A little bird told me many months ago JB is going to experience a sharp inverted V drop.
My gut feel is stay away from Zone A unless it is for own stay. As for Zone B, if you want to invest, buy it for its value over time and not for its monetary gain over the next 4 years.
I am biased but for me, property investment is on hold for now in Malaysia especially in Johor.
For me, I feel that JB is only so small; hence Zone A and B prices are somewhat inter-linked. Units which are likely to be in trouble are those bought at a high price for investment purpose only. Hence, there may be some fire-sales when the investors cant afford the monthly loan instalments of these pricey units.
For investment purpose, unless one is buying purely in cash (which is not an efficient use of money btw), consistent rentability of the unit is a major consideration. Otherwise one may find that all the so-called capital gains are eroded by the 4.5% interest cost (without rental to offset the int exp).
Hence, my suggestion is to buy in areas with gd population & jobs growth, or if not, in the adjoining areas, for investment purpose. My suggestion is also consistent with what experts across different countries have constantly advocated. As to where these areas are, I would leave it to individuals to decipher as 'everyone thinks that he has the prettiest wife.' Haha....
Lastly, just a note that when I was looking to buy a SG condo in the North & North East for investment purpose, property agents from Yishun all the way to Sengkang were telling me abt renting out to future Rolls Royce expats. But are there so many Rolls Royce expats in the first place, or is 'Rolls Royce' just a name to attract investors?