As the pandemic drags on, one obvious victim is real estate. Market outlook in 2020 have been unsurprisingly bleak, although experts have expressed cautious optimism for 2021 as some aspects within the sector gradually improve. Still, it would seem a relatively long way off until a more significant recovery occurs, as owners of property in Johor Bahru would tell you.

Channel News Asia’s Amir Yusof wrote an interesting piece on how the residential property market has been hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. According to a report by property consultancy firm Henry Butcher, Johor contributed 20% of overhang residential properties in Malaysia in 2019, making it the state with the highest proportion of unsold residential property even before the outbreak of the coronavirus. Segi Enam Advisors principal, Khor Yu Leng, contributed her opinion on the matter, explaining that:

“The spending power of the former Johor daily commuters and Singapore residents who visited Johor weekly or otherwise has diminished or disappeared from the Johor economy… A year later, with Johor’s economic umbilical still cut off from Singapore, and Malaysia suffering a big wave of COVID-19, informal social support activities (to help the lower-income households) have been ongoing.” 

Head over here to read the entire article: How Johor’s residential property market has been hit hard by COVID-19