Category Archives: Living in Johor Bahru

Renting Link Houses in Horizon Hills, Johor

Horizon Hills a gated and guarded housing community in Nusajaya (part of Iskandar) that is very popular with expats – learn more about the Horizon Hills housing estate. The housing estate offers bungalows, link houses and condos. Horizon Hills has its own golf course.

Even with the rapid decline in the value of the Malaysian ringitt the rental prices are not rising, if anything they appear to be falling. Given the amount of vacant properties for rent this makes sense. Of course for those with income in dollars (Singaporean, USA or other) this means rental prices have gone down substantially given he 20% decline in the Ringitt to the USA $ (from $1 = 3 ringitt in May 2013 to now $1 = 3.6 ringitt).

photo of Horizon Hill link house

Terrace/Link houses for rent now Horizon Hills, Iskandar, Johor:

  • RM 3,000; 2 story terrace house; 4 bedrooms; 3 bathrooms; fully furnished; land area 22’x 70′.
  • RM 4,000; cluster home; 4 bedrooms; 3 bathrooms; 2,123 square feet; fully furnished.
  • RM 3,000; 2 story link house; 2,556 square feet; 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, partially furnished, the Golf area.
  • RM 3,300/month; 2 story Terrace/Link House; 3,000 square feet; 4 bedrooms; 4 bathrooms; unfurnished; the Hills area.
  • RM 2,800; 2,300 square feet built-up; 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, partially furnished, the Green area.

Bungalows will cost more but there are many of those options available also.

Related: Plenty of Good Rental Options in Horizon HillsBuying or Renting in Horizon HillsLeisure Farm housing estate – Malaysian Economy Continues to Expand, Budget Deficits Remain High

Map Showing Condos in Johor Bahru, Malaysia

See our new maps showing the condos in Johor Bahru:

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Each condo on the map links to our information page for that condo. (click the icon next to the name to view the popup details with the link to the page).

If you will be traveling around JB looking at condos you might want to bookmark our main JB condo page or the direct page for the map. That way you can easily refer back to it as you need to.

We do also show the major housing estate areas in JB and Iskandar (if you zoom out on the map a bit).

360 Degree View of Downtown Johor Bahru in 2014

Here is a webcast showing a 360 degree view of downtown Johor Bahru in 2014. You can see the sky scrapers in the central business district (CBD) of Johor Bahru and Iskandar and in 5 years this will show many more high rise luxury condos. The beginnings of numerous (more than the total completed high rises) are visible in the video.

The CIQ, the causeway to Singapore, the Straits and Singapore beyond are visible. Even Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands, located at the far southern edge of Singapore, can be seen in the background.

Related: Setia Sky 88 Construction Progressing QuicklyIndah Samudra Condo Rentals: 2,800 to 3,500 – Johor Bahru Old Chinese Temple in CBD – D’esplanade Residence @ KSL Mall

Singapore Sprawl Fueled by Cheap Housing Resulting in Long Delays at Border

As I have written previously the potential for Johor Bahru, Malaysia is great. The proximity to Singapore give JB the extra boost that moves the potential above that of dozens of similar locations throughout South East Asia. But potential has to be managed properly or it is wasted. The inability of Singapore and Malaysia to cope with the demand for cross border traffic has to be a huge concern for investors.

The backups have become progressively worse throughout the last year and especially bad the last few months. As I have also written previously the massive supply of luxury housing in JB without a visible source of equally high paying jobs in Johor that will allow people to afford those houses is a worrisome sign.

The failure to complete a 3rd link by last year and the huge delays experienced all this year create strong headwinds for realizing the potential of Iskandar. Obviously cross border transportation was going to be bad before the MRT was finally extended given the huge volume of luxury condos being build in JB. But things are tremendously bad already when only a few of the new luxury condos are completed.

The potential is still great but the huge problems with the borders already calls into question the ability to plan, execute and grow to meet that potential. More high paying jobs need to be created in Johor Bahru itself. I don’t see how the number of luxury condos being built will be workable in the next few years. 10 years from now all may be well, but from 2015 to 2018 (or whenever the border gets fixed so the median border delay is under 15 minutes, likely the extension of the MRT to JB will have to play a role in fixing the problem) I see big risks countering the big potential.

Johor Bahru street with KSL in the background
Houses on Johor Bahru street with KSL in the background (D’esplanade Residence @ KSL, KSL mall, KSL hotel and more condos are being build across the street).

People are willing to envision themselves putting up with huge commutes. but as they live with them year after year and miss their children, spouses and lives sitting at a border waiting to move forward many will decide it isn’t worth it.

Cut-Price Luxury Homes Fuel Singapore-Johor Bahru Sprawl

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Sweetwater Mediterranean Restaurant

Sweetwater Mediterranean Restaurant is another excellent restaurant in Taman Pelangi, Johor Bahru. The food is excellent as are the furnishings. It is a bit expensive but worth it if you are looking to splurge.

photo of a stone oven

Even the bread is worthy of mention, it is excellent and warmed in this stone oven before serving. The fixed price lunches are a great way to experience this wonderful restaurant for a very reasonable price (around 40 MYR, about US$13). They come with wonderful bread, a salad, entree, tea, and desert.

photo of wonderful desert

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Orchid View Condos Rentals – 2,500 to 3,000 MYR a month

Orchid View Condominium is walking distance to CIQ (but it is very awkward to walk as the area was not designed with walking in mind), right next to downtown JB. It is pretty crazy to have designed the area to be so difficult to walk in given it is right downtown next to CIQ – this is exactly where designing a walkable city is most important. The situation at Orchid View shows that there is much more work needed to improve the urban design of downtown JB. See our overview of the Orchid View Condos.

photo of Orchid View Condominium
Orchid View Condo, Johor Bahru

The condo offers typical features of the 24 hour gated and guarded condos in Johor Bahru: covered parking, gymnasium, jogging track, playground and swimming pool.

Current listings:

  • 2,800 MYR per month; 1,500 square feet; 3+1 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, fully furnished, corner unit.
  • 3,000 MYR per month; 1,500 square feet; 3+1 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, fully furnished, corner unit.
  • 3,000 MYR per month; 1,500 square feet; 3+1 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, fully furnished, corner unit, facing South (to Singapore).
  • 2,500 MYR per month; 1,500 square feet; 2? bedrooms (I think the listing has this wrong, but maybe it is right), fully furnished, corner unit.
  • 2,500 MYR per month; 1,500 square feet; 3+1 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, unfurnished, corner unit.

I would expect you can bargin down the price a bit, there is a surplus of condo rental units in JB. Remember many units are never even listed online.

Related: Wadihana Condo Rentals: RM 2,000 to RM 2,500 per monthStraits View Condos Rentals RM 2,500/m to RM 4,000/monthSky Executive Suites @ Bukit Indah, Rent 2,000 to 4,500 MYR a Month

Horizon Hills Terrace and Link Houses to Rent

Horizon Hills a gated and guarded housing community in Nusajaya (part of Iskandar) that is very popular with expats – learn more about the Horizon Hills housing estate. The housing estate offers bungalows, link houses and condos. Horizon Hills has its own golf course.

photo of Horizon Hill link house

Terrace/Link houses for rent now Horizon Hills, Iskandar, Johor:

  • RM 2,700; 1,845 square feet built-up; 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, fully furnished.
  • RM 3,600; 2,300 square feet built-up; 4+1 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, end unit, “almost fully furnished.”
  • RM 3,000; 2,100 square feet built-up; 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, partially furnished.
  • RM 2,000; 1,845 square feet built-up; 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, unfurnished.

Bungalow and cluster homes will cost more but there are many of those options available also.

Related: Plenty of Good Rental Options in Horizon HillsBuying or Renting in Horizon HillsLeisure Farm housing estate

Johor Premium Outlets

Fountain and Burberry Store at Johor Premium Outlets

Johor Premium Outlets were built up quite a bit prior to opening in late 2011. In general those visiting the mall have been disappointed. The shopping mall is not aimed at me, but I visited and I can see why people are less than impressed. It is a nicely laid out complex with several high end outlets.

Covered open area at Johor Premium Outlets

Stores include: Adidas, Armani, Body Shop, Brooks Brothers, Burberry, Canali, Coach, Ermenegildo Zegna, Gap, Guess, Lacoste, Levi’s, Michael Kors, Nike, Oroton, Polo Ralph Lauren, Salvatore Ferragamo and Tumi.

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Twin Galaxy Condos in the CBD

Twin Galaxy started construction in late 2012. As with all new condos in Johor Bahru recently the developers are aiming for the high end of the market. Twin Galaxy’s 2 towers will be 35 stories. The development includes integrated shops and restaurants along with recreation areas for residents (pools, game rooms, library, kid’s play room).

The location is nice, next to Hotel Selesa and across the street from, the also under construction, Setia Sky 88 condos and near the New York Hotel.

Plaza Penagi is just 4 blocks away. KSL Mall is 1 km away.

Condo options include: studio (560 square feet) – this has to be aimed at the Singapore market, 2-bedroom (936 square feet), 3-bedroom (1163 sf), 4-bedrrom (1701 sf) and Penthouse with private garden. They offer to attach a “studio” to the 2 or 3 bedroom which adds 560 square feet (they make that into the master bedroom).

The CIQ and causeway are 5-10 minutes (2 km) away assuming any sensible driving and traffic load. It is a bit worrisome what will happen to the traffic flows with all the high rises being build in a close area, but this is a worry for the whole area.

I can’t find any details on the delivery time frame on their website. I don’t understand how such basic information is left off.

Related: D’esplanade Residence @ KSL MallSetia Sky 88 CondosInvestment Considerations When Looking At Iskandar Housing Purchases

Plenty of Good Rental Options in Horizon Hills

The sales market for housing in Nusajaya, Johor is hot. Horizon Hills is one of the most popular housing estates in Nusajaya (part of Iskandar in Johor, Malaysia).

Given the positive feeling many have about the future of Nusajaya many investors continue to buy. The demand by investors exceeds the demand of renters so, renters can get some good deals. The biggest thing that will change this market dynamic is more high paying jobs being created in Johor increasing the demand from renters.

I would expect you can get discounts on the listed prices (if they won’t budge talk to others offering rentals – there is a surplus supply). Above asking price of RM 3,500 discounts are even more likely.

There are variety of rental options in Horizon Hills, Johor, including:

  • Link house, RM 2,800/month, 4+1 Bedrooms, Un-furnished (I think).
  • Cluster house, RM 3,500/month, 2,600 square feet, 4+1 bedroom, 3 bathrooms, Partly Furnished.
  • Link house, RM 2,400/month, 2,100 square feet, 4+1 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, unfurnished?
  • Link house, RM 2,900, 2280 square feet built up, 4+1 bedroom, 3 bathroom, partly Furnished.
  • RM 7,000, 3500 square feet built-up, 4+1 bedrooms, 4 baths, Partly Furnished.
  • RM 3,650, 2500 square feet built-up, 4+1 bedrooms, 3 baths, Partly Furnished.

Related: Buying or Renting in Horizon HillsHousing options for East LedangThe Potential of Iskandar is Very High but Real Estate Investing has Risks AlsoStraits View Condos Available: RM 2,500/m to RM 4,000/mo