Shop lots in Century Garden / Taman Abad, Johor Bahru
The densest Singaporean node outside the CBD, wrapped around KSL City. Transacted prices have risen roughly 70% in five years, and a single-storey lot beside the mall lets at RM19,000 a month.
- Ground floor rent
- RM8,000–19,000per month
- Median transacted
- RM2,475,000RM1,474 psf · 8 deals
- Peak trading
- Daily; Singaporean peak Fri–Sun
- Catchment
- KSL City visitors, city residents, office workers
The map loads here on the published site.
If you have never been here
The 60-second orientation.
- Zone
- City ring, KSL precinct
- Main commercial street
- Jalan Harimau Tarum
- Transaction window
- February 2025 – January 2026
| Destination | Drive | Why it matters to a tenant |
|---|---|---|
| Singapore (Causeway/CIQ) | 10 min | The established drive-in Singaporean shopping node before the RTS. |
| RTS Bukit Chagar | 8 min | Second-ring beneficiary; rail arrivals will taxi here for KSL. |
| Taman Pelangi | 5 min | Adjacent supper strip; complementary evening trade. |
| JB City Centre | 6 min | The CBD proper; Century Garden is the first ring out. |
| Mid Valley Southkey | 8 min | Direct mall competition for the same Singaporean shopper. |
Why this strip is busy
The demand engines — and what each one actually pays for.
KSL City does the customer acquisition
KSL Holdings has reported the mall at or near full occupancy in recent years. The tourist-to-local split is not published; our own read from trading hours and car-park plates is that weekend traffic is heavily Singaporean. The shophouses around it capture spillover from a machine they do not pay to run.
Ten minutes from the Causeway by car
For Singaporeans who drive rather than walk, this is the shortest meaningful shopping run in Johor Bahru. The habit predates the RTS by two decades.
Prices up roughly 70% in five years
The older landed commercial set transacted around RM1.45 million at RM455 psf in 2019–20. The current set transacts at RM2.475 million and RM1,474 psf.
A city-ring office and services layer
Motor showrooms on Jalan Tebrau, clinics, dental and professional services give this precinct a weekday function beyond mall spillover.
What Century Garden actually looks like
Real, freely-licensed photographs of this area — with the licence on every caption.
Every photograph on this page is a real, freely-licensed image of this area, reused with attribution under its stated Creative Commons licence — not a stock photo and not generated. Licences are linked on each caption. If you own a better shot of your own shopfront here, send it to us and we will feature it with a credit and a link.
What Century Garden has that the others do not
Not “advantages” — structural facts a competing location cannot copy.
The highest ground-floor rent on this entire list
A single-storey lot beside KSL City lets at RM19,000 a month. Nowhere else in Johor Bahru commands that for a shophouse footprint.
Mall-adjacency you cannot build
KSL City is already there and the land beside it is already built out. A competing developer cannot create this adjacency.
Demonstrated capital growth
From RM455 to RM1,474 per square foot in five years. Very few Johor precincts have a recorded track record that clear.
Who actually walks past your door
Estimated share of retail spend, by ethnicity and customer type. Read the last row before you commit.
| Segment | Share | Per visit | When | Concepts that win them |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singaporean drive-in shoppers | 30–40% | RM60–150 | Fri–Sun and public holidays | Mall retail, dining, massage, dental, groceries |
| City-ring Chinese Malaysian residents | 25–30% | RM25–60 | Daily | Cafes, clinics, dental, beauty, services |
| Office and showroom workers | 15–20% | RM15–40 | Weekday lunch | Set lunch, coffee, convenience |
| Malay households | 10–15% | RM18–45 | Evenings, weekends, Ramadan | Halal F&B, pharmacy, banking |
| Indian Malaysian households | 8–12% | RM20–45 | Evenings and weekends | Mamak, clinics, gold, pharmacy |
| Budget and worker trade | <5% | RM10–20 | Rare at these rents | Volume cheap-eats cannot clear RM8,000–19,000 a month. |
Ethnic composition
2022 citizen electoral roll for the P.160 Johor Bahru federal constituency, which contains this precinct. The roll counts registered voters only — it excludes non-citizens (migrant workers, Singaporeans, expatriates) and everyone under 18. Source: ElectionData.MY.
The city seat is Malay-majority on the roll — 52.5% Malay and Bumiputera against 39.1% Chinese, and only 5.9% Indian, the lowest Indian share of the six Johor seats in this series. Two corrections follow: halal provision matters more in the CBD than the heritage shophouse frontages suggest, and an Indian-cuisine concept has a thinner resident base here than in Tebrau or Iskandar Puteri. The roll also understates the daily Singaporean crowd entirely. KSL City’s own visitor economy sits on top of this roll and is not counted in it. On this strip the roll describes your neighbours, not your customers.
Catchment and market depth
Scale indicators for this precinct.
Rent and price schedule
Market bands, September 2026. Corner, frontage and existing tenancy change everything.
| Level & position | Monthly rent | Best suited to |
|---|---|---|
| Ground floor | RM8,000–19,000 | Anchor F&B, retail, clinic, salon |
| 1st floor | RM2,000–3,600 | Studio, tuition, spa, private dining |
| 2nd floor | RM1,400–2,600 | Back office, storage, co-working |
| Whole block | RM12,000–22,000 | Multi-floor F&B, medical, corporate |
| Asset | Asking range | Gross yield |
|---|---|---|
| Shophouse, intermediate | RM2.45M–2.72M | 3.2–4.2% |
| Shophouse, corner | RM2.9M–3.6M | 3.2–4.2% |
| Reference: 8 recorded transactions at a median of RM2,475,000 and RM1,474 per sq ft (February 2025 – January 2026). Source: brickz.my, from JPPH transaction data. | ||
What is missing — the opportunity list
Compiled from listings, directories and on-the-ground survey. Absence of evidence is not proof of absence — verify before you commit.
The honest assessment
Every agent will tell you the first column. Read the second one twice.
- The highest ground-floor rent on this list. RM19,000 a month is achievable beside KSL City.
- Mall adjacency that cannot be built. KSL Holdings reports the mall at or near full occupancy.
- Recorded 70% price growth in five years. From RM455 to RM1,474 per square foot.
- Ten minutes from the Causeway. The shortest drive-in Singaporean shopping run in JB.
- Only eight recorded transactions. Liquidity is thin. At a RM2.475 million median, exiting may take considerably longer than buying.
- Growth is already in the price. Seventy percent in five years means you are buying after the re-rating, not before it.
- Mid Valley Southkey competes directly. Eight minutes away, expanding in 2026, and targeting the same Singaporean shopper.
- Mall-dependent. If KSL City’s tenant mix or occupancy weakens, the strip has no second anchor.
- Daytime-weighted; the evening leaks to Pelangi. You pay top-of-market rent for a precinct that empties after the mall closes.
How it compares with the other JB strips
Ground-floor asking rents from live portal listings, September 2026.
| Strip | GF rent / month | Who shops there | Parking | Pick it if |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Austin | RM3,800–9,500 | Dense local Chinese Malaysian; highest weekday volume in JB | Congested | Your model needs volume seven days a week and you can live without parking. |
| Bukit Indah | RM2,500–4,200 | AEON-anchored footfall plus Singaporean day-trippers | Adequate | You want an Eco Botanic customer at roughly half the rent. |
| Eco Botanic | RM6,000–15,000 | Singaporean weekenders, EduCity students, expat families | Free, ample | You want high basket size and can survive a soft Monday–Thursday. |
| Taman Molek | RM4,500–15,000 | Affluent Chinese Malaysian, expat and Singaporean | Tight | You are an evening or bar operator with an existing following. |
| Sutera Utama | RM3,500–25,000 | Affluent Skudai households; the state’s highest median price | Adequate | You sell premium and need a catchment that pays for it. |
| Johor Jaya | RM2,200–4,500 | 66,000 residents; the most balanced ethnic mix in JB | Adequate | You want the healthiest yield and the deepest deal flow. |
| City Centre / IIBD | RM5,000–13,000 | Singaporean walk-in via CIQ; RTS terminus January 2027 | Paid / limited | You want walk-in cross-border traffic and will pay for the story. |
Ground-floor asking rents from live portal listings, September 2026. Expect 5–15% negotiation room on any of them. We will tell you honestly when another strip is the better commercial decision for your concept.
Buying, not renting? Same area, the residential side — NAPIC registered transactions, median price, median PSF and the 12-month move: Century Garden / Taman Abad landed data → · condos · industrial
What it actually costs to open here
Rent is the number everyone quotes. It is rarely the number that kills the deal — the fit-out is.
| Item | Amount (RM) | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Fit-out — full F&B with kitchen | 231,000 – 539,000 | RM150–350 psf on 1,540 sq ft. Kitchen exhaust, grease trap and M&E are what push it up. |
| Fit-out — basic retail (indicative) | 150,000 – 280,000 | Mid-range commercial guidance; no retail-specific Malaysian benchmark is published. |
| Deposits — 2 months + 1 advance + ½ utility | 47,250 | The Malaysian “2 + 1 + ½” convention, payable before you touch the unit. |
| Stamp duty on the tenancy | 648 (1 yr) / 1,944 (3 yr) | RM1 per RM250 of annual rent for ≤1 year; RM3 for 1–3 years. The RM2,400 exemption was abolished in January 2025. |
| Legal fee — tenancy agreement | 4,050 | Solicitors Remuneration Order 2023, Second Schedule: for a tenancy at RM10,000/month or less, 30% of one month rent (min RM500). Above RM10,000/month the rate steps down to 15–25%. A lease (term over three years, common on commercial units) is charged separately and higher — 60% of one month rent up to RM10,000, then 30–50%. |
| Agent commission | 0 | 1.25 months rent, paid by the landlord by convention. A tenant paying this is being overcharged. |
| TNB three-phase connection + deposit | 4,300 – 6,900 | RM1,700 connection plus RM2,600–5,200 deposit at 10–20 kW. Deposit earns 2.5% p.a. and is refundable. |
| Licences — premise + signboard, first year | Budget 700 – 1,200 | Premise licence fees are set by your own council (MBJB / MBIP / MBPG / MPKu) by business type and floor area — confirm with them. Signboard licence RM200–400. This line is a planning allowance, not a quoted fee. |
| Sdn Bhd incorporation | 1,000 | SSM fee. A foreigner cannot register a sole proprietorship. |
| Realistic total before you sell anything — F&B | 287,250 – 607,250 | Plus opening stock, POS, signage design, insurance and 3 months working capital. |
Cost model, licences, the full FAQ and sources & method are on one page: the Johor Bahru shop lot guide.
Two ways we can help
We hold ready units here that are never listed publicly, and current developer rebate sheets for the new phases.
Tell us the concept. We will send matching units within 24 hours.
Most good ground-floor units in Century Garden change hands before they are advertised. Send us your trade, floor area, budget and target opening date, and we will come back with what is actually available — including units where the current tenant is quietly looking to assign.
- Off-market and tenancy-assignment units
- Floor plans, actual outgoings and licensing feasibility
- Foreign-buyer and non-resident tenancy guidance
Or WhatsApp / call +60 10-906 6685 · email
No fee to tenants and buyers. Reply within one working day.
Get the current new-launch rebate sheet for this corridor.
New commercial phases carry incentives that are never published — early-bird discounts, rebates, rent guarantees and fit-out allowances that shift monthly. We will send you the live sheet with the yield maths done.
- Live rebate and package comparison across projects
- Net yield modelling after outgoings and financing
- Foreign purchase threshold and state consent levy notes
Or WhatsApp / call +60 10-906 6685 · see new launches
Includes the RM1M foreign-buyer floor and the 3% state consent levy for Johor commercial property.
Questions people actually ask
Short, direct answers.