Celestz @ Kebun Teh Review: From RM 543,800

Quick answer: who is Celestz @ Kebun Teh for?

Celestz suits buyers who want a sensible, mid-sized home in an established part of Johor Bahru rather than a tower beside the checkpoint. The three layout groups cover a 581 sq ft 1 + 1, a 753 sq ft 2-bedroom with three bathrooms and a 915 sq ft 3-bedroom, from RM 543,800, with 2 car parks on the larger two. KSL City Mall is about 770 m away in a straight line and Holiday Plaza about 480 m. It is less suited to daily RTS commuters, since Bukit Chagar is about 2.5 km away in a straight line (the developer says a shuttle bus is provided), and to buyers who want a small community: there are about 25 homes on each floor. For the latest price list and available units, WhatsApp +60 17-279 8932.

My view

In one line: This is a mid-sized home for owner-occupiers in an established JB area, from RM 543,800, with a mall, supermarkets, schools and clinics all within about a kilometre in a straight line; it does not suit someone taking the RTS to Singapore every day.

Living there: Parkson is about 350 m away in a straight line, Holiday Plaza about 480 m and schools about 600 to 700 m, so errands and school runs are short. One tower averages 25 homes per floor, with 7 passenger lifts for 735 homes, so there may be a wait for lifts at school and office hours; I'd suggest checking on site. The Bukit Chagar RTS station is about 2.5 km away in a straight line, so you rely on the shuttle bus, your own car or e-hailing. The fee is RM 0.51 psf including the sinking fund: about RM 296 a month for Type A and about RM 467 for Type C.

Who it suits, who it doesn't: For two adults sharing, or a couple with a parent who often stays over, I would look first at Type B: 753 sq ft, 2 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and 2 car parks. A family with children should take the 915 sq ft three-bedroom Type C. It does not suit a daily RTS commuter, someone who prefers fewer homes per floor, or anyone who needs a confirmed completion year before booking.

How long to hold: The completion year is not yet confirmed, with construction set at 52 months from the APDL, so I would buy it as a long-term home rather than for a quick sale. Before buying, compare it with The Asteriaz about 100 m away: same developer, same fee rate and the same 915 sq ft top size, but a lower entry price (from RM 474,900 for 560 sq ft) and a stated 2029 completion.

Check for yourself at the viewing: which way each of the four Type C variants faces and how much morning sun it gets; how long the shuttle bus is promised for and who pays once the management body takes over; how quit rent and assessment are charged on a commercial title; and put the price list for a same-size unit next to The Asteriaz's.

• Suits: owner-occupiers who want daily needs nearby; sharers or extended families who value a bathroom for each bedroom; two-car households on Types B and C.
• Think twice if: you will commute through the RTS every day, you prefer fewer homes per floor, or you want a confirmed completion year before you book.

Project facts (checked, updated October 2026)

Who is the developer?

The project company is EXSIM Kebun Teh Sdn Bhd, part of EXSIM, which is also behind The Asteriaz on the neighbouring plot. The developer frames Celestz around a celestial theme, which carries through to the facility names: a Starlight Pool, Starlight Lounge, Starlight Arcade and Starlight Pavilion. Beyond the theme, the developer highlights practical points: a dedicated parcel room, 20 EV charging bays, dual-level fitness facilities and a shuttle bus to the CIQ and RTS connection points. Ask how long the shuttle service is committed for and who pays for it once the building is handed to the management body.

What is near Celestz @ Kebun Teh?

The distances below are measured in a straight line from the project's coordinates. A walk or a drive is always longer.

The developer also lists Mid Valley Southkey, Plaza Pelangi, SKS City Mall, Komtar JBCC, Johor Bahru City Square and R&F Shopping Mall for shopping; Columbia Asia Hospital, KPJ Puteri Specialist Hospital, KPJ Johor Specialist Hospital and Sultanah Aminah Hospital for healthcare; Foon Yew High School, SJK (C) Foon Yew 1, 2 and 3, Tun Fatimah School and City University Malaysia for education; and Johor Golf & Country Club, Johor Zoo and Zaharah Botanic Garden for leisure. The road links named are the Tebrau Highway, the Eastern Dispersal Link, Jalan Tun Abdul Razak and the JB East Coast Parkway.

How I read the location. Kebun Teh sits between the city centre and Larkin, a short drive from both. The daily basics are close: Parkson about 350 m away, a mall about 770 m, schools at 600 to 700 m and the Hutan Bandar city park about 1.1 km, all in a straight line. The Singapore commute is the weak link. Bukit Chagar is about 2.5 km away, so you will rely on the shuttle bus, a car or a ride-hailing trip to the RTS and the checkpoint. If your week revolves around Johor Bahru rather than Singapore, that matters less.

Which Celestz layout suits you?

What I would pick. For a family, Type C is the obvious choice: three bedrooms with 2 car parks, at the top of the price list. It comes in four variants, so ask which stacks face which way, since in a tower of about 25 homes per floor the view and the morning sun can differ a lot between two units of the same size. For a couple or two sharers, Type B is the one I would look at hardest. The extra bathroom costs you some floor area, but it removes the morning queue and gives each bedroom real privacy. Type A is the entry ticket, with a small extra room that works as a study, a nursery or a place for a helper's bed.

Dividing the top of the price range by the largest unit gives about RM 972 per square foot, against about RM 936 for the entry, so the price per foot rises only modestly through the building.

What does it cost to hold each month?

The maintenance fee is RM 0.51 per square foot a month, including the sinking fund, so:

That is the same rate per square foot as The Asteriaz next door and higher than the about RM 0.36 psf quoted at Amberwood Resort Residences, about 1.4 km away. Quit rent and assessment tax come on top; on a commercial title, ask the developer how they will be billed. The maintenance fee guide explains what the fee and sinking fund pay for. If you take a loan, stamp duty on the loan agreement is 0.5% of your loan.

Price per square foot against its neighbours

The price per square foot below is the starting price divided by the smallest unit, a rough guide. Distances are straight-line from Celestz.

How I read it. The comparison that matters is with The Asteriaz, about 100 m away. Both are leasehold, by the same developer, with the same top size and the same fee rate. The Asteriaz starts lower, at RM 474,900 for a 560 sq ft unit, against Celestz's entry price for 581 sq ft, and gives a completion year of 2029, which Celestz has not yet confirmed. Celestz is the newer launch, and what it offers in return is the Type B layout with a bathroom per bedroom, the starlight-themed facility deck and a fresh price list to choose stacks from. Against the wider area, Celestz sits above Amberwood and M Grand Minori on a rough per-foot basis and well below the towers nearer the checkpoint, such as Arden and GEN RISE.

Facilities

At ground level the developer lists a grand entrance and drop-off, a lobby and lobby lounge, five retail units, a parcel room, a mail room, a food delivery space, a kindergarten (tadika), a surau, a control room and the management office, plus visitor parking and the 20 EV bays. The facility deck has the Starlight Pool, a Little Starlight Pool and playground for children, a sun deck, a jacuzzi, a half basketball court, an outdoor gym, a reflexology path, the Starlight BBQ and Starlight Pavilion, and a reading garden. Indoors there is a gymnasium, a multipurpose hall laid out for pickleball and badminton, a coworking space, a reading lounge, and the Starlight Lounge and Starlight Arcade.

The food delivery space and parcel room are small details that a 735-unit tower genuinely needs, as they keep riders out of the lift lobbies.

Buying as a foreigner

A foreign buyer needs approval from the state authority before the transfer, and Johor sets its own minimum price for foreign buyers. Check the current threshold for this commercial title before you book, and remember the approval takes time, which you need to fit around the deadlines in the sale and purchase agreement. Our foreign buyer guide explains where to check.

Pros and cons (my view)

How to view Celestz @ Kebun Teh

WhatsApp Shyan Yee (REN 46305, IQI Realty) at +60 17-279 8932 for the price list, floor plans and a viewing. Full specifications are on the Celestz @ Kebun Teh project page.