Covid-19 and the Johorean Property Market

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

The Busiest Land Crossing in Southeast Asia: Part #2 - Adjustments & Rethinking for Daily Commuters

Continuing from our first post on the closing of the Johor-Singapore crossing, drastic adjustments and rethinking for Malaysian commuting daily to the Singapore for work. As swathes of people flock the causeway into the city-state, Singapore authorities and employers scramble to facilitate temporary accommodation. Many workers who successfully crossed the border had to sleep rough at train stations (see picture). Those left behind were later allowed to resume work in Singapore.

Accordingly, Singaporean online public interest in matters related the Johor-Singapore crossing lockdown spiked around the time when the Movement Control Order was announced (17 Mar 2020) and enforced (18 Mar 2020) (see graph and map).

On our previous post about the Johor-Singapore crossing see Part #1.

The Busiest Land Crossing in Southeast Asia: Part #1 - Virus Closes It

At the stroke of midnight on 18 Mar 2020, the Johor-Singapore border sealed shut following the enforcement of the two-week Movement Control Order (MCO) in Malaysia. The MCO left one of the busiest land crossing in the world strangely empty the following morning, a stark contrast from the night before when Malaysians workers scrambled to cross into the city-state before the borders were closed.

Data from the Beat the Jam! app shows a comparison between the time typically taken to clear the immigration checkpoints and the time taken on 17-18 Mar 2020. Also see photos showing the difference in traffic congestion on the Causeway at midnight and the morning of 18 Mar 2020.

On the next post about the Johor-Singapore crossing, see Part #2.