KL vs Johor Bahru Property 2026: Prices, Rules, Supply

The short answer

As at October 2026, Kuala Lumpur is the market to buy if you want something to hold for years and sell to a wide pool of local buyers. Johor Bahru is the market to buy if you have a specific reason to be close to Singapore, such as a cross-border job or family, and you are prepared to choose the building very carefully.

The foreign-buyer floor is RM 1,000,000 in both. Johor adds an approval levy of 3% of the price or RM 30,000, whichever is higher. Stamp duty and real property gains tax are the same in both, because they are federal.

The official numbers show two different markets. NAPIC's average home price in Q2 2026 was RM 825,282 in Kuala Lumpur and RM 489,881 in Johor. Johor had 9,946 unsold completed serviced apartments in H1 2026, the most of any state. The RTS Link is now expected to start in February 2027. To see one KL option and one JB option side by side at your budget, WhatsApp Shyan Yee at +60 17-279 8932. Want me to work it out for your own case? WhatsApp +60 17-279 8932.

Kuala Lumpur and Johor at a glance

The price and transaction figures come from NAPIC's H1 2026 reports. NAPIC counts serviced apartments separately from residential units, which is why they have their own rows. The per-square-foot figures are converted from NAPIC's per-square-metre averages. The serviced apartment index covers the Johor Bahru market, while the other Johor rows cover the whole state. Not sure which one here suits you? WhatsApp +60 17-279 8932.

Prices: what the official averages say

NAPIC's Malaysian House Price Index is the official benchmark. For Q2 2026, which NAPIC marks as preliminary:

Within Kuala Lumpur the high-rise average varies by region: RM 611,069 in KL Central, RM 578,009 in KL North and RM 415,242 in KL South. NAPIC does not publish a separate high-rise split for Johor Bahru in this report.

What the gap means in ringgit: the average Kuala Lumpur home costs RM 335,401 more than the average Johor home (RM 825,282 against RM 489,881). For high-rise units the gap is RM 282,927, and the Johor average of RM 279,399 is about half the Kuala Lumpur average of RM 562,326. Terraced houses show the widest gap: RM 497,890, with the Kuala Lumpur average about twice the Johor one.

Those index changes describe the past twelve months, not the next twelve.

Averages against new-launch prices

This is the part that most comparisons skip. An average covers every unit that changed hands, old and new. A new launch is priced on its own terms. The NAPIC serviced apartment average in Johor Bahru works out at about RM 589 psf. The new launches nearest the RTS station in our database are listed at about RM 1,100 to 1,600 psf:

Several Kuala Lumpur city-centre launches sit in the same range: DIVINE KL City Centre at RM 1,600 psf and CENTRIX at RM 1,600 to 1,850 psf (gross). So "JB is cheaper" is true of the average, but not of every new building next to the station. If you buy there, you are paying for the location, and your resale benchmark will be the market around you, not the brochure.

Supply: where the unsold stock is

NAPIC's status report for H1 2026 counts as unsold completed stock (overhang) the units that were "completed and issued with Certificate of Compliance and Completion (CCC) but remained unsold for more than nine months after it was launched for sale".

And the pipeline behind it, from NAPIC's regional reports:

Johor is the largest single holder of unsold completed serviced apartments in Malaysia, and Kuala Lumpur is not far behind. The Johor state government's own comment, quoted in NAPIC's Southern Region report and based on NAPIC data for Q3 2023, is that the unsold serviced apartments in Johor Bahru are concentrated in certain areas rather than spread across the state.

How to use these numbers: the state total tells you the risk exists, but not where. Before you buy a serviced apartment in either city, ask how many units in that building and the buildings around it are still unsold, and how many are being completed in the same two years as yours.

Foreign-buyer rules side by side

Johor's approval levy was raised by Pekeliling PTG Johor Bil. 3/2025, which replaced the 2014 rate of 2% or RM 20,000 for agreements stamped from 1 July 2025. On a subsale, the 3% is worked out on the higher of the valuation office (JPPH) figure or the price in the agreement, with a minimum of RM 30,000. The same circular also provides for a serviced apartment on a commercial title below RM 1,000,000 to be sold to a foreigner only with state authority approval, with a minimum levy of RM 50,000. That is case by case, not an open door, so plan on RM 1,000,000.

In Kuala Lumpur the Ministry of Economy guideline applies. Its list of what a foreign interest may not buy has four items: property below RM 1,000,000 a unit, low-cost and low-medium-cost homes, property on Malay reserve land, and units allocated to Bumiputera buyers. It does not restrict the type of home, so a landed house at RM 1,000,000 or more is open on the same terms as a condominium, and a permanent resident counts as a foreign interest.

Example: a foreign buyer pays RM 1,200,000 for a condominium to live in. In Kuala Lumpur the taxes and government charges on top of the price are 8% stamp duty, RM 96,000, plus 0.5% of any loan. In Johor they are the same RM 96,000, plus the 3% levy of RM 36,000 and the RM 2,000 application fee: RM 38,000 more in taxes and government charges for the same price. Legal fees and registration fees come on top in both cities.

What a foreign buyer pays on a RM 1,000,000 home

The 8% is the rate for residential property. Under the Stamp Act, as amended by the Finance Act 2025, a serviced apartment or SOHO counts as residential only when it is solely to be used as a dwelling; otherwise a foreign buyer pays the 4% rate.

Starting price is not the price a foreigner can buy at

In both cities, many projects start below RM 1,000,000 and only some units clear the line. Before you look at a project, check the top of its price range, not the starting price:

The state-by-state minimum price guide covers the other states.

Taxes are the same in both

Stamp duty. A Malaysian citizen or permanent resident pays 1% on the first RM 100,000, 2% up to RM 500,000, 3% up to RM 1,000,000 and 4% above, plus 0.5% of the loan. A buyer who is not a citizen or permanent resident pays a flat 8% on a residential transfer from 1 January 2026. The stamp duty guide has worked examples.

Real property gains tax.

When a non-citizen sells, the buyer must hold back 7% of the price (3% for a citizen seller) and pay it to LHDN within 60 days. The exception: the seller notifies the buyer of a lower tax amount before the remittance. Plan for that when you work out what you will receive on a sale.

Example: a non-citizen buys at RM 1,000,000 and sells for RM 1,200,000. The gain is RM 200,000; after the individual exemption of RM 10,000 or 10% of the gain, whichever is greater, here RM 20,000, the chargeable gain is RM 180,000. Sold in year 4, the tax is 30%, RM 54,000; sold in year 6, it is 10%, RM 18,000, before allowable costs are deducted. Unless the seller notifies the buyer of a lower tax amount before the remittance, the buyer withholds 7% of RM 1,200,000, which is RM 84,000. Both tax figures here are below RM 84,000, so if the seller notifies the buyer in time, the buyer may remit that lower amount instead. Whatever is sent counts towards the seller's tax. The same numbers apply in Kuala Lumpur and Johor.

Singapore ABSD. IRAS states that all residential properties outside Singapore are excluded when you count your properties for ABSD. A Johor home does not make your next Singapore home a second property for ABSD purposes.

The RTS Link: what is official

The five minutes is station to station, not door to door. Example: once passenger service starts, now targeted for February 2027, the trip from Aethera Residences, about 0.37 km from Bukit Chagar in a straight line, will be a short walk, one immigration clearance at Bukit Chagar and about five minutes on the train. GEN RISE, about 0.9 km away, is more than twice as far from the station in a straight line; the train ride is still the same five minutes. The RTS opening status guide lists the straight-line distance from each JB project we cover to Bukit Chagar.

JS-SEZ and Forest City: what they are, and what they are not

• The Johor–Singapore Special Economic Zone was signed on 6 January 2025 and exchanged at the Malaysia–Singapore Leaders' Retreat on 7 January 2025. MIDA describes it as about 3,571 square kilometres across nine flagship zones, including Johor Bahru City Centre, Iskandar Puteri, Pasir Gudang and Forest City, with a target of 100 projects in 10 years and 20,000 skilled jobs.
• Its tax incentives are for companies and workers. Qualifying companies get a special 5% corporate tax rate for up to 15 years; qualifying knowledge workers get a 15% income tax rate for 10 years, from 1 January 2025. There is no home-buyer incentive.
• Forest City Special Financial Zone was announced by the federal government in 2024 with its own package: a 15% income tax rate for knowledge workers, a zero tax rate for family offices and multiple-entry visas. The MM2H special economic zone category only lets participants buy new property from the developer in Forest City. The MM2H guide explains that category.

How I read it: the zone is meant to bring jobs, and jobs bring tenants, but that takes years, and the 20,000 skilled jobs are a target, not a count. I do not attach a price effect to it.

Kuala Lumpur has no equivalent single catalyst. Its demand is the existing one: head offices, government, universities and the largest pool of local buyers in the country.

Three comparisons using real projects

All prices below are starting prices as listed in our project database on 21 October 2026. Developers change price lists, so ask for the current one.

1. About RM 570,000 to 580,000: space or station. Aster Hill in Sri Petaling starts at RM 569,000, from RM 647 psf (gross), with units from 846 sq ft. Causewayz Square – Axis in JB City Centre starts at RM 580,300, from RM 1,536 psf (gross), with units from 366 sq ft. For roughly the same money, the KL suburb gives you more than twice the floor area; the JB unit gives you a location about 0.84 km in a straight line from Bukit Chagar. Neither is a foreign-buyer option, because both price ranges stay under RM 1,000,000.

2. About RM 1,000,000, for a foreign buyer. DIVINE KL City Centre starts at RM 997,000 at RM 1,600 psf, completing in 2032. Aethera Residences in JB starts at RM 996,200 at about RM 1,533 psf, completing in 2029, about 0.37 km from Bukit Chagar. Per square foot they are close. The differences are elsewhere: Aethera is freehold and DIVINE is leasehold; Aethera completes three years earlier; and in Johor the foreign buyer adds the state levy of at least RM 30,000.

3. The lower end, for Malaysian buyers. M Aurora on Old Klang Road starts at RM 339,000 at about RM 610 psf. M Minori in Kempas, JB, starts at RM 288,000 at about RM 505 psf, and M Grand Minori in Taman Pelangi at RM 437,000 at about RM 750 to 870 psf. At this level the location inside each city matters more than the city: Taman Pelangi, close to JB city centre, is listed above the Old Klang Road project per square foot, while Kempas is below it. The choice comes down to where you work.

Fees matter as much as price. Arden Serviced Residence charges RM 0.66 psf, CENTRIX RM 0.40 psf plus RM 0.04 psf sinking fund, and Ambience Residence in Sungai Besi about RM 0.30 psf before sinking fund. On a 1,000 sq ft unit, RM 0.66 psf is RM 660 a month, or RM 7,920 a year. CENTRIX's RM 0.44 psf in total is RM 440 a month on the same size, RM 2,640 a year less. The owner pays the fee whether the unit is occupied or empty.

Who should choose which

• You live and work in the Klang Valley. Kuala Lumpur. Buy near the line you use, and check the measured distance to the station on the project page.
• You work in Singapore and will cross most days. Johor Bahru, within about a kilometre of Bukit Chagar in a straight line. Walk the route at peak hour. Buy a home that works on today's commute, so a later RTS date costs you patience, not money.
• You are a foreign buyer with RM 1,000,000 or more. Both are open. In Kuala Lumpur you get the widest resale pool; in Johor you pay the extra levy and should look hard at the serviced apartment supply around the building.
• You are an investor buying to let. Kuala Lumpur if you want a tenant base that does not depend on one cross-border link. Johor Bahru only if you can name the tenant: who will rent it, from where, and what they earn.
• You want a family asset to keep for decades. Kuala Lumpur first.

Risks to weigh

1. Supply around the building. Johor's 9,946 unsold completed serviced apartments are concentrated in parts of Johor Bahru, and another 10,756 are unsold under construction. Kuala Lumpur's 6,343 and 8,767 are not small either.
2. Resale pool. In a JB tower bought mostly by overseas investors, the next buyer may be the same kind of investor you are. In Kuala Lumpur, more resale buyers are local families.
3. RTS timing. The target has already moved once, from by December 2026 to February 2027. Do not stretch your budget on a date.
4. Currency. Your price is fixed in ringgit. If you earn in Singapore dollars, your real cost and your eventual sale proceeds move with the exchange rate.
5. Foreign-buyer cost in Johor. At 3% of the price, with a minimum of RM 30,000, the levy is a real cost on every foreign purchase in Johor.

Official sources

The figures above were checked on 21 October 2026 against:

• NAPIC: latest publications (H1 2026 reports, last updated 21 October 2026), including the Property Market Status Report H1 2026, the Malaysian House Price Index Report Q1–Q2 2026P, the Serviced Apartment Price Index Report Q1–Q2 2026P, the Central Region Report H1 2026 and the Southern Region Report H1 2026
• PTG Johor: property acquisition by foreign interests
• Pekeliling PTG Johor Bil. 3 Tahun 2025 (dated 13 June 2025, in force 1 July 2025)
• JKPTG: Pekeliling KPTG Bil. 6/2024 (30 December 2024), with the Ministry of Economy property acquisition guideline in force from 13 July 2022
• LHDN: RPGT rates and retention by the acquirer
• Finance Act 2025 (Act 874), section 26 (definition of residential property) and LHDN stamp duty guideline, 30 June 2026, items 32(aa) and 32(ab)
• Ministry of Finance: Budget 2026 tax measures (8% stamp duty for foreign buyers of residential property)
• Land Transport Authority, joint release, 2 October 2026
• Ministry of Transport Singapore, 30 June 2025
• MIDA: the Johor–Singapore Special Economic Zone (7 January 2025)
• EDB Singapore: JS-SEZ (agreement signed 6 January 2025)
• Ministry of Finance: JS-SEZ incentive package
• MIDA: Forest City incentives (2 December 2024)
• IRAS: Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty)

Price lists change; the project figures above are as at 21 October 2026. When you want a KL option and a JB option side by side, with their real prices, fees and distances, WhatsApp Shyan Yee (REN 46305, IQI Realty) at +60 17-279 8932.