The Johor Halal Park (JHP), which was launched two months ago, following a revision of its master plan, is expected to attract companies from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and China to set up shop in Iskandar Malaysia.

While new developments are increasingly more upmarket, the secondary market in Johor Bahru is still concentrated in the mass-market segment.

Local stakeholders are expecting the Singapore to Johor Bahru Rapid Transit System (RTS) and the High Speed Rail (HSR) to Kuala Lumpur to be future catalysts

The RM455 million Ramada Lumut Resort is all set to enhance the family experience.

With the Penang Transport Master Plan now being implemented, the areas on mainland Penang closest to the island stand to benefit from major new developments.

Revenue growth came mainly from improved contributions from Sunway Putra Mall (+291% quarter-on-quarter [q-o-q]), which was more than enough to offset the drop in rentals from Sunway Tower (-58% q-o-q), as the office tower’s occupancy rate fell to 21% from 67% in FY15.

On the whole, net property income was up 9.6% y-o-y mainly driven by gross rental income (+7.3% y-o-y) attributed to renewals and additional net lettable area (NLA) of 40,000 sq ft, as well as a decrease of 1.8% y-o-y in operating expenses.

Only standard three-bedroom flats with sizes of 700 to 750 sq ft in Green Lane appreciated by 11.7% to RM380,000 from RM340,000, while average prices of standard three-bedroom apartments/condominiums (excluding luxury types) of over 900 sq ft in Island Park/Glades inched up 2.1% to RM480,000, from RM470,000 in 3Q2014.

Indicative annual rental yields as calculated from asking rentals observed at June 2015 are fair, ranging from 4.0% to 7.5%. The highest asking rental yields can be found at Pantai Apartment (7.5%) in Butterworth.

The strata market here remains very affordable due to low land prices, as well as a preference for landed homes.