Will new rail link push more Singaporeans to opt for life in Johor Bahru as cost of living, rent in city state soars?

Nowhere on the list is Johor Bahru, perched on the opposite end of the 100-year-old Johor–Singapore Causeway, across a narrow 1km strait that separates them.

The capital of the Malaysian state of Johor, the city has seen a boom in construction that includes high-rise condominiums within walking distance to the border checkpoint as well as a new rail station that connects directly to Singapore’s expansive mass rapid transit line.

Calling himself “half from Singapore, half from JB” – as the Malaysian city is colloquially called – Gregory Low said there had been a surge in fellow Singaporeans opting to relocate to Malaysia, spurred by the city state’s skyrocketing rental prices.

“There is a spike in Singaporeans investing and moving to JB because of the rental spike in Singapore,” Low, a property agent, told This Week in Asia.

Since moving to JB in 2012, he said rent in Singapore had more than doubled from when he was still living in his hometown. Singapore’s Urban Redevelopment Authority meanwhile reported in 2023 that rent of private residential properties increased by 29.7 per cent between 2021 and 2022 alone.

This has been compounded by the recent rise in Singapore’s Goods and Services Tax from 7 per cent to 9 per cent at the start of the year, and the increasing cost of electricity, the highest since late 2022.

Malaysian banker Sharmila Devi found this out the hard way after accepting a much-anticipated job offer in Singapore. Used to the privacy of living alone in a cosy Kuala Lumpur apartment, she now had to share a room with strangers, as a small room with an attached bathroom goes for US$2,000.

“I have had to reconsider my needs and wants,” she told This Week in Asia. “Do I want to spend 20 per cent of my salary and share