The train helps homes you can walk from. Is yours one?

Own a home in Johor Bahru, or thinking of buying one? You've heard the RTS Link will change everything. Some of that is true, and much of it is hope.

This post is about Johor Bahru and the people who rent there. It uses official numbers where we can find them, and says so when we're guessing.

We're RoomGuru, a team in JB that runs homes on Airbnb. We earn a fee from short stays, and nothing from a sale or a long-term let.

One home we run is a short walk from the station, so we'd gain if we're right. Keep that in mind as you read.

What is the RTS Link, and when does it open?

The RTS Link is a short train from JB to Singapore. It runs 4 km, from Bukit Chagar station in JB to Woodlands North in Singapore. The ride takes about 6 minutes, says MRT Corp, the Malaysian company building the JB side of the line.

The big change is the border check. On the Causeway, you stop at 2 checkpoints, one for each country.

On the RTS, both countries' checks are in the station you leave from. You clear both in one go, get on, and walk out at the other end (Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs, 5 May 2026).

It was meant to open in December 2026, the same ministry said in May. On 2 October 2026, Singapore's Land Transport Authority and Malaysia's transport ministry said it's now expected in February 2027. It still needs an independent safety check and final approvals.

The dates that matter to an owner

1. 6 Feb 2026Singapore announces a dearer VEP for Malaysian cars
2. 5 May 2026The RTS is still aimed at December 2026
3. 2 Oct 2026Opening moves to February 2027
4. 27 Oct 2026We wrote this. Fare: not announced
5. 1 Jan 2027VEP for Malaysian cars goes up
6. Feb 2027The RTS Link is expected to open

Will the RTS Link end your Causeway jam? 1 in 10 says no

No. Here's the sum, in 3 steps. Our reading: both numbers count people crossing either way.

1. Start with 1 day. About 400,000 people cross at Woodlands and Tuas every day, Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs said on 4 November 2019.
2. Now the train. At first, the RTS is set to carry about 40,000 trips a day.
3. Divide. 40,000 out of 400,000 is 1 in 10.

The 400,000 is from 2019, and busy days have grown since. On 19 June 2026, ICA, Singapore's border agency, counted over 598,000 people crossing by land, a record. On a day like that, the train's share is smaller than 1 in 10.

The busier the day, the smaller the train's share

People crossing Singapore's land border in 1 day, against the train's 40,000 at opening

A normal day2019

400,000 · train 10%

Record day19 Dec 2025

589,000 · 6.8%

New record19 Jun 2026

598,000 · 6.7%

RTS Link at opening: about 40,000Everyone else

VEP rises on 1 Jan 2027: will drivers move near the train?

From 1 January 2027, a Malaysian car pays S$50 for each weekday it enters Singapore, says the Land Transport Authority. It's S$35 up to then. This fee is called the vehicle entry permit, or VEP.

20 weekdays of driving in: the entry fee alone

Each coin is 1 weekday's VEP for a Malaysian car

2026S$35 × 20RM2,237

From 2027S$50 × 20RM3,195

That's about RM960 more a month, before tolls, petrol and the RTS fare to compare.

Motorcycles go from S$4 to S$7 a day, about RM22. The 10 free VEP days a year also end on that date. Weekends and Singapore public holidays stay free.

The RTS fare isn't out yet. Malaysia's transport minister said on 20 October 2026 that it should be announced by the end of 2026 (Malay Mail).

Our guess: some people who drive into Singapore each weekday will want to live within a walk of Bukit Chagar instead. They're the people who could rent your home.

Who will rent your JB home near the RTS?

2 groups, and they want different things.

People who work in Singapore. Sin Chew Daily reported on 29 June 2026 that about 480,000 Malaysians commute between Johor and Singapore for work. The story was built on an interview with Socso, Malaysia's social security agency.

Our reading: they can't all cross every day. There and back, 480,000 people would make 960,000 crossings, far above the record of over 598,000. Our guess: most want a home they can rent for a year.

Visitors from Singapore. Singaporeans were the biggest group of foreign visitors to Johor in 2025. Over 11 million came from January to July 2025, a state official said, as The Straits Times reported.

A short train makes a JB weekend easy to plan. They want a short stay, near food and the station.

Here's our stake again: we run short stays. A long-term tenant may suit your home better, and that's fine. We compare both in Airbnb vs long-term rental.

Johor home prices up 3.6%, sales down 15.1%: who gains?

Johor's economy grew 8.0% in 2025, the fastest of any state, says the Department of Statistics Malaysia. You'd expect homes to fly off the shelf. They aren't.

NAPIC is the government's property data centre. Its report for the first half of 2026 compares January to June 2026 with the same months of 2025. It shows 2 things at once.

• Fewer sales. The number of homes sold in Johor fell 15.1%.
• Higher prices. Johor's house price index tracks the price of a typical home. In April to June 2026, it was 3.6% higher than a year before. The average home cost RM489,881, an early figure that NAPIC says may change.
• A pile of unsold units. 9,946 finished serviced apartments in Johor had no buyer. That's over 2 in 5 of Malaysia's 23,375 unsold ones. A serviced apartment is a condo-style unit that NAPIC counts as business property, so it isn't in the 15.1% above.
• Rents up in a few places. NAPIC named 4 serviced apartment projects in and around JB where rents rose 11% to 12%. NAPIC said they're near town centres and easy to reach. 3 of the 4 are in Iskandar Puteri, far from the station, so this isn't the train at work.

Johor homes: prices up, sales down

Sales: January to June. Prices: April to June. 2025 vs 2026, both start at 100

21,061 → 17,871homes sold in Johor, January to June

RM489,881average Johor home, April to June 2026, 3.6% up on a year before (early figure)

Over 2 in 5 of Malaysia's unsold serviced apartments are in Johor

42.5%in Johor

• Johor9,946
• Kuala Lumpur6,343
• All other states7,086
• Malaysia23,375

Our reading: Johor isn't one market. Homes that are easy to reach are wanted. Homes that are hard to reach compete with thousands of unsold units.

Walking distance to the RTS: is your home close enough?

The train helps the homes people can walk from. So time the walk, not the drive.

1. Open a map and pick walking, not driving.
2. Start at your building's main door and end at Bukit Chagar station.
3. Try it once at noon. JB sun is a real test.

Try it: how far is a 10-minute walk?

Slide to your walk from the lobby to Bukit Chagar station

• 5 minutes: about 400 m
• 10 minutes: about 800 m. We think the train helps most up to here
• 15 minutes: about 1.2 km. Past this, most people take a car or a Grab

Your walk

We think a walk of 10 minutes or less is where the train helps most. Past 15 minutes, most people take a car or a Grab, and the gain gets small. This is our judgement, not a rule.

Far from the station? If your home is in Medini, Puteri Harbour or Danga Bay, we think the train adds less for you. Your renters will most likely still come by car.

Own or buying near the RTS? What to do before Feb 2027

If you own a home in JB:

• Time the walk to Bukit Chagar station. Put the number in your listing if it's short.
• Pick your renter: someone who works in Singapore, or a visitor. Set up the home for that person.
• Wait for the fare. When the 2 governments announce it, you can do the train-versus-car sum yourself.

If you're thinking of buying:

• Ask for real sale prices. Ask the agent what units in that building sold for in 2023 and in 2026. Asking prices don't count.
• Count the empty units in the building before you sign. In a building with lots of them, you compete on price, train or not.
• Read our guide if you live in Singapore: can Singaporeans buy property in Malaysia?

How we know this

We read the pages of MRT Corp and both governments for the train, the car fee and the border numbers. For homes, we read NAPIC's first-half 2026 report.

For workers and visitors, we used the news reports linked above. Where we guess, we say so.

Questions owners ask

Will the RTS Link go to KL, Penang or Ipoh?

No. It runs 4 km, from Bukit Chagar in JB to Woodlands North in Singapore, and stops there. For KL, you still take the ETS train or drive.

Sources: Route, 4 km, 6 minutes, 10,000 people an hour each way, about 40,000 trips a day at opening: MRT Corp, RTS Link (page updated 23 September 2026). Opening expected in February 2027: LTA and Malaysia's Ministry of Transport, 2 October 2026. About 400,000 people a day through Woodlands and Tuas: Singapore Ministry of Home Affairs, written reply in Parliament, 4 November 2019. Co-located border checks, and the December 2026 target: Singapore Ministry of Home Affairs, 5 May 2026. Over 598,000 people on 19 June 2026: ICA, 3 August 2026. VEP of S$50 a day for cars and S$7 for motorcycles, and the end of the 10 free days, from 1 January 2027: Land Transport Authority, 6 February 2026. Exchange rate, RM3.1952 to S$1, noon, 26 October 2026: Bank Negara Malaysia. Johor grew 8.0% in 2025: Department of Statistics Malaysia, 1 July 2026. Johor sales (pages 142 to 144), house price index and average price (page 25, early figure), unsold serviced apartments (pages 32 to 33) and rents (page 35): NAPIC Property Market Report, first half of 2026, September 2026. Fare expected by the end of 2026: Malay Mail, 20 October 2026. Malaysians working in Singapore: Sin Chew Daily via Asia News Network, 29 June 2026. Over 11 million Singaporean visitors to Johor: The Straits Times, 19 August 2025, January to July 2025. Simon runs RoomGuru, which has run homes in Johor Bahru on Airbnb since 2023, including 1 a short walk from Bukit Chagar. We earn a fee from short stays and nothing from a sale or a long-term let. No developer or bank paid for or checked this article. This is general information, not financial advice.