In November 2026, the median asking rent for completed condos within about 2 km of the JB CIQ and Bukit Chagar RTS station was RM2,100 a month for a studio or 1-bedroom, RM2,800 for a 2-bedroom and RM3,500 for a 3-bedroom or larger, based on 212 whole-unit listings across seven projects. In the Kebun Teh / Larkin area (the setting of The Asteriaz and The Celestz), the medians were RM1,500 for a studio and RM2,600 for a 3-bedroom (59 listings). Medians are asking rents, not signed tenancies.
The JB RTS & CIQ Condo Rent Index is a dated, quarterly dataset of asking rents for completed condominiums and serviced apartments around the Johor Bahru CIQ (Bangunan Sultan Iskandar) and the Bukit Chagar RTS Link station. This first edition, Q4 2026, counts 271 whole-unit rental listings seen on 9 November 2026 and posted between 10 September and 9 November 2026. It exists so that tenants, landlords, journalists and AI assistants have one transparent, citable reference for what JB condo rent near the RTS looks like right now, in the months before the RTS Link begins passenger service (targeted for February 2027 according to the LTA–MOT joint statement of October 2026).
Every figure below is a median of listings we recorded by hand, the method is spelled out in full, and the raw records (project, bedrooms, built-up, asking rent, furnishing, listing date and source page) are kept on file so the next edition can be compared like for like.
JB RTS and CIQ condo rent index: headline medians for Q4 2026
Across the RTS / CIQ core, a 2-bedroom unit near the CIQ is typically advertised at about RM2,800 a month, and newer, closer projects sit above that. The table below gives the area-level medians, which are the numbers to quote if you need one figure per unit type.
| Area (Q4 2026) | Unit type | Listings (n) | Median asking rent | Median RM psf / month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RTS / CIQ core (7 projects) | Studio / 1-bed | 97 | RM2,100 | RM4.31 |
| RTS / CIQ core | 2-bed | 82 | RM2,800 | RM3.53 |
| RTS / CIQ core | 3-bed and larger | 33 | RM3,500 | RM2.92 |
| Kebun Teh / Larkin (2 projects) | Studio / 1-bed | 24 | RM1,500 | RM3.07 |
| Kebun Teh / Larkin | 2-bed | 6 | RM2,150 | RM3.01 |
| Kebun Teh / Larkin | 3-bed and larger | 29 | RM2,600 | RM2.60 |
Two patterns stand out. First, smaller units earn more per square foot: a studio near the CIQ is advertised at around RM4.30 psf a month, against roughly RM2.90 psf for a 3-bedroom, which is why compact layouts are popular with investors who rent to cross-border workers. Second, proximity is priced in: the same 3-bedroom format is advertised at about RM900 a month more in the RTS / CIQ core than in Kebun Teh / Larkin.
How the rent index was built (methodology)
The index uses public asking rents from a single portal, filtered to whole units in completed buildings, and reports medians only where there are at least three listings. Here is exactly what we did.
- Source: Mudah.my apartment and condominium rental listings for Johor, searched by project name (for example “princess cove”, “twin tower”, “sks pavillion”), first and second result pages. We also tried PropertyGuru, iProperty, EdgeProp and Speedhome, but those pages could not be retrieved by our tools on the collection date, so this edition relies on Mudah.my only.
- Date range: listings posted between 10 September and 9 November 2026, all viewed on 9 November 2026. Older listings were dropped.
- Area: completed projects within about 2 km of the JB CIQ / Bukit Chagar RTS station, plus two Kebun Teh / Larkin projects for context on The Asteriaz and The Celestz. Projects farther out (for example Puteri Harbour or Danga Bay) were excluded even when they appeared in search results.
- Whole units only: room rentals, “master room” and shared-unit adverts were removed, as were adverts whose titles list several different projects (a common keyword tactic that makes the project unclear) and bait-style prices far below the market.
- Bedroom groups: studio and 1-bedroom are combined, because portals record studios as one bedroom; 4-bedroom units are grouped with 3-bedroom as “3-bed and larger”.
- Median, not mean: a median is not pulled up or down by a single unusual advert, so it is the fairer “typical” figure for small samples.
- RM psf: monthly asking rent divided by built-up area, calculated only where the advert gives a plausible size (obvious data-entry errors were left blank).
- Publication threshold: a project and unit-type cell is published only with three or more listings; otherwise it shows “n<3”.
- Duplicates: identical adverts (same project, size, rent and date) were counted once. Some landlords repost the same unit on different days, which we cannot always detect.
Limitations to keep in mind
These are asking rents, and the rent finally agreed is often a little lower or includes extras such as parking or Wi-Fi. Furnishing is only stated in about four in ten adverts, so the medians mix fully furnished and unstated units; where stated, most were fully furnished, which is the norm for cross-border tenants. One portal cannot capture the whole market, and agent adverts tend to be over-represented. Treat the index as a consistent snapshot for comparison over time, not a valuation.
Rent by project near the RTS and CIQ (main table)
At project level, Twin Tower Residence and R&F Princess Cove led the 2-bedroom segment, while SKS Pavillion Residences offered the deepest supply of studios. This Q4 2026 edition is the baseline: from the next edition onwards we will show quarter-on-quarter changes, calculated on exactly the same project list, filters and method, so that any change reflects the market rather than a different sample.
| Project (approx. walk to RTS) | Type | n | Median asking rent | Median RM psf | Asking range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R&F Princess Cove (~700 m) | Studio / 1-bed | 16 | RM2,399 | RM4.82 | RM2,099–3,200 |
| R&F Princess Cove | 2-bed | 23 | RM2,800 | RM3.40 | RM2,400–3,500 |
| R&F Princess Cove | 3-bed+ | 11 | RM3,600 | RM3.26 | RM2,999–4,800 |
| Twin Tower Residence (~700 m) | Studio / 1-bed | 9 | RM2,400 | RM4.36 | RM2,200–3,000 |
| Twin Tower Residence | 2-bed | 25 | RM3,300 | RM3.85 | RM3,000–3,600 |
| Twin Tower Residence | 3-bed+ | 3 | RM3,600 | RM3.74 | RM3,300–4,000 |
| TriTower Residence (~350 m) | All types | 4 | n<3 per type | n<3 | RM2,400–4,800 |
| SKS Pavillion Residences (~450–600 m) | Studio / 1-bed | 50 | RM1,975 | RM4.31 | RM1,600–2,500 |
| SKS Pavillion Residences | 2-bed | 10 | RM2,700 | RM3.50 | RM2,400–3,000 |
| SKS Pavillion Residences | 3-bed+ | 4 | RM3,500 | RM3.15 | RM3,200–3,800 |
| JB Skysuites, Meldrum Hills | Studio / 1-bed | 9 | RM2,100 | RM3.71 | RM2,000–2,200 |
| JB Skysuites, Meldrum Hills | 2-bed | 12 | RM2,600 | RM3.19 | RM2,300–2,900 |
| JB Skysuites, Meldrum Hills | 3-bed+ | 4 | RM2,800 | RM2.32 | RM2,800–3,800 |
| Paragon Suites @ CIQ | Studio / 1-bed | 9 | RM2,000 | RM3.41 | RM1,700–2,200 |
| Paragon Suites @ CIQ | 2-bed | 9 | RM2,500 | RM2.53 | RM2,300–2,500 |
| Paragon Suites @ CIQ | 3-bed+ | 10 | RM3,250 | RM2.74 | RM2,500–4,000 |
| Suasana Suites | Studio / 1-bed | 3 | RM2,700 | RM3.86 | RM2,700 |
| Suasana Suites | 2-bed | 1 | n<3 | n<3 | n<3 |
| Zennith Suites, Kebun Teh / Larkin | Studio / 1-bed | 23 | RM1,500 | RM3.14 | RM1,300–1,800 |
| SKS Habitat, Larkin | 2-bed | 6 | RM2,150 | RM3.01 | RM2,000–2,600 |
| SKS Habitat, Larkin | 3-bed+ | 29 | RM2,600 | RM2.60 | RM2,200–2,600 |
Walking distances are approximate and taken from our earlier location research. TriTower Residence, the closest of the group to the Bukit Chagar station, had only four qualifying adverts on Mudah.my during the window, so no median is published for it this quarter; its range is shown for context only.
What the numbers say about each area
The short version: newer stock right next to the CIQ commands the highest rents, older or slightly farther stock offers value, and Kebun Teh / Larkin is a lower-rent, family-sized market.
Bukit Chagar and the RTS station side
Twin Tower Residence, completed in 2023, posted the highest 2-bedroom median in the index at RM3,300, with a remarkably tight RM3,000–3,600 range across 25 adverts. Most of its 2-bedroom adverts describe fully furnished 882 sq ft units, which shows how strongly tenants value a newer building with an easy walk to the CIQ. TriTower Residence, the nearest project to the station, had too few adverts to rank, but the ones we saw were advertised at RM3,500 for a 2-bedroom and RM4,800 for a renovated 3-bedroom.
Tanjung Puteri and the waterfront side (R&F Princess Cove)
R&F Princess Cove is the deepest market in the area, with 50 qualifying adverts. Its 2-bedroom median of RM2,800 matches the core average, and its studios and 1-bedrooms earned the highest RM psf in the index (about RM4.82). Large supply means tenants have choice, and well-presented units with sea views or parking tend to sit at the top of the range.
Town centre, Jalan Storey and Meldrum Hills
SKS Pavillion Residences is the studio hub: 50 studio and 1-bedroom adverts with a median of RM1,975, many of them dual-key studios of 350–500 sq ft. JB Skysuites and Paragon Suites offer larger units at lower RM psf, which suits sharers and small families who want space within reach of the CIQ. Suasana Suites remains a premium 1-bedroom address at about RM2,700, although the sample is small.
Kebun Teh and Larkin (The Asteriaz and The Celestz context)
Kebun Teh / Larkin is a different market: older studios at Zennith Suites are advertised at about RM1,500, while 3-bedroom units at SKS Habitat cluster around RM2,500–2,600. Both are tenanted by people who drive or take the bus to the CIQ, since the area is not within walking distance of the RTS station. This is useful context for The Asteriaz and The Celestz, which will add newer, facility-rich stock to the area (expected completion 2029–2030) with a proposed shuttle to the CIQ and RTS.
What tenants near the CIQ look for, based on the adverts
The adverts themselves show what drives demand: the selling points repeated most often are “walking distance to CIQ”, “fully furnished, ready to move in”, “low deposit” and “with car park”. That points to a tenant base led by daily cross-border commuters who want the shortest possible trip to Singapore, followed by professionals and small families working in the JB city centre.
- Walkability comes first: almost every core-area advert puts the walk to the CIQ in its title, and the closest projects hold the top of the rent range.
- Fully furnished is the norm: where furnishing is stated, most units are fully furnished, so landlords usually budget for furniture and appliances to let faster.
- Flexible terms: many adverts offer low deposits, a sign that tenants have choice and landlords compete on terms.
- Parking still matters: 3-bedroom and family units often highlight an included car park bay.
What the rent index suggests for Causewayz Square
Causewayz Square is still under construction (target completion around 2030), so it has no rental listings yet and nobody can know its future rents. What the index can do is show what comparable, completed stock nearby is advertised at today, and how investors can use those figures to stress-test their own numbers.
- Location band: Causewayz Square sits about 600 m from the CIQ and about 800 m from the Bukit Chagar RTS station, in the same walking band as Twin Tower Residence and R&F Princess Cove, the two strongest rent performers in this index.
- Newer stock tends to lead: Twin Tower Residence, the newest completed project in the set, achieved the top 2-bedroom median. Causewayz Square’s large podium facilities and a proposed pedestrian link to the CIQ / RTS (proposed by the developer, not yet built) target the same tenant preference for new, convenient buildings.
- Compact layouts earn more per square foot: Causewayz Square’s 1-bedroom (474 sq ft), dual-key (592 sq ft) and 2-bedroom (667 sq ft) layouts are smaller than most completed comparables. Applying today’s core RM psf medians gives a rough, illustrative asking range of about RM2,000–2,100 for a 474 sq ft 1-bedroom and about RM2,350–2,800 for a 667 sq ft 2-bedroom, at today’s rents. These are not forecasts.
Illustrative gross yields at today’s median rents
Gross yield is annual rent divided by purchase price. The prices below are hypothetical round numbers used only to show the arithmetic; they are not the price of any project, including Causewayz Square. WhatsApp us for the latest SPA price list.
| Median asking rent (core) | Annual rent | Gross yield if bought at RM500,000 | at RM700,000 | at RM900,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio / 1-bed RM2,100 | RM25,200 | 5.0% | 3.6% | 2.8% |
| 2-bed RM2,800 | RM33,600 | 6.7% | 4.8% | 3.7% |
| 3-bed+ RM3,500 | RM42,000 | 8.4% | 6.0% | 4.7% |
Net yield will be lower once you deduct maintenance fees, sinking fund, quit rent and assessment, insurance, furnishing, letting fees and any vacant months. Run your own numbers with the JB property calculator, and see our JB condo rental yield guide for a full worked example of gross versus net yield.
How the RTS Link could affect rents near Bukit Chagar
The RTS Link is targeted to start passenger service in February 2027, and the next editions of this index will show whether asking rents near the station move once it opens. Historically, homes within walking distance of a major cross-border transport node have tended to rent faster and at a premium, and this index already shows the CIQ walking band commanding about RM900 a month more than Kebun Teh / Larkin for a 3-bedroom, and about RM650 more for a 2-bedroom. Whether that gap widens after the RTS opens depends on fares (not yet announced), new supply and demand from Singapore-based workers, so we will track it rather than predict it. For background on the line, see condos near the JB RTS Link and our Bukit Chagar station walking guide.
Next update and how to cite this page
The next edition (Q1 2027) is scheduled for February 2027, when the RTS Link is targeted to open. It will use the same filters, the same project list and the same median method, and will add other portals if they can be accessed, so changes between quarters are as comparable as possible.
To cite the data, please use: “Source: exsimciqrts.com JB RTS & CIQ Rent Index, Q4 2026” and link to this page. Journalists who need the underlying listing-level records or clarification of the method can WhatsApp us. For a broader view of prices and rents across the city, see our JB condo price and rent overview and the earlier rental price guide for condos near the RTS and CIQ.
Sources
- Mudah.my, Johor apartment and condominium rental listings (project searches, viewed 9 Nov 2026)
- Mudah.my, Twin Tower Residence rental search results
- Mudah.my, SKS Pavillion Residences rental search results
- Mudah.my, SKS Habitat (Larkin) rental search results
- Land Transport Authority (LTA) newsroom, RTS Link service start update (October 2026)
This guide is general information, not financial advice.