Since the rolling out of the cooling measures in October 2013 and the concern of oversupply issues, buying sentiment of Iskandar developments has been dampened. Iskandar sales of condominiums and apartments for the first three-quarters of last year fell 23 percent year on year to 1,368 units, according to most recent figures from the National Property Information Centre (Napic) as reported in The Straits Time on Feb 10th 2016.
Despite these issues, there are some Singaporeans still purchasing new homes in Iskandar over the past couple of years. Many are buying for the long-term prospect and using it as their second home.
With the weaken Malaysian ringgit and several key catalyst projects in the pipeline at JBCC set to take off, it is perhaps an opportune time to revisit Iskandar for investment opportunities as there are gems worth considering. The key is to buy at a location with good accessibility and conveniences and near major catalyst projects.
One of the gems worth considering is
the Suasana Iskandar. It is a mixed development by UM Land that was first launched in October 2013, just before the cooling measures was unveiled, which was an inopportune time. Despite this, the Susana Iskandar sold over 60% of the development.
What makes the Suasana Iskandar an attractive investment opportunity now is that it is sited at the heart of the Johor Bahru City Center which, on Nov 22, 2015, the Sultan of Johor had set the target to transform it into the second biggest city in Malaysia after Kuala Lumpur. The RM20 billion (S$6.7 billion) transformation plan to redevelop it into an international business district, will be called the Ibrahim International Business District (IIBD), named after Johor Sultan Ibrahim Ismail, who celebrated his 57th birthday on that day when he launched the project.
It is evident that the Sultan of Johor is determined the southern city was poised to make the grade when he further officiated the launch of an RM3 billion 2.6-ha complex called Coronation Square to commemorate the coronation of Sultan Ibrahim in March this year. This will be the jewel of the upcoming IIBD which will come up on the site of the old bus and taxi terminal, at Jalan Trus. This is just in adjacent of the Suasana Iskandar site.
Located between Jalan Wong Ah Fook and Jalan Trus,
the Suasana Iskandar is a tri-development consisting of an international hotel to be operated by Amari, an entertainment and retail complex with a 335 residential tower above it.
When completed by third quarter next year, Suasana Iskandar will immediately benefit from the conveniences at the newly completed Komtar shopping mall just opposite which also connects to the City Square JBCC shopping mall It is also just 5 to 10 minutes walk from the Johor CIQ Complex and near the upcoming Johor Baru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS Link).
Officials are also looking to link the malls and major buildings in the area with overhead pedestrian bridges, which some have dubbed Skywalks, similar to the popular pedestrian walkways in Bangkok.
While things seem to slow down at Johor but the truth is that the transformation of Iskandar is swift. This is apparent from the changing JB City Center skyline over the past 3 years. At Nusajaya, the key catalyst projects such as Legoland, EduCity and Pinewood Studios and Iskandar industrial parks are completing on schedule. While upcoming the key upcoming catalytic projects such as the Ibrahim International Business District (IIBD), the High-Speed Rail (HSR), the Johor Baru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS Link) and Coronation Square, which would push JB for the second city status, are already set in motion.
