Malaysia’s real estate market displayed steady performance in the first half of 2023 (1H23), witnessing a 1.1% increase in transaction value, reaching RM85.37 billion from the previous RM84.40 billion recorded in 1H22.
Deputy Finance Minister I, Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan, reported a slight dip of 2.1% in transaction volume, with 184,140 transactions in 1H23 compared to 188,002 in the same period the previous year.
During the launch of the National Property Information Centre’s (Napic) Property Market 1H23 Report, Ahmad highlighted that the residential property segment continued to be the driving force in the market, accounting for over 60% of the total transaction volume and nearly 53% of the total transaction value.
Following closely, the agriculture sub-sector held a 19.8% share in terms of volume, while the commercial property sub-sector claimed 19.6% in terms of value.
Ahmad noted that the new residential property segment displayed cautious sentiment, introducing more than 16,000 new units compared to the 33,205 units launched in 1H22. The majority of these new launches were concentrated in Johor, Selangor, and Penang.
Regarding the overhang situation in the residential segment, Ahmad reported an improvement during the market’s recovery period, with unsold units decreasing by 5.3% to 26,286 units valued at RM18.3 billion, compared to 27,746 units worth RM18.4 billion in the second half (2H) of 2022.
Condominium and apartment units constituted nearly 58% of the residential overhang, with almost half of them priced above RM500,000 per unit. Johor had the highest residential property overhang with 4,717 units, followed by Selangor with 4,307 units, both recording overhang values of more than RM4 billion each. Notably, Johor reduced its overhang volume by 10.3%, while Selangor saw a 16.5% rise compared to H2’22.
In terms of residential construction activity, Malaysia saw a decline in completions, starts, and new planned supply, down by 10.4%, 1.2%, and 15.8%, respectively, compared to the same period in the previous year. Selangor led in completions, contributing 31.2% (8,874 units) to the national total, followed by Perak (12.8%) and Kuala Lumpur (12.7%).
