When it comes to rental yield, I'm pretty sure many salespeople will tell you that Iskandar is about future potential and capital appreciation. So current rental market is not a good assessment of what you will get for your property. Some may pepper their pitches saying there will be an influx of expatriates, knowledge workers coming in and needing a place of their own. I even hear someone saying the students enrolled into one of the colleges will be most willing to rent a place from you. I let you decide for yourself.
Let me provide a different perspective. I think a lot of emphasis has been placed on attracting FOREIGN knowledge workers from overseas into Iskandar (engineers, consultants, educators, designers, etc). There is also the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme http://www.mm2h.gov.my/, enticing people to spend their retirement years in Malaysia with attractive tax incentives. Johor is actually quite attractive, I was told it has the most number of golf courses in a single state.
Malaysia doesn’t lack talent at all, both in terms of depth and scope. But the issue is that a large percentage of these talents is residing overseas (UK, Australia, NZ, US, China, Taiwan, and of course Singapore). Most of us are not aware that some of the tax incentives are also extended to returning Malaysians. Many will actually return, especially with a stagnating European economy. Many will also choose Johor to ride on the wave of growth. To me, this is a much larger target market than the so-called expatriates, Singaporean retirees or Singaporean looking for holiday homes. If you agree with me, read on…
My next question is where in Johor would these returning Malaysians with ties in Malaysia stay? Would they consult a relative or a friend residing in Johor? So do consult your Johorean relatives or friend. Also, read my earlier postings about town planning and choosing townships that are mature or have the potential to grow.
My take is to go where the Johorean population is staying, look for the best developments. Select from a good price category as it ensures good resident-mix. Cheap is not necessarily good, you really don’t want shady characters living in your neighbourhood, especially for landed properties. Developments that are well-managed will fetch good rental and worth a lot more in the longer run. This is true not just in Iskandar but Singapore as well.
I hope this insight is useful for you.
