I read an article online just few days ago quoting ONE (1) example of a buyer who has been saving for over 10 years but could still not afford one home in Johor Bahru. I wonder if Johor Bahru is really so expensive? Thus far I have not heard of my Johorean friends telling me that they could not afford a home. Most of the time, it is more of the ‘why are the prices going up so fast?’ Well, a check online using price as a benchmark yielded more results that I had imagined. Take a look at the latest chart as at 2 November 2014.
The article also quoted lots of people being frustrated for being locked out of the property boom taking place in Iskandar Malaysia. This time, it did not quote any other example beyond one statement. Next is a statement stating that Iskandar Malaysia has become a huge discount market for Singaporeans and worker colony for the island city. I am not sure but I think way before Iskandar came into the picture, the house prices were at an even bigger discount to Singapore. As for the term colony, if the writer is really serious, then be reminded that Johoreans did NOT start working in Singapore only after Iskandar started. They have started way before. With the exchange rate and the work opportunities, many braved hours of travelling everyday to go to Singapore for work.
Then, it quoted a property consultant in Johor saying that due to all the big players from China, it has also brought in speculators. However, based on the results for first half of 2014, the total market is cooling down especially after the government said that foreigners could only buy RM1 million property or higher. Is this not a good news? The article said that this is bad because the shop rental rates has gone through the roof. One example was the increasing of RM1,000 to RM2,000 within a period of one year. No further mention about whether the business owners would close shop or not. Nevertheless, if I am the business owner and I close shop because rental increased by RM1,000 it means that my gross profit is way too low and I should have closed my business anyway.
Many times, when we read articles, do we value them? I do. I love great articles, for example, those with real stats, real numbers and good comments. However, I am unhappy if an article is poorly written by any full time journalists. Are they writing without any understanding? I seriously believe the state government of Johor better continue to control the development in Iskandar but at the same time I support the growth in Islandar to be continuous. As for prices rising beyond affordability, I seriously doubt that as well. I used to go JB once every 2 weeks for 5 months continuously. I never felt so and unless this has changed drastically within 1.5 year. Please, write objectively instead of sensationalising and yet unable to support it with facts and data.
written on 2 Nov 2014
Next suggested article: Nothing in Iskandar yet for me but does not mean it’s NOTHING to me.
