Shop lots in Danga Bay & Stulang, Johor Bahru
A waterfront strip with a long record of underperformance — weak demand and, by widely reported account, an abandoned mall. Included here so you can see the downside case clearly.
- Ground floor rent
- RM1,500–8,500per month
- Median transacted
- —— psf · — deals
- Peak trading
- Weekend evenings only
- Catchment
- Weekend waterfront visitors and high-rise residents
The map loads here on the published site.
If you have never been here
The 60-second orientation.
- Zone
- Johor Bahru waterfront, west of the CBD
- Main commercial street
- Jalan Skudai
- Transaction window
- no published commercial transaction series — asking prices only
| Destination | Drive | Why it matters to a tenant |
|---|---|---|
| JB City Centre | 6 min | The CBD; takes the trade that Danga Bay hoped for. |
| Singapore (Causeway/CIQ) | 10 min | Close, but cross-border traffic passes by rather than stops. |
| Mid Valley Southkey | 10 min | Where the mall trade actually went. |
| Larkin | 8 min | Transport hub; different market. |
| RTS Bukit Chagar | 9 min | Second-ring at best. Do not underwrite RTS uplift here. |
Why this strip is busy
The demand engines — and what each one actually pays for.
Waterfront frontage close to the city
Six minutes from the CBD with sea views. The physical setting is genuinely good; the trade has not followed it.
High-rise residential density above
Danga Bay’s towers put residents directly above the commercial layer — where they are occupied.
Ten minutes from the Causeway
Cross-border proximity that has repeatedly failed to convert into footfall here.
Entry pricing reflects the weakness
RM1,500 at the rent floor. If you have a concept that genuinely creates its own destination, the cost of trying is low.
What Danga Bay 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 Danga Bay has that the others do not
Not “advantages” — structural facts a competing location cannot copy.
Waterfront six minutes from the CBD
The setting is a fixed asset. What has been missing is a reason to use it.
Cheap entry into a waterfront position
RM1,500 rent floor for a sea-facing precinct minutes from the city. That combination does not exist elsewhere.
Residential density above the shops
Where the towers are occupied, a captive resident catchment exists.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weekend waterfront visitors | 30–38% | RM30–80 | Weekend evenings | Waterfront dining, cafes, dessert, photo spots |
| High-rise residents | 25–32% | RM25–60 | Daily where towers are occupied | Convenience, groceries, casual dining, laundry |
| Malay households and visitors | 33–38% | RM18–45 | Weekends; strong in Ramadan | Halal F&B, mini-mart, pharmacy |
| Indian Malaysian households | 13–16% | RM18–42 | Evenings and weekends | Mamak, clinics, provision |
| Singaporean visitors | 8–14% | RM50–130 | Weekends | Waterfront dining, leisure, retail |
| Weekday daytime trade | Very weak | — | The precinct is quiet Monday to Friday | Widely reported weak demand and an abandoned mall. Visit on a Wednesday afternoon before you sign. |
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. The high-rise towers here carry a meaningful foreign-owner and expatriate share that the roll cannot see — but tower occupancy, not ownership, is the number that matters, and it is not published.
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 | RM1,500–8,500 | Anchor F&B, retail, clinic, salon |
| 1st floor | RM700–3,000 | Studio, tuition, spa, private dining |
| 2nd floor | RM500–2,200 | Back office, storage, co-working |
| Whole block | RM2,800–12,000 | Multi-floor F&B, medical, corporate |
| Asset | Asking range | Gross yield |
|---|---|---|
| Shophouse, intermediate | RM1.0M–2.2M | 3.2–4.2% |
| Shophouse, corner | RM2.0M–3.2M | 3.2–4.2% |
| Reference: — recorded transactions at a median of — and — per sq ft (no published commercial transaction series — asking prices only). 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.
- Waterfront six minutes from the CBD. A genuinely good physical setting.
- The cheapest waterfront entry in JB. RM1,500 at the rent floor.
- Residential density directly above. A captive catchment where the towers are occupied.
- Ten minutes from the Causeway. The proximity exists, even if the conversion has not.
- A long record of underperformance. Danga Bay is widely reported to have weak demand and an abandoned mall. This is the most cautionary entry on this list, and we would rather you heard it from us.
- No published transaction data. We could not retrieve a commercial series. Every price here is an asking price — commission a valuation.
- Tower occupancy is unverified and decisive. Your resident catchment depends entirely on how full the towers actually are. That figure is not published — verify it building by building before you commit.
- Weekend-only trade. Rent is for seven days. Revenue may be for two. Model it that way.
- Mid Valley Southkey took the mall trade. Ten minutes away and expanding. Danga Bay is not going to win that back.
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? The people who staff and shop this strip have to live somewhere — and tenant demand follows housing. Completed condos in the same catchment, with resale bands, rents and gross yields: Danga Bay / Tampoi / Skudai →
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 | 17,500 | The Malaysian “2 + 1 + ½” convention, payable before you touch the unit. |
| Stamp duty on the tenancy | 240 (1 yr) / 720 (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 | 1,500 | 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 | 257,500 – 577,500 | 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 Danga Bay 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.