the project around RM1,000 psf, while its very large layouts mean total prices commonly start around RM2 million and can move well beyond RM3 million.
R&F Princess Cove also trades at a major premium because of its position close to the CIQ and JB Sentral. Recent project-level figures have been around the RM1,000 psf area, although individual resale asking prices vary considerably.
Southkey has quietly become expensive on a per-square-foot basis too. Recent Skyline One advertisements cluster around RM793–RM923 psf. A RM397,000 apartment there may look cheap beside a RM1 million central-JB unit, but that RM397,000 buys only 430 sq ft.
Total price alone can be deceptive in Johor. Some of the market's most expensive apartments per square foot still have relatively accessible ticket prices because developers have made the units so small.
How much cheaper are Mount Austin, Medini and Danga Bay?
Mount Austin, Medini and parts of Danga Bay can still be dramatically cheaper than prime central Johor Bahru, especially when we compare resale apartments.
Older Mount Austin stock occupies the cheapest end. Listings can fall below RM300 psf, although newer condominiums in the same area cost much more.
Medini sits higher but remains relatively affordable. Medini Signature has recorded resale values around roughly RM500 psf, giving buyers far more space for the money than Southkey or the city centre.
Danga Bay is harder to generalise because the project gap is huge. Older Danga View stock has traded around the RM300s per sq ft, while Country Garden Danga Bay has been closer to roughly RM700 psf.
The gap is big enough to change the apartment completely. Moving from a RM500 psf Medini unit to a RM1,000 psf prime-JB unit effectively halves the floor area a fixed budget can buy.
| Area/project type | Rough market level | RM500k theoretically buys | Position in Johor market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Older Mount Austin | RM250–RM400 psf | 1,250–2,000 sq ft | Cheap |
| Medini resale | Around RM500 psf | Around 1,000 sq ft | Affordable |
| Country Garden Danga Bay | Around RM650–RM700 psf | Around 715–770 sq ft | Mid-market |
| Southkey new stock | Around RM800–RM920 psf | Around 540–625 sq ft | Expensive |
| Prime central JB | Around RM1,000+ psf | Around 500 sq ft | Premium |
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Is Forest City still one of the cheapest places to buy an apartment in Johor?
Yes, Forest City remains one of the clearest places to find modern-looking Johor apartments below the prices seen in central Johor Bahru.
Compact resale units have recently been marketed around RM250,000–RM300,000. Larger units can appear around RM400,000–RM500,000, depending on building, condition and view.
The price difference versus central JB is substantial. A compact Forest City apartment around RM270,000 can cost roughly RM100,000–RM200,000 less than a similarly small new serviced apartment in Southkey, while R&F Princess Cove can sit higher again.
There is a reason for the discount. Forest City has a much thinner local demand base, a huge amount of similar stock and a very different relationship with central Johor Bahru. Reselling a unit is therefore a different proposition from selling an apartment beside JB Sentral.
For someone purely asking how cheaply a modern Johor apartment can be bought, Forest City deserves attention. For someone asking which apartment will be easiest to resell, the low entry price should not settle the decision.
Are new Johor apartments much more expensive than resales?
New Johor apartments can carry a very large premium over comparable resale stock, especially around the RTS and central Johor Bahru story.
The gap shows up most clearly when new launches are compared with completed buildings in areas such as Medini, Danga Bay and older parts of JB. Resale stock can still trade around RM400–RM700 psf while selected new developments are marketed around RM800–RM1,200 psf or more.
Developers can justify some of that premium with newer facilities, payment plans, warranties and better layouts. Buyers are also paying in advance for expected improvements around the RTS Link and the Johor-Singapore economic corridor.
But the resale market gives us a useful reality check. If neighbouring completed apartments trade at RM600 psf and a new launch asks RM1,000 psf, the buyer is paying a 67% premium before any future appreciation begins.
That can work for an exceptional project. It becomes much harder to justify when several thousand similar serviced apartments are being built nearby.
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Does Johor still have too many serviced apartments?
Yes. Johor currently has a serious serviced-apartment supply problem, even while the better parts of its condo market are getting more expensive.
NAPIC's latest quarterly figures show 9,972 completed but unsold serviced apartments in Johor. Malaysia had 19,263 such units nationally, which means Johor alone accounted for just over half of the country's completed serviced-apartment overhang.
The broader pipeline makes the number more uncomfortable. Johor had another 8,491 unsold serviced apartments under construction and 4,116 unsold units in projects that had not yet reached construction. Taken together, the three categories reached 22,579 units, compared with 16,795 a year earlier.
That works out to an increase of roughly 34% in total unsold exposure within one year.
Residential property has behaved differently, so treating every Johor apartment as equally oversupplied would be misleading. The problem is particularly concentrated in serviced apartments, precisely the category heavily marketed to investors around Johor Bahru.
That helps explain why prime projects can rise while weaker developments still struggle to clear stock.
| Johor unsold serviced apartments | Previous year | Latest available quarter | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Completed | 9,507 | 9,972 | +4.9% |
| Under construction | 6,967 | 8,491 | +21.9% |
| Not yet constructed | 321 | 4,116 | +1,182% |
| Total | 16,795 | 22,579 | +34.4% |
Has the RTS Link already pushed Johor Bahru apartment prices up?
Yes, the RTS story already appears heavily reflected in apartment prices around central Johor Bahru, although the effect fades quickly as we move away from the border.
The clearest evidence is the price gap. Selected central-JB projects are around RM800–RM1,100 psf, while large parts of Medini, Mount Austin and older Danga Bay remain closer to RM300–RM600 psf.
R&F Princess Cove sits close to the CIQ and has traded near RM1,000 psf. Southkey, which does not have the same direct border access, is nevertheless asking roughly RM800–RM920 psf for recent Skyline One listings. Older apartments farther out can cost less than half that per square foot.
The RTS Link therefore seems to have helped create a much more expensive central-JB zone before passenger operations even begin.
We would be more cautious with claims that the whole of Johor should reprice from here. Buyers paying today's highest new-launch prices are already paying for a meaningful amount of future improvement.
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Can foreigners buy the cheap apartments in Johor?
Most foreign buyers cannot buy Johor's RM300,000–RM700,000 apartments because the state's current minimum purchase price is generally RM1 million.
Johor's Land and Mines Office currently lists RM1 million as the minimum for foreign interests buying apartments, serviced apartments and holiday homes. The threshold applies both to purchases directly from developers and to ordinary subsales.
That changes the market completely for a foreign buyer. A Malaysian can choose among older RM200,000 flats, RM500,000 modern condominiums and discounted Medini or Forest City units. Most foreign purchasers have to ignore that entire part of the market and begin their search around RM1 million.
Johor also applies foreign-buyer quotas to certain developer sales, so clearing the minimum price does not automatically mean every unit is available to a non-citizen.
This is one reason articles quoting Johor's RM272,000 average high-rise price can be very misleading for Singaporean and other overseas buyers. Their real starting price is several times higher.
How much do the buying costs add for a Malaysian?
A Malaysian buying a Johor apartment should usually budget several percentage points above the headline purchase price once transfer duty and legal work are included.
Malaysia's normal transfer stamp duty is progressive. It is 1% on the first RM100,000, 2% on the portion from RM100,001 to RM500,000, 3% from RM500,001 to RM1 million and 4% above RM1 million.
A RM500,000 purchase therefore creates RM9,000 of standard transfer duty. At RM1 million, the duty reaches RM24,000.
Legal fees add another layer. Under Malaysia's current scale, the basic conveyancing fee begins at 1.25% on the first RM500,000 and 1% on the following portion, before service tax and disbursements.
Financed purchases also involve loan documentation, stamp duty on the loan and sometimes valuation costs.
| Apartment price | Standard transfer duty | Basic SPA legal-fee scale | Price + these two costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| RM300,000 | RM5,000 | RM3,750 | RM308,750 |
| RM500,000 | RM9,000 | RM6,250 | RM515,250 |
| RM750,000 | RM16,500 | RM8,750 | RM775,250 |
| RM1,000,000 | RM24,000 | RM11,250 | RM1,035,250 |
| RM1,500,000 | RM44,000 | RM16,250 | RM1,560,250 |
These figures exclude service tax, disbursements, financing expenses and any exemption for which a particular buyer may qualify.
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How much more does a foreigner really pay for a Johor apartment?
A foreigner buying a Johor apartment now faces a much heavier upfront bill than a Malaysian buying the same property.
The first difference is federal stamp duty. Malaysia currently applies an 8% transfer stamp duty to property acquired by a foreign company or an individual who is neither a Malaysian citizen nor a permanent resident. LHDN has also confirmed that ordinary MM2H status does not provide an exemption from this 8% rate.
On a RM1 million apartment, that means RM80,000 in transfer duty. The normal Malaysian progressive rate on the same value would be RM24,000, giving the foreign buyer an extra RM56,000 cost immediately.
Johor then adds its state approval charge. The Johor Land and Mines Office currently publishes a residential and commercial approval fee of 3% of the property's value, subject to a minimum of RM30,000 per title. There is also a RM2,000 application registration fee.
A RM1 million foreign purchase can therefore generate RM80,000 of federal transfer duty and another RM30,000 of Johor approval fees before legal expenses and other transaction costs. The nominal RM1 million minimum quickly becomes an acquisition costing comfortably more than RM1.1 million.
That is a large enough difference to change which Johor properties make financial sense for overseas buyers.
What should we actually budget for a Johor apartment today?
For a Malaysian buyer, roughly RM300,000–RM700,000 still covers a large part of Johor's practical apartment market, while RM500,000–RM1 million gives much stronger access to modern Johor Bahru stock.
Below RM300,000, there are still real options in older buildings and cheaper developments. Around RM500,000, the market opens considerably: modern suburban condos, Medini resales and small Southkey units all become possible.
Once the budget reaches RM700,000–RM1 million, buyers can seriously consider stronger Danga Bay, Southkey and central-JB projects. Around RM1,000 psf has become a genuine benchmark for selected premium stock close to the Singapore-facing core.
Luxury Johor Bahru sits another level higher. Large apartments at The Astaka can run from roughly RM2 million to above RM3 million.
Foreign buyers should use a different starting point. Johor's current RM1 million minimum purchase rule, 8% federal transfer duty and 3% state approval fee mean that the sub-RM1 million market is largely irrelevant to them.
So the answer to “what does it cost to buy an apartment in Johor?” depends heavily on who is buying. Malaysians can still enter the market below RM300,000 and find plenty of modern choices around RM500,000. Foreign buyers effectively enter at RM1 million, while the best central Johor Bahru apartments are already behaving like a separate premium market where RM800–RM1,100 per sq ft is increasingly normal.
That separation is the key to understanding Johor apartment prices these days. The state still has genuinely cheap apartments, yet the strongest parts of Johor Bahru have already moved far beyond the old idea of Johor as a uniformly low-cost alternative to Singapore.
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OUR METHODOLOGY
This analysis tests what buyers can realistically expect to pay for an apartment in Johor today. We break the question into the parts that actually move the answer: statewide high-rise prices, project-level asking and transaction evidence, buyer budgets, price per square foot, new-versus-resale premiums, unsold serviced-apartment stock, RTS-related location effects, and the different acquisition rules faced by Malaysian and foreign buyers.
We do not use Johor's statewide average as a stand-alone market price. It is useful as a broad anchor, but the article compares it with current evidence from Johor Bahru projects and locations because older suburban flats, Medini resales, Southkey serviced apartments, Danga Bay stock, R&F Princess Cove and The Astaka can sit at completely different price levels.
Where useful, we convert prices into price per square foot and budget-to-floor-area comparisons so the reader can see what a fixed amount of money actually buys. The same approach is used for the tables showing RM300,000, RM500,000 and RM1 million purchasing power, as well as for the comparison between cheaper resale areas and the premium central-JB market.
The supply analysis uses NAPIC's completed, under-construction and not-yet-constructed unsold serviced-apartment figures rather than treating a rise in selected condo prices as proof of a broad shortage. We also separate ordinary residential property from serviced apartments because Johor's overhang is especially concentrated in the latter.
For foreign-buyer costs, we rely on primary Malaysian legal and tax sources. Johor Land and Mines Office material is used for the RM1 million minimum purchase threshold, foreign-acquisition conditions, the 3% state approval charge and the application fee. LHDN/HASIL and Ministry of Finance material are used for transfer stamp duty, including the current 8% rate for qualifying foreign buyers, while the Malaysian Bar's Solicitors' Remuneration Order is used for the conveyancing-fee scale.
The RTS Link is treated as a location and expectations factor, not as a guarantee of future appreciation. Official Ministry of Transport and MRT Corp material establishes the Bukit Chagar–Woodlands North connection and its role in central Johor Bahru's transport story; the price comparison then looks at whether apartments nearer the Singapore-facing core already trade at a premium.
Key sources used for this analysis include NAPIC's residential price updates, NAPIC's data visualisation portal, NAPIC's latest publications, NAPIC's annual property market reports, NAPIC's property market status reports, NAPIC's wider property-market publication archive, Johor Land and Mines Office guidance on foreign acquisitions, Johor Land and Mines Office fee guidance, LHDN/HASIL's stamp-duty overview, LHDN/HASIL's current transfer-duty guidance, Malaysia's Budget 2026 tax measures, LHDN/HASIL's Budget 2026 tax Q&A, the Malaysian Bar's Solicitors' Remuneration Order 2023, the Malaysian Bar's SRO 2023 publication page, Malaysia's Ministry of Transport on the RTS Link, MRT Corp's RTS Link material, and R&F Development's Princess Cove project information.
Buying real estate in Johor can be risky
An increasing number of foreign investors are showing interest. However, 90% of them will make mistakes. Avoid the pitfalls with our comprehensive guide.
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