Hong Kong Buyers
Medini & Forest City: The Real Situation
Forest City is no longer a punchline — it's a designated Special Financial Zone with real tax incentives and slowly rising occupancy, but the towers are still visibly underoccupied. Medini's foreigner-purchase exemption is real but has been tightening. Here's both, honestly.
Quick summary
Quick answer
Best for
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Buyer action
| Best for | Hong Kong buyers specifically weighing a Forest City or Medini purchase, who want the current facts rather than either the old 'ghost city' narrative or a developer's current marketing. |
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| Risk level | High — this is the highest-risk sub-market in this entire series |
| Buyer action | If Forest City or Medini is genuinely on your shortlist, ask Lewis for current, independently sourced occupancy and rental data before you commit — not the developer's own projections. |
What Actually Changed: The Special Financial Zone
Forest City Special Financial Zone (FCSFZ) was gazetted in September 2024, formalised through five pieces of amendment legislation, as Malaysia's first designated special financial zone and a component of the wider Johor–Singapore Special Economic Zone. It carries genuine tax incentives: 0% tax for qualifying family offices, a 15% income tax rate for approved knowledge workers, and a 5% corporate tax rate for qualifying financial services companies operating within the zone, alongside a separate stamp duty remission for eligible transactions inside the SFZ. This is a real, government-backed policy shift, not marketing language — six family offices had secured approval by the point of most recent reporting, holding a combined RM400 million in assets, against a stated government target of RM2 billion in assets under management by the end of 2026.
What Hasn't Changed: Residential Occupancy
The tax-zone news doesn't erase the residential reality. Independent analyst estimates, rental agents operating on the ground, and on-site visits put occupancy across Forest City's completed residential towers at roughly 15–30% as of recent reporting — a genuine improvement from the near-empty state widely reported in the early 2020s, but still a long way from a functioning, fully occupied township. Commercial space has fared somewhat better in specific pockets: the first roughly 50,000 sq ft of commercial space has reportedly reached around 59% occupancy, with office asking rents rising as the SFZ's financial-services tenant base grows. Treat residential and commercial occupancy as two separate, quite different stories.
The Practical Implication for a Residential Buyer
If you're buying a Forest City residential unit to live in or to rent out conventionally — not for the SFZ tax structure — the underoccupied environment is the dominant fact you need to price in. A quiet township with limited retail footfall, patchy amenity uptake, and a thin resident base affects daily life, resale liquidity, and achievable rent all at once. This is improving, gradually, as the SFZ brings in knowledge workers and financial-services staff who may eventually want to live nearby, but 'improving' and 'solved' are different words, and you should model your decision on the 2026 reality, not the eventual vision.
DISCUSS WITH LEWIS
I won't tell a Hong Kong client Forest City is a bad idea, and I won't tell them it's the opportunity of a lifetime either — both pitches are dishonest. What's real: the SFZ tax structure is genuinely attractive for the specific niche it targets (family offices, financial services), and the residential occupancy problem, while improving, is not solved. If you're buying to live in or to rent out conventionally, go in with your eyes open about vacancy. If you're buying for the SFZ's tax angle specifically, that's a different, more specialist conversation.
Medini's Foreigner-Purchase Exemption, Specifically
Medini, within Iskandar Puteri, has historically operated as a zone where new strata-titled units bought directly from developers were exempt from Johor's general RM1,000,000 foreign-buyer minimum price threshold, as part of the original Iskandar Malaysia incentive package. This exemption is real, or has been — but multiple recent sources describe it as having been progressively tightened, and it does not appear to extend to landed properties within Medini, which are subject to the general threshold and consent process. Don't treat a low advertised price on a Medini unit as automatic proof that the exemption still applies to your specific purchase; confirm the current status directly with IRDA (Iskandar Regional Development Authority) or your lawyer before you rely on it.
What Forest City's Own 2026 Buyer Guide Signals
Forest City's developer published an updated property-purchasing guide for buyers in mid-2026, covering the ownership framework, foreign-purchaser requirements and applicable tax treatment for acquisitions within Forest City specifically — including the new flat 8% stamp duty for non-citizen buyers effective 1 January 2026. Publishing this kind of detailed compliance guide is, itself, a signal that the project is trying to professionalise its foreign-buyer process after years of reputational damage from the ghost-city narrative. That's a genuinely positive sign of intent, but a buyer's guide from the seller is not independent verification — cross-check anything it claims against IRDA, your own lawyer, and independent occupancy reporting.
What I'd Verify Before Buying Either
For Forest City, ask for the most recent independent occupancy figures you can find — not the developer's, and not a single rental agent's anecdote — and stress-test your rental or resale assumptions against a genuinely thin resident base. For Medini, confirm directly with IRDA or your conveyancing lawyer whether the foreigner-exemption still applies to the specific unit and developer you're considering, in writing, before you rely on the advertised price being achievable without the general RM1,000,000 threshold. And for both, ask what percentage of units in the specific tower or phase you're buying into are actually occupied today, not what percentage are sold — sold and occupied are very different numbers in this market.
Buyer checklist
Forest City's Special Financial Zone status, gazetted in September 2024, brought real tax incentives for family offices and financial firms, and independent estimates now put occupancy across completed residential towers at roughly 15–30% — up from the widely reported near-empty state a few years ago, but still not close to full. Medini's historic foreigner-purchase exemption on strata units exists but is being tightened case by case, and should not be assumed automatically available.
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| 1 | Separate the Forest City SFZ tax-incentive story from the residential occupancy story — they're different questions |
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| 2 | Get independent occupancy figures for the specific tower and phase you're considering, not the developer's |
| 3 | Confirm Medini's foreigner-purchase exemption status in writing from IRDA or your lawyer for your specific unit |
| 4 | Don't assume a low Medini price automatically means the RM1,000,000 threshold doesn't apply — verify it |
| 5 | Ask what percentage of units are occupied today, not what percentage are sold |
Common questions
Is Forest City still a 'ghost city' in 2026?
Less than it was — independent estimates put residential occupancy at roughly 15–30% across completed towers, up from the near-empty state widely reported earlier, but still far from full. The SFZ's financial-services and commercial activity is progressing faster than residential occupancy.
Can I still buy in Medini without meeting Johor's RM1,000,000 minimum?
Possibly, for a new strata unit bought directly from a developer — this exemption has historically existed — but it's been tightening and shouldn't be assumed. Confirm the current status in writing with IRDA or your lawyer for your specific unit before relying on it.
What does the Special Financial Zone status actually give me as a residential buyer?
The SFZ tax incentives (0% for family offices, 15% for knowledge workers, 5% for qualifying financial services firms) target businesses and specific professional categories, not ordinary residential buyers. A residential purchase doesn't automatically confer these benefits.
Should I avoid Forest City entirely?
That's not the honest answer either — the SFZ tax structure is a genuine, government-backed development for its target niche, and occupancy is trending up. But go in with clear eyes about current vacancy if you're buying for conventional rental or resale, not the eventual vision.
Lewis Chong
REN 69566 · IQI GlobalProperty advisor helping KL, JB, and Penang buyers make data-backed property decisions.
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Separate the Forest City SFZ tax-incentive story from the residential occupancy story — they're different questions
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Get independent occupancy figures for the specific tower and phase you're considering, not the developer's
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Confirm Medini's foreigner-purchase exemption status in writing from IRDA or your lawyer for your specific unit
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Don't assume a low Medini price automatically means the RM1,000,000 threshold doesn't apply — verify it