JOHOR BAHRU (Aug 16): The Iskandar Malaysia residential property market remains cautiously optimistic as transactions volume continued to fall, according to Knight Frank Malaysia Sdn Bhd’s report entitled, Knight Frank Real Estate 1H2015.

“Following the cooling measures and tighter lending conditions implemented in 2014, the property market in Iskandar Malaysia has seen a rather stagnant progress within the review period,” said Knight Frank.

It noted that the declining transaction volume has triggered some concern to be flagged in research reports and property news.

"On the ground, developers are holding back or postponing property launches, especially for the high-rise residential units, in view of the slower absorption rate as a result of the wait-and-see attitude by potential purchasers. The impact of the recently implemented Goods and Services Tax (GST) on the overall property market is yet to be seen,” the report said.

Approvals for the high-rise residential sector in Johor has been halted by the state government, given the oversupply of this type, which paves way for the Town and Country Planning Department to draft a guideline to address the issue.

"The general focus of interest is expected to shift to commercial and industrial property sectors at selected locations, while the region takes its time to digest the existing and incoming high-rise residential supply. Landed residential homes, however, is expected to be well received by the Johor market,” said Knight Frank.

It also noted that despite weak market sentiment due to concerns of oversupply in the high-rise residential sector, developers are still launching products within Johor with a focus on landed houses.

Some of the launches in Johor, cited by Knight Report are UEM Sunrise Bhd’s 394.4-acre freehold Estuari Gardens, with the first phase being launched in July. The development is the first landed residential project in Puteri Harbour.

The RM533 million first phase of Estuari Gardens sits on 48 acres, consisting of 346 units of 2-storey superlink houses with built-up areas from 2,708 sq ft. Prices for the units start from RM1.4 million.

UM Land Bhd launched its Opal Residenz, which sits on 17 acres of land within the group ongoing master development, Bandar Seri Alam in Masai.

Opal Residenz consists of 174 cluster and semi-detached houses with built-ups from 2,296 sq ft and 2,560 sq ft, respectively. These units are priced from RM951,000 and RM1.1 million respectively.

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