Property Market

House Price Index (HPI)

In 2024, Malaysia's House Price Index (MHPI) reached 227.3 points, reflecting a moderate annual growth of 4.1%, same as 2023. This performance was supported by a stable Overnight Policy Rate (OPR), government incentives, and sustained demand for affordable housing.

At the state level, all regions saw positive growth, although at a slower pace than in 2023. Johor led the major states with a 5.3% price increase, followed by Selangor and Pulau Pinang at 3.1%. Kuala Lumpur posted a slower 2.1% growth. The national average house price stood at RM490,313, with Kuala Lumpur remaining the most expensive market (RM810,502), while Melaka and Perlis had average prices below RM250,000.

By property type, semi-detached houses saw the highest growth at 5%, surpassing terraced houses (4.5%). The national average price reached RM746,119, with Kuala Lumpur leading at RM2.5 million. Detached houses also grew modestly by 3.1%, with Kuala Lumpur showing recovery after years of decline, reaching an average price of RM2.4 million. Meanwhile, detached house prices remained below RM300,000 in Pahang, Perak, and Kelantan.

Terraced houses continue to lead in long-term index growth since 2010. Notably, Kedah and Johor recorded the highest terraced house price increases at 7.9% and 7.5%, respectively. The national average terraced house price was RM471,662, with Kuala Lumpur topping the list at RM944,546.

High-rise units experienced a slower growth of 2.9% in 2024 (down from 4.3% in 2023), with Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Pulau Pinang, and Sabah seeing slight price drops. However, Melaka and Johor saw strong gains due to new developments. The average national price for high-rise units was RM382,008, with Kuala Lumpur and Pulau Pinang recording above-average prices.

Residential Property Transactions

Malaysia's property market experienced a downturn in the first quarter of 2025, recording 97,772 transactions worth RM51.42 billion — a decline of 6.2% in volume and 8.9% in value compared to the same period in 2024. The residential sector remained the main contributor, with 59,306 (60.7%) transactions valued above RM24.5 billion (47.7%). Despite the drop in transactions, construction activity saw a notable rise, with 28,344 properties starting construction, up from 21,391 units the previous year. Notably, serviced apartment construction doubled, and new residential launches also more than doubled to 12,498 units.

Overhang

What's "overhang"?: Starting January 1, 2003 “property overhang” has been defined as residential, commercial and industrial units that have been completed and issued with a Certificate of Completion and Compliance / Temporary Certificate of Fitness for Occupation but remained unsold for more than nine months after it was launched for sales on or after 1st January 1997.

The residential overhang rose to 23,515 unsold units valued at RM15 billion in Q1 2025, compared to 23,149 units worth RM13.94 billion in Q4 2024. The top three states with the highest overhang volumes were Kuala Lumpur, Johor, and Perak, accounting collectively for approximately 9,666 units.

By price category, the largest contributor to the overhang was surprisingly the RM300,000 and below segment, with 7,135 unsold units. This was followed by the RM300,001-RM500,000 range (6,813 units) and the RM500,001-RM1 million range (6,713 units).

Meanwhile, the serviced apartment overhang declined by 6.7% in volume and 6.9% in value. Government-led initiatives such as the Forest City Special Financial Zone, Johor-Singapore Economic Zone, and Pulau Satu's duty-free designation played a key role in reducing serviced apartment overhang in Johor by 5.6%. Notably, the RM500,001-RM1 million segment remained the largest contributor, with 11,177 (61.3%) unsold serviced apartment units.