Ponderosa Regency @ Taman Ponderosa

Yes, but only at the very top of the price band. Johor requires a foreign interest buying an apartment or serviced apartment to pay at least RM1,000,000. The advertising and sale permit for this project states a minimum sale price of RM405,000 and a maximum of RM1,212,000 — so only units priced above RM1 million qualify, which in practice means the largest duplexes.

Two further conditions. Johor caps foreign acquisition at 50% of the apartment or serviced apartment units in a scheme when buying direct from a developer, so availability within the qualifying band is the real question. And the transfer needs written State Authority consent, after which the title carries a sekatan kepentingan — a restriction in interest requiring consent again for any future transfer, charge or lease.

On the commercial side: of the 34 strata shop offices, only units of three storeys or more fall in the category a foreign interest may acquire, still at a RM1,000,000 minimum. Single- and two-storey lots are excluded regardless of price.

Take the permit’s maximum of RM1,212,000 as the working case, since that is the only band a foreign buyer can be in. Johor’s consent levy for a residential acquisition has been 3% of value or RM30,000, whichever is higher, since 1 July 2025 — RM36,360 here. The application fee is RM2,000 per title. And for sale and purchase agreements signed from 1 January 2026, transfer of residential property to a non-citizen who is not a permanent resident attracts 8% stamp duty — RM96,960.

That is roughly RM135,000 before legal fees, or about 11% on top of the purchase price. There is one variation worth knowing: for serviced residences priced below RM1 million where a purchase is permitted at all, Johor’s minimum levy is RM50,000 rather than RM30,000. It does not apply here, because below RM1 million a foreigner cannot buy in the first place.

The 8% duty applies to residential property. If you were looking at one of the three-storey strata shop offices instead, that duty does not apply — but the 3% consent levy still does, and commercial financing terms are tighter.

The only number with statutory force is 1,132, and the permit block says that figure is Phase 1 (“Jumlah Unit: 1132 Unit (Fasa 1)”). That is the number I use on this page.

The same e-brochure’s marketing text says the project “consists of two phases, each offering 1,132 units of serviced apartments”, which would put the project total near 2,264. Listing portals report 1,132 as the whole project. Those cannot all be right.

Why it matters to you rather than to a statistician: the number of units sharing the Level 7 podium, the lift cores and the sinking fund is what determines your maintenance charge, your lift wait and the volume of competing resale listings in 2029. Ask the developer to confirm Phase 2’s unit count in writing, and treat the project total as unconfirmed until a second sale permit names it.

The building runs to 35 levels, and the apartments occupy Levels 8 to 35 — that is the “four towers of 28-storey serviced apartments” line in the brochure. Typical units sit on Levels 8 to 33; the duplexes take Levels 34 and 35.

Below the homes: Level 7 is the entire facilities podium, and Levels 1 to 6 are six storeys of multi-level carpark, with a separate sub-basement carpark serving the commercial component.

This is why you will see both “35 levels” and “28 storeys” quoted for the same building — one counts the structure, the other counts residential floors only. Both are correct; neither on its own tells you that your lowest possible home is on Level 8, which is a genuine advantage for outlook and for flood-risk peace of mind.

Six published layouts: Type A 532 sq ft studio; A1 598 sq ft one-bedroom; B 681 sq ft two-bedroom; C 971 sq ft two-bedroom duplex; C1 1,079 sq ft two-bedroom duplex; D 1,211 sq ft three-bedroom duplex. Car park allocation is one bay for A, A1 and B, and two bays for C, C1 and D.

Two loose ends worth knowing about. The developer’s own car park schedule lists a Type B1 with two bays, but no B1 floor plan has been published anywhere. And a third-party listing site publishes a “Type AA” at 1,064 sq ft, two bedrooms, which does not appear in the developer’s own layout module at all.

One more discrepancy on Type D: the developer’s project site and its brochure both say three bathrooms, while one listing site says two. Where a developer document and a portal disagree, the developer document wins — but confirm the bathroom count on the S&P plan before you commit, because it changes the layout materially.

Yes, if you count both phases. The developer’s own e-brochure numbers them: Phase 1 has 35 — 16 indoor and 19 outdoor — and Phase 2 has 32, 17 indoor and 15 outdoor. That totals exactly 67, which matches the brochure’s own headline.

The developer’s website is inconsistent about it, saying “over 65 exceptional facilities” in one paragraph and “over 67 types of facilities” in another. The numbered key plans settle it at 67.

The part that affects a Phase 1 buyer directly: roughly half of those 67 are only built with Phase 2. The KTV room, mahjong room, co-working lounge, conference room, live streaming room, second pool and basketball court all sit in the later phase. If you buy in Phase 1, budget your expectations to the 35 items on the Level 7 podium and treat the rest as a later bonus.

Straight-line from the project’s registered map pin: 6.1 km to the CIQ at Bangunan Sultan Iskandar and 5.8 km to the RTS Link’s Bukit Chagar station. Mid Valley Southkey is 2.9 km, Toppen and IKEA Tebrau 4.6 km, and Senai airport 18.4 km.

Road distances are longer and depend on the Tebrau Highway. The developer’s brochure carries its own road-distance graphic; I publish measured straight-line figures because you can reproduce them on any map and check my working.

The RTS Link is not yet open to passengers — civil and systems work is targeted for completion by end-December 2026, with passenger service targeted for January 2027 and a five-minute crossing to Woodlands North. The developer offers an exclusive shuttle service, but the brochure marks it “subject to approval by the JMB or MC” — which means it is a proposal for the future management body to approve, not a committed service. Do not price your commute on it.

Unusually, two of the three are on the public record. The advertising and sale permit states a completion date of 17 December 2028 and a Phase 1 price band of RM405,000 to RM1,212,000. That is a statutory band across all layouts and stacks, not a quote for any particular unit — the actual price of a specific unit on a specific floor is what you need, and only the current price list gives you that.

The maintenance and sinking fund rate is the one number nowhere on the record. Knight Frank is the appointed manager, which is reassuring on quality but tells you nothing about the rate. On a 1,132-unit building with 35 podium facilities including a sauna, a steam room, jacuzzis and a badminton hall, this is a serious monthly figure and I would not let anyone hand-wave it.

Message me for the current price list, the remaining stock by layout, the S&P payment schedule and the projected maintenance rate. I also check whether the foreign quota still has room in the above-RM1-million band, which is the piece that changes fastest.

Judge it on documents rather than on brand language. Prinsip Alpha Sdn Bhd was incorporated in 2023 (registration 202301019132) and holds developer licence 30684/01-2029/0026 (N) issued 24 January 2024. A company that young has no delivery record of its own; the experience being marketed belongs to AAR Group behind it, not to the entity signing your contract. That is normal in Malaysia — but it means your recourse under the Housing Development Act runs against a single-project company.

What is genuinely above average here is disclosure. Licence number, permit number, permit validity, building plan approval number, completion date, land tenure, land category, the bank holding the charge and the full price band are all printed on the developer’s own brochure. Most Johor Bahru launches publish none of it. Take that list to the National Housing Department register and verify each entry.

The unresolved item, stated plainly: the e-brochure is hosted on the domain of Bursa-listed Axteria Group Berhad, whose own portfolio page lists an “A-Regency Ponderosa (coming soon)”. I could not confirm from public filings how Prinsip Alpha, AAR Group and Axteria are related. If a listed parent would change your view of the counterparty risk, get the group structure in writing before you pay a booking fee — and remember that a related listed company is not the same thing as a listed developer standing behind the contract.