New launch or sub-sale in Johor Bahru
Completed condos here ask from RM215,000 and pay rent from the month you complete; the cheapest city-centre launch is RM348,653 and pays nothing until 2027. Six things that actually decide it.
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New launch or sub-sale in Johor Bahru — which is actually cheaper?
Both, depending on what you count.
On headline price the sub-sale market is cheaper at the bottom: completed condos in the city centre and along the RTS line ask from RM300,000, and Iskandar Puteri and Medini from RM215,000, against RM348,653 for the cheapest city-centre launch. On cash flow the gap is wider still, because a completed unit pays rent from the month you complete while a 2029 launch pays nothing for four years. What the launch gives you instead is a staged payment schedule, choice of layout and floor, and a building with no maintenance history to inherit.
- Cheapest completed
- RM215,000Iskandar Puteri / Medini asking
- Cheapest city launch
- RM348,653Paragon Gateway
- Gross yield range
- 2.0–7.0%across completed stock here
- Longest wait on this site
- 2031Skyline One Sentosa
Side by side
| New launch | Sub-sale | |
|---|---|---|
| Price you pay | From RM348,653 in the city centre; the published Johor Bahru district band runs to RM4.29m. The developer sets it and the sales permit caps it. | RM300,000 to RM7.2m asking across the 18 completed city-centre and RTS-line condos; RM215,000 to RM5.4m in Iskandar Puteri and Medini. The seller sets it and the market argues it down. |
| When you can use it | Two to five years. Avenue Residences completes December 2027, Mandolin Residences October 2029, Skyline One Sentosa March 2031. | Immediately. You can inspect the unit, the lift lobby, the car park and the actual neighbours before you sign. |
| When the rent starts | After vacant possession, plus fit-out. On a 2029 completion that is four years of paying without receiving. | The month you complete. Gross yields on the completed stock here run 2.0% to 7.0% depending on the building. |
| What you are trusting | The developer’s ability to finish. That is what the KPKT register is for: permit number, licensed company, certified construction percentage. | A building that already exists. What you are trusting is the management body — sinking fund, arrears rate, and whether the lifts have been replaced. |
| Cash you need up front | Usually 10% on signing, then progressive payments the bank releases against construction. Developer rebates and legal-fee absorption are common. | Usually 10% deposit and the balance on completion, plus your own legal fees and the full MOT stamp duty on the day. |
| Where the risk sits | Delay, abandonment, and a finished product that does not match the show unit. Also: paying tomorrow’s price today. | Age. Wiring, waterproofing, the sinking fund and a strata title that may still be in the developer’s name years after completion. |
Swipe sideways to see the full table →
Where sub-sale wins in Johor Bahru specifically
Johor has a deep completed market and it is documented on this site building by building: 18 completed condos in the city centre and along the RTS line, 20 in Iskandar Puteri and Medini, 13 in Danga Bay, Tampoi and Skudai. Gross yields run from 2.0% at the luxury end to 7.0% in the older stock, and the rent bands are published per building rather than guessed.
Two specific cases sit on both lists. Setia Sky 88 (completed 2017, freehold) asks RM480,000–RM1,890,000 and Twin Tower Residence at Bukit Chagar is completed and sub-sale only — both are marketed as launches by some agents. If the building is finished, price it as a sub-sale, whatever the brochure calls it.
Where the launch wins
Payment timing. On a launch you pay roughly 10% and then the bank releases against progress, so the cash requirement is spread across years. On a sub-sale the deposit and the full stamp duty land within months.
Choice. On a completed building you buy what is listed; on a launch you pick the layout, the floor and the facing while they still exist. For a cross-border buyer that matters — the difference between facing the Causeway and facing a wall is permanent.
And the thing nobody advertises: a new building has no arrears, no failed sinking fund and no twenty-year-old lift motors. That advantage lasts about a decade, and then it is gone.
Questions on both sides
- Is sub-sale cheaper than a new launch in Johor Bahru?
- At the bottom of the market, yes. Completed city-centre and RTS-line condos ask from RM300,000 and Iskandar Puteri / Medini from RM215,000, against RM348,653 for the cheapest city-centre launch. At the top the sub-sale market runs to RM7.2m, above most launches.
- What rental yield does completed stock produce?
- Across the completed buildings documented here, gross yields run from 2.0% to 7.0% depending on age, location and the rent band. Each building page carries its own figures.
- How long do I wait for a new launch?
- It depends on the project: Avenue Residences completes December 2027, Mandolin Residences October 2029, Skyline One Sentosa March 2031. No rent arrives during the wait.
- Can foreigners buy sub-sale property?
- The same RM1,000,000 Johor floor applies whether the unit is new or resold. Since 1 January 2026 a non-citizen (permanent residents excepted) also pays a flat 8% stamp duty on residential transfers.
- How do I judge the management of an older building?
- Sinking fund balance, arrears rate, whether the lifts and waterproofing have been redone, and whether strata titles have actually been issued to owners. Ask before you sign, not at handover.
The paperwork on each side, step by step
Whichever way you lean, these are the documents and stages you will actually go through. Each guide covers Malaysia-wide rules, with the Johor specifics called out.
- New launch: the Schedule H SPA, clause by clause · progressive payment schedule and interest during construction · late delivery (LAD) and extensions of time · CCC and vacant possession
- Sub-sale: the sub-sale SPA and the 3+1 month completion · state consent, Form 14A and redemption · maintenance fees and the sinking fund
- Both: stamp duty and legal fees, with worked examples · the full Malaysia buying guide · every new launch in Johor Bahru · completed property index
Send me the two you are choosing between
One launch and one completed unit, and I will put the total cost of each side by side — price, stamp duty, the years without rent, and what the building will cost to hold.
Louis Koh · 11 years in Malaysian property · how these pages are verified · limits of this data