The strengthening of the Singapore dollar to an all-time high against the ringgit has spurred a new trend among property realtors in Johor: exclusive showings for cash buyers of luxury properties.
The Singapore dollar rose to 3.55 against the ringgit on Wednesday, and Singaporean buyers are now in the market, especially for luxury properties.
This is especially so for properties near the Causeway and the soon-to-be completed Rapid Transit System (RTS) link project in the state's capital.
The RTS link is expected to be completed and in operation by December 2026.
It will shorten the travelling time across the Causeway to within 15 minutes.
To capitalise on this, developers and realtors are taking advantage of the strong Singapore dollar by offering the option of first-choice preference for prime located units to buyers with cash purchases.
Buyers who are willing to fork out cash for these properties can choose units with gardens and sea views or based on their feng sui needs.
Some developers, such as those for the the R&F Princess Cove Phase II luxury condominium, had a three-day-viewing session for cash buyers.
Unsold units were then offered to buyers who applied for bank loans.
A Singapore-based realtor, Yana Mansur, said property agents in the republic were making a handsome 33 per cent commission on each sold unit, which were priced above RM1.1 million (about S$320,000) for a 900-sq- ft unit.
She said while many of her clients, mainly Singaporeans, were savvy investors, banking on lucrative returns and taking opportunity of the high exchange rate, some had also bought
the units for their own residence.
"They will rent out their property in Singapore and stay in Johor as the cost of living in Singapore has increased too, as travelling back for work will no longer be a hassle with the RTS.
"The cost of living in Malaysia is rather expensive, but with the high exchange rate, it is still affordable."
Yana said a Johor-based management company had been engaged to help rent out units bought for investment purposes, for short stays, upon its anticipated completion in 2026.
She added that Malaysian-based banks were offering interest rates as low as four per cent to potential Singaporean buyers, which is another factor why Singaporeans who were not opting for cash purchases were also keen to buy units.
This would work out to a monthly loan repayment of about RM3,000 (S$845).
Yana said those who rented out their units as homestays for a 21-day period would make up to RM4,500 a month.
In January, NST Property reported that Johor was set to see the launch of thousands of new apartments, serviced apartments and condominiums by real estate developers in the coming quarters.
KGV International executive director Samuel Tan said nearly 60,000 high-rise residential property units would be introduced in the coming quarters.
Many of these developments, he said, already had planning or building approval.