Johor's Horizon Hills Attracts Foreign Buyers

Source : The Business Times, July 22, 2008

60% of buyers are from overseas; more than half of whom are Singaporeans

WITH a golf course set within a residential township, the resort-style Horizon Hills in South Johor is attracting considerable overseas interest - more than 60 per cent of buyers in launched precincts are foreigners.

Here in town yesterday to promote the project, Malaysian developer Gamuda Land also noted that Singaporeans make up more than half of the foreign buyers. The rest come from countries as far as Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, South Africa, the US, Japan and India.

Home is a golf retreat: Mr Chow (left) says that Horizon Hills offers a resort lifestyle and investment value which have attracted the attention of foreigners who are working in Johor Baru and Singapore

Horizon Hills is located in Nusajaya, a flagship zone within South Johor's Iskandar Malaysia, which is slated to become southern peninsular Malaysia's economic corridor. Spanning 1,200 acres, the township comprises 13 precincts with bungalows, semi-detached, cluster and terrace homes.

Two precincts - The Gateway and The Golf - were launched last year. Ninety per cent of The Gateway's more than 400 residential units were taken up.

A 200-acre 18-hole designer golf course and a club house are also integral parts of Horizon Hills. Costing RM30 million (S$12.5 million) and RM50 million respectively, the golf course and club house were completed this month.

Bungalows with golf course frontage went for RM2 million on average, while semi-detached units cost around RM900,000.

'The homes in Horizon Hills are very affordable,' said Gamuda Land's managing director Chow Chee Wah. 'The resort lifestyle and investment value which Horizon Hills offer have attracted the attention of foreigners who are working in Johor Baru and Singapore.'

Home prices in Horizon Hill have risen by about 15-20 per cent in the last one and a half years, Mr Chow pointed out. The uptrend is likely to continue as construction costs in Malaysia increase. Costs have swelled by some 35 per cent in Malaysia in the past year, he said.

Managing director of Savills Singapore Michael Ng also expected to see land prices in the area rise due to development and growing foreign investment in Iskandar Malaysia. Savills Singapore is the marketing agent for Horizon Hills in the region.