Mainland China Buyers
Forest City in 2026
An honest, current look at Forest City — the JS-SEZ Special Financial Zone status, what's genuinely built and occupied, the developer's ongoing difficulties, and what all of that means for a buyer weighing it against other Iskandar options in 2026.
Quick summary
Quick answer
Best for
Risk level
Buyer action
| Best for | Buyers specifically evaluating Forest City who want the current facts — good and bad — rather than either a sales pitch or outdated 'ghost city' commentary from years ago. |
|---|---|
| Risk level | High |
| Buyer action | If Forest City interests you, ask Lewis for a side-by-side comparison against other Iskandar Malaysia projects like Country Garden Danga Bay and Medini-precinct developments before deciding. |
What Forest City actually is, in one paragraph
Forest City is a large-scale mixed residential and commercial reclaimed-island development in Nusajaya, southern Johor, launched by Country Garden in partnership with Johor state interests in 2016, sitting directly across the water from Singapore's Tuas area. The original master plan envisioned homes for hundreds of thousands of residents across multiple artificial islands, aimed heavily at mainland Chinese buyers as an investment and lifestyle proximity play to Singapore. What was actually delivered by 2026 is a fraction of that vision — several completed residential towers, a golf course, retail and hospitality components, and infrastructure for a population far smaller than originally marketed, on land reclamation that itself proceeded more slowly than planned.
The genuine 2026 news: Special Financial Zone status inside the JS-SEZ
The most significant real development for Forest City since its original launch is its formal inclusion within the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone framework, signed in early 2025, with Forest City designated as the zone's Special Financial Zone (Forest City SFZ). This carries substantive, documented incentives — including preferential corporate tax treatment for approved qualifying activities and a special personal income tax rate for eligible knowledge workers — aimed at attracting financial services and family office activity to the zone specifically. This is a genuine policy upgrade, not marketing spin, and it distinguishes Forest City from most other Iskandar projects that sit outside any special-zone designation. It is a reason the zone's medium-term trajectory could differ from its first decade.
DISCUSS WITH LEWIS
I don't sell Forest City by pretending the empty towers aren't there, and I don't dismiss it either, because the SFZ status is a real structural change that most of Iskandar's other projects don't have. What I tell mainland clients is this: if you're buying to actually live there soon, walk the ground before you buy — occupancy density affects daily life more than any brochure will admit. If you're buying on a longer JS-SEZ policy thesis, treat it as exactly that: a multi-year policy bet, not a project that's already delivered on its original promise.
The reality on the ground: occupancy well below the original vision
Independent estimates from property analysts, local rental agents and on-ground visits — not official developer figures, since none have been published — generally put occupancy across Forest City's completed residential towers in a low-to-moderate range, well short of a genuinely bustling, fully-lived-in city. Walking through parts of the development, a visitor will find real, completed, liveable buildings alongside visibly under-occupied blocks and unfinished sections of the original master plan. This matters practically for a buyer: low occupancy density affects everyday amenities like the vibrancy of retail units, the frequency of local transport, and rental demand from a genuine live-in tenant pool — all of which behave differently in a sparsely occupied tower than in a fully-let one, regardless of the unit's own quality.
Country Garden's own difficulties are a separate, compounding factor
Layered on top of the occupancy question is Country Garden's well-documented financial distress as a group, which has been widely reported since 2023 and has affected the pace of construction and amenity delivery across its projects globally, Forest City included. A buyer considering an unfinished or off-plan unit at Forest City is taking on developer-completion risk in a way that differs from buying an already-completed, occupied unit — this is a genuinely separate risk axis from the SFZ policy question, and the two should not be conflated. A completed, titled, occupied unit in an existing tower carries materially different risk than a promise of a future phase from a financially strained developer.
What this means for a mainland buyer weighing Forest City against alternatives
Forest City in 2026 is neither the abandoned 'ghost city' some older commentary describes nor the fully-realised financial hub its newest marketing implies — it is a real, partially-occupied development with a genuinely new policy tailwind and genuinely unresolved developer and density issues. If your goal is near-term rental income or lifestyle use, walk the specific tower and check occupancy and amenity operation in person before committing, since brochure renderings and the current street-level reality can differ sharply between blocks. If your thesis is a multi-year bet on the JS-SEZ and SFZ status maturing, treat that explicitly as a longer-horizon, higher-uncertainty position, and compare it honestly against established, already-occupied Iskandar developments like Country Garden Danga Bay or the Medini precinct, which carry a different risk profile.
Buyer checklist
Forest City is now formally part of the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone as its designated Special Financial Zone, with real tax incentives attached — that is genuine, positive news that arrived in 2025. What it does not change is the physical reality: most towers stand well below the density the master plan envisioned, independent estimates put occupancy in a low-to-moderate range across completed blocks, and Country Garden's own financial difficulties have slowed the broader build-out. Both things are true at once, and a buyer needs to weigh the policy tailwind against the ground-level reality, not pick whichever one a sales pitch emphasises.
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| 1 | Distinguish clearly between the SFZ policy status and the physical occupancy reality — both are real, and they answer different questions |
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| 2 | Walk the specific tower you're considering in person before treating any occupancy claim as accurate |
| 3 | Ask directly about the unit's title status — completed and titled, or off-plan under a financially strained developer |
| 4 | Check current retail, transport and amenity operation on the ground, not in the sales gallery model |
| 5 | Compare rental demand realistically against established, fully-occupied Iskandar alternatives |
| 6 | Decide explicitly whether you're buying for near-term use or a longer JS-SEZ policy thesis, and size your risk accordingly |
Common questions
Is Forest City a 'ghost city'?
That older description is outdated but not entirely wrong even today — real, completed, occupied buildings exist alongside visibly under-occupied towers and unfinished sections of the original master plan. Independent estimates put occupancy in a low-to-moderate range, not full.
What is the Special Financial Zone (SFZ) status, and is it real?
Yes, it's a genuine 2025 development — Forest City was formally designated the Special Financial Zone within the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone, carrying documented tax incentives for approved activities. It's a real policy change, distinct from the occupancy question.
Does Country Garden's financial trouble affect buying at Forest City?
It can, particularly for off-plan or unfinished units, where you take on developer-completion risk. A completed, titled, occupied unit carries a different risk profile than a promised future phase.
Is there an official occupancy rate for Forest City?
No — no official figure has been published by the developer or zone management. Any percentage you see, including estimates in this article, is an independent estimate, not a verified statistic.
How should I compare Forest City to other Iskandar Malaysia projects?
Weigh the genuine SFZ policy tailwind against ground-level occupancy and developer-completion risk, and compare it honestly against established, already-occupied developments like Country Garden Danga Bay or the Medini precinct.
Lewis Chong
REN 69566 · IQI GlobalProperty advisor helping KL, JB, and Penang buyers make data-backed property decisions.
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Distinguish clearly between the SFZ policy status and the physical occupancy reality — both are real, and they answer different questions
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Walk the specific tower you're considering in person before treating any occupancy claim as accurate
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Ask directly about the unit's title status — completed and titled, or off-plan under a financially strained developer
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Check current retail, transport and amenity operation on the ground, not in the sales gallery model