Are condo rental yields attractive in Johor now?

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What condo rental yield can you realistically get in Johor now?

Johor condo rental yields currently land around 5% to 7% gross in the better-established parts of Johor Bahru, while anything comfortably above 7% usually requires a very good purchase price or an unusually strong rent.

PropertyGuru's current market data points in roughly the same direction, with Johor Bahru high-rise gross yields commonly estimated around 6% to 7%. We get similar numbers when we compare current resale asking prices with asking rents in established projects.

Take a RM470,000 two-bedroom unit in Country Garden Danga Bay renting for around RM2,300 a month. That works out to 5.9% gross. A RM600,000 two-bedroom TriTower unit at RM3,000 a month gives 6.0%. A smaller RM450,000 unit achieving RM2,600 reaches almost 7%.

Those are realistic enough to make Johor worth looking at. The problem starts when investors confuse gross yield with the amount they will actually keep after vacancy, maintenance and other ownership costs.

Example	Purchase price	Monthly rent	Annual rent	Indicative gross yield
Danga Bay 2BR	RM470,000	RM2,300	RM27,600	5.9%
Danga Bay 3BR	RM578,000	RM2,900	RM34,800	6.0%
TriTower 2BR	RM600,000	RM3,000	RM36,000	6.0%
TriTower studio	RM450,000	RM2,600	RM31,200	6.9%

Why do Johor condo yields look surprisingly high right now?

Johor condo yields look good today largely because rents have strengthened faster than resale prices in parts of Johor Bahru.

Current PropertyGuru listings still show plenty of Danga Bay units below RM800,000, including two-bedroom stock around RM470,000 to RM570,000 and larger units below RM600,000.

JPPH transaction data compiled by Rummah puts the median Johor transaction at roughly RM480,000 over the latest 12-month period. Johor Bahru itself was around RM537,000, and its median transaction price was about 7% lower than during the preceding 12 months.

That combination helps yields. Landlords can collect much stronger rents than a few years ago without buying into a resale market where prices have doubled.

The distinction between resale and new launches is especially important. Developers can price expected RTS demand, new facilities and future growth into a project before the landlord has collected a single ringgit of rent.

Are Johor condo rents really high enough to support 6% yields?

Yes, current Johor condo rents are high enough to support 6% gross yields in several established projects without using unrealistic assumptions.

Country Garden Danga Bay currently has one-bedroom listings around RM1,800-RM1,900, two-bedroom units around RM2,100-RM2,600 and three-bedroom units commonly around RM2,600-RM3,000.

TriTower near JB Sentral goes higher. Current listings include studios around RM2,600 and larger three-bedroom apartments around RM4,000-RM4,800.

R&F Princess Cove shows an even stronger central-location premium, with recent asking rents around RM2,300 for roughly 450 square feet and RM3,100-RM3,200 for units around 800 square feet.

The interesting part is the consistency across several buildings. We are seeing monthly rents in the RM2,000-RM4,000 range while a large amount of resale inventory is still available at mid-six-figure ringgit prices.

Current asking-rent examples	Approx. size	Monthly asking rent	Asking rent per sq ft
Danga Bay 1BR	500 sq ft	RM1,800-RM1,900	RM3.60-RM3.80
Danga Bay 2BR	721-850 sq ft	RM2,100-RM2,300	RM2.71-RM2.91
Danga Bay 3BR	1,222-1,283 sq ft	RM2,600-RM3,000	RM2.13-RM2.42
TriTower studio	668 sq ft	RM2,600	RM3.89
TriTower 3BR	~1,340 sq ft	RM4,000-RM4,800	RM2.99-RM3.56
R&F Princess Cove	450-820 sq ft	RM2,300-RM3,200	RM3.90-RM5.11

How much of a 6% Johor condo yield do you actually keep?

A 6% gross Johor condo yield will often end up closer to 4% to 5% before financing once we include normal ownership costs.

Imagine a RM500,000 condo renting for RM2,500 per month. On paper, RM30,000 of annual rent gives a 6% gross yield.

Allow for one month of effective vacancy or leasing friction and collected rent drops to RM27,500. Maintenance and sinking-fund charges can then remove several thousand ringgit. Assessment tax, quit rent, insurance, minor repairs and occasional appliance replacement take another bite.

Under a fairly ordinary cost scenario, net operating income can fall towards RM20,000-RM23,000. On a RM500,000 purchase, that means roughly 4.0%-4.6%.

A 6% gross yield is therefore decent. We start getting much more interested when the gross number sits comfortably above 6% and the rent has already been achieved by comparable units in the same building.

RM500,000 condo example	Annual amount
Rent at RM2,500/month	RM30,000
Vacancy/leasing allowance	-RM2,500
Maintenance + sinking fund	-RM4,000 to -RM6,000
Taxes, insurance, repairs and misc.	-RM2,000 to -RM3,000
Indicative net operating income	RM19,000-RM21,500
Indicative net yield	3.8%-4.3%

Where in Johor does condo rental yield actually make sense?

For condo rental yield, Johor Bahru and the wider Iskandar area matter far more than the rest of Johor.

Recent JPPH transaction data show why. Johor Bahru recorded more than 14,000 transactions in the latest 12-month dataset compiled from official records. Kulai was around 2,000, while most other districts were below that.

Rental demand is even more concentrated than transactions. Someone working in Singapore, using the Causeway or planning to commute via the RTS Link cares enormously about the trip to JB Sentral or Bukit Chagar.

A condo 45 or 60 minutes away can technically sit inside Johor and still serve a completely different rental market.

State-wide average yields therefore tell us very little. Investors need to think in terms of specific neighbourhoods and buildings.

Are condos near the RTS Link already getting higher rents?

Yes, condos around JB Sentral and the future RTS connection already show a clear rental premium compared with cheaper parts of Johor Bahru.

R&F Princess Cove currently has several listings around RM3.75-RM5.11 per square foot. TriTower can reach roughly RM3-RM4 per square foot. Larger Danga Bay apartments often sit closer to RM2-RM3.

Some of that premium existed before the RTS because central Johor Bahru already had the CIQ, employment, shopping and Singapore access. The railway adds another layer of convenience.

Current selling prices show the other side of the story. TriTower listings can range from around RM600-RM700 per square foot for certain larger units to RM1,000 per square foot or more for smaller units and ambitious asking prices.

There is not much room for error at those prices. Higher rent helps, but investors can easily give the entire advantage back by overpaying for the unit.

Will the RTS Link actually create enough tenants for Johor condos?

The RTS Link should add real rental demand to Johor Bahru, especially among people who earn money in Singapore but prefer Malaysian housing costs.

Daily cross-border commuting has always carried a large time penalty. A faster rail connection changes the calculation for workers who currently find the Causeway too unreliable for a comfortable daily routine.

That could expand the number of tenants willing to live on the Johor side while keeping a Singapore job.

Location will decide who benefits most. A renter using the RTS five days a week is likely to pay considerably more for a simple journey to Bukit Chagar than for a newer condo requiring another long drive or bus ride.

We expect the RTS effect to be strongest in a relatively small group of well-connected projects rather than evenly spread across the Johor condo market.

Has the RTS boom already been priced into Johor condo prices?

Partly. Current Johor condo prices suggest that sellers have already priced a substantial amount of the RTS story into prime central locations, while some older resale projects still trade much more cheaply.

Older Danga Bay stock can still appear around RM450-RM600 per square foot. Compact units around JB Sentral can be marketed around RM800-RM1,100 per square foot or even higher.

That gap can matter more than the rental difference.

If an older RM500,000 condo rents for RM2,500 and a new RM900,000 condo rents for RM3,300, the supposedly superior unit produces the weaker yield.

That is why we prefer selected resale condos for income right now. Existing buildings give us real rent history, real maintenance charges, visible occupancy and an observable resale market. New projects ask investors to pay today for a future that tenants may value less generously than developers expect.

Is Johor's condo oversupply still bad?

Yes, Johor still has a serious serviced-apartment oversupply problem, and the latest NAPIC numbers remain difficult to ignore.

Johor had 9,972 completed unsold serviced apartments in NAPIC's latest quarterly property-status data. Malaysia as a whole had 19,263.

That means Johor alone accounted for roughly 52% of the country's completed unsold serviced-apartment units.

The pipeline is more worrying. Across completed, under-construction and not-yet-constructed units, Johor's unsold serviced-apartment exposure rose from 16,795 units in the earlier comparable period to 22,579.

That is an increase of about 34%.

This is the part of the Johor property market most relevant to condo investors. Broad residential statistics can look healthier while serviced apartments remain heavily supplied.

Johor serviced apartments still unsold	Earlier period	Latest period	Change
Completed	9,507	9,972	+4.9%
Under construction	6,967	8,491	+21.9%
Not yet constructed	321	4,116	>12x
Total exposure	16,795	22,579	+34.4%

Could all that new supply crush Johor condo yields?

Yes, the Johor condo pipeline can weaken yields even if tenant demand keeps growing.

Rents do not need to collapse for landlords to feel the pressure. If a two-bedroom unit moves from RM2,300 to RM2,500 but a large number of competing apartments opens nearby, landlords may face longer vacancy, better furnishing expectations and more incentives.

The advertised rent looks higher while the landlord's effective annual income barely changes.

CBRE|WTW's Iskandar Malaysia pipeline estimates have shown high-rise completions reaching an exceptionally large peak later this decade, including more than 30,000 units in the busiest year under its forecast pipeline.

The timing creates a genuine test for the market. The RTS and stronger Singapore links should add tenants, while developers are also delivering thousands of units designed to capture those same tenants.

We would be much more comfortable buying into a building with proven occupancy than betting that broad Johor demand growth will absorb everything.

Will the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone help condo landlords?

Yes, the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone could strengthen rental demand because it can create more well-paid jobs inside Johor rather than relying entirely on commuters working in Singapore.

The JS-SEZ covers roughly 3,588 square kilometres across the Iskandar development region and Pengerang. Singapore's Economic Development Board says the initiative is designed to improve cross-border flows, attract investment and create employment in both economies.

For landlords, the most useful outcome would be a larger base of professionals who actually work in Johor and need accommodation near business, industrial and commercial centres.

That would make the rental market more resilient.

Still, geography matters. A new data centre or industrial plant somewhere inside the JS-SEZ does not automatically create demand for a waterfront condo in central Johor Bahru. Jobs help nearby housing markets first.

Do small Johor condos give better rental yields than big ones?

Usually, yes. Smaller Johor condos often produce better rental yields because tenants pay a lot for location and convenience while larger units rarely earn rent in proportion to their extra floor area.

Current Danga Bay listings make this easy to see. A roughly 500-square-foot one-bedroom can ask RM1,800-RM1,900. A unit around 1,200 square feet may rent for RM2,600-RM3,000.

The bigger condo offers more than twice the space but nowhere near twice the rent.

We see a similar pattern around JB Sentral. Studios and smaller apartments can command very high rent per square foot, while large three-bedroom units produce lower rent per square foot despite collecting more total rent.

There is one catch. Compact furnished condos are also popular with investors and developers, so competition can be intense. The best small-unit deals are in projects where actual tenant demand is already obvious.

Unit type	Illustrative monthly rent	Typical investor implication
Studio / compact 1BR	RM1,800-RM2,600	Usually strongest rent per sq ft
2BR	RM2,100-RM3,200	Good balance of yield and tenant depth
3BR	RM2,600-RM4,800	Higher absolute rent, lower rent per sq ft
Large luxury units	RM5,000+ possible	Smaller tenant pool, yield depends heavily on purchase price

Is Danga Bay still good for rental yield?

Yes, Danga Bay currently looks better for rental income than its reputation might suggest because resale prices remain low enough to support decent yields.

Current PropertyGuru listings show two-bedroom Country Garden units around RM468,000-RM570,000 and larger three-bedroom units around RM538,000-RM600,000 across several projects.

Two-bedroom asking rents commonly sit around RM2,100-RM2,600. Three-bedroom units often ask RM2,600-RM3,000.

That repeatedly puts gross yields in the mid-5% to low-6% range.

The large amount of competing inventory explains why buying price matters so much in Danga Bay. We would negotiate aggressively here rather than pay a premium on the assumption that scarcity will eventually rescue the investment.

For cash flow today, the numbers can work surprisingly well.

Are JB Sentral condos worth the much higher price?

Sometimes, but current JB Sentral condo prices can wipe out much of the rental advantage if investors pay too much for the location.

TriTower illustrates the problem well. Current two-bedroom resale listings include units around RM600,000-RM680,000, although asking prices can go considerably higher.

At the lower end, rents around RM3,000 can still produce an attractive yield.

Now imagine paying RM1 million for a unit earning RM3,500 a month. Annual rent is RM42,000, which gives only 4.2% gross.

The transport advantage is real, and we would pay extra for genuine walking convenience to JB Sentral or Bukit Chagar. The premium becomes hard to justify once the gross yield drops into the low-4% range before costs.

Can Airbnb make Johor condo yields much better?

Airbnb can lift revenue in some Johor condos, but we would never use short-term rental income as the base case for deciding whether to buy.

Strata management bodies in Malaysia can impose building rules covering short-term stays, and owners need to check the specific building before assuming Airbnb is allowed.

Airbnb itself has published reference by-laws for Malaysian strata communities covering registration, guest conduct, safety and management procedures.

Operating costs also rise quickly. Cleaning, utilities, platform fees, linen, guest communication, furnishing wear and irregular occupancy can absorb a meaningful part of the additional revenue.

For our yield calculations, long-term rent gives a much cleaner test. If the investment works with an ordinary tenant and Airbnb later adds upside, the risk is far easier to manage.

How quickly does vacancy ruin a Johor condo yield?

Very quickly: just two empty months can turn a 6% gross Johor condo yield into 5% before a landlord pays a single maintenance bill.

Take a RM500,000 condo at RM2,500 a month. Full occupancy produces RM30,000 and a 6% gross yield.

One vacant month cuts collected rent to RM27,500 and yield to 5.5%. Two months bring the number down to 5%. Three months leave only RM22,500, equivalent to 4.5% gross.

After maintenance and other costs, that three-month vacancy can leave the investor close to a 3% net return.

We care more about occupancy than squeezing the final RM100-RM200 from the asking rent. A landlord who fills the unit quickly at RM2,400 can easily outperform someone waiting months for RM2,600.

Vacancy on RM2,500/month unit	Annual rent collected	Gross yield on RM500k
0 months	RM30,000	6.0%
1 month	RM27,500	5.5%
2 months	RM25,000	5.0%
3 months	RM22,500	4.5%

Do Johor condo yields still look good with a mortgage?

Johor condo yields look much less exciting with heavy borrowing because a realistic net property yield around 4%-5% leaves little room for financing costs.

Consider the RM500,000 example again. If the property produces roughly RM21,000 of annual operating income, the net property yield is about 4.2%.

Once financing costs sit around the same level or higher, immediate cash flow becomes thin. The monthly loan instalment also includes principal repayment, so the owner's actual cash outflow can be substantially higher than the economic interest cost alone.

A heavily leveraged investor can therefore buy what looks like a 6% yield property and still need to add money every month.

That can still work if rents rise, the loan balance falls and the condo appreciates. But at that point it is mainly a capital-growth investment with some rent attached, not a strong cash-flow investment.

Cash buyers have a much easier case in Johor today.

Can foreign buyers get the same Johor condo yields as Malaysians?

Foreign buyers often struggle to reproduce the best Johor condo yields because ownership rules can block access to the cheap resale units that make the numbers work.

Many of the most interesting yield examples in Johor involve units around RM450,000-RM600,000.

Foreign-purchase minimums and eligibility rules can push overseas buyers towards more expensive properties. Rent rarely rises in proportion to the extra purchase price, so yield gets compressed.

Acquisition costs add another layer. Stamp duty, legal fees and other transaction expenses increase the amount of capital committed beyond the headline selling price.

Foreign investors therefore need to run the yield calculation on properties they can actually buy. A 6.5% example available to a Malaysian purchaser may have very little relevance to them.

What makes a Johor condo yield genuinely attractive today?

For us, a Johor condo starts looking genuinely attractive when ordinary long-term rent produces around 6% or more gross and the deal can still deliver roughly 4.5% net after sensible operating costs.

The purchase price should line up with real resale transactions rather than a developer's preferred benchmark. Rent should be supported by comparable units in the same building. Maintenance needs to stay reasonable, and the building should have enough real tenants to avoid constant price-cutting.

We also want the numbers to survive a bad year.

A projected 6.5% yield that falls below 4% after one vacancy period and routine expenses has very little room for mistakes. A condo that can still sit around 4.5%-5% net after those allowances gives us much more confidence.

In Johor today, entry price is doing most of the heavy lifting.

Are condo rental yields attractive in Johor now?

Yes, Johor condo rental yields are attractive now for selective resale buyers, with roughly 5%-7% gross achievable in several established projects and the best deals clustering around 6% or slightly above.

The opportunity comes from an unusual combination. Rents have strengthened, particularly around Johor Bahru, while resale prices in several older developments remain low enough to produce decent income.

At the same time, Johor had 9,972 completed unsold serviced apartments in NAPIC's latest quarterly data, representing more than half of Malaysia's completed unsold serviced-apartment stock. Across completed and pipeline categories, the state's unsold serviced-apartment exposure reached roughly 22,600 units.

That supply will keep landlords competing hard for tenants.

The RTS Link and the JS-SEZ give Johor more credible rental-demand drivers than it had in the past. We think that improves the long-term case, especially in locations with easy access to jobs and cross-border transport.

Still, today's best rental deals tend to come from buying existing condos cheaply rather than chasing the most fashionable new project.

Around 5% gross, we would usually keep looking. Around 6%, a good resale condo becomes interesting. Above roughly 6.5%, with credible long-term rent, reasonable maintenance and proven occupancy, Johor starts to look genuinely attractive.

Paying the right price matters more than choosing the building with the best Johor growth story.

Who is the author of this content?

BAMBOOROUTES

A team specialized in real estate investing in APAC countries (Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia, etc.).

We are a team of financial experts, legal professionals, developers, and local real estate specialists dedicated to helping people like you avoid mistakes when investing in real estate in a foreign place, particularly in Johor. If you’d like to learn more about us, you can check our presentation page.