PETALING JAYA, Sept 19 — Property launches in Malaysia fell 26 per cent to 12,938 units in the first half of 2025, from 17,404 in the second half of 2024.
Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (Rehda) president Datuk Ir Ho Hon Sang said sales also declined to 3,125 units, cutting the take-up rate to 24 per cent from 55 per cent in late 2024.
“Terraced houses, both single-storey and two to three storeys, remained the top sellers, which really shows Malaysians still have a strong preference for landed homes,” he said in a media briefing on Property Industry Survey 1H 2025 and Market Outlook for 2H 2025 & 1H 2026 here today.
He said demand for serviced apartments stayed steady in high land-cost areas even as landed homes are snapped up quickly.
Rehda’s survey found that in places such as Penang, high land prices limit landed projects, pushing developers towards stratified schemes.
Even so, buyers still favour landed units over stratified properties, including in Johor.
“In prime locations such as Johor and Klang Valley, and other states, developers will usually prioritise projects with higher demand and lower risk, which means landed homes where possible.
“Overall, landed properties remain a popular product for buyers regardless of the state. Even in secondary or tertiary towns, if the pricing is reasonable, landed units perform well,” Ho said.
Loan rejection rates were highest for homes priced between RM300,000 and RM500,000, categorised as affordable units.
Although the survey did not state specific reasons, Ho said past trends indicate affordability constraints among lower-income households.
“Financial institutions often prefer to approve loans for buyers with higher household incomes, as they are considered lower risk. This creates a paradox where the very group meant to benefit from affordable housing faces a higher chance of loan rejection due to their limited financial capacity,” he said.
Ho said that lists of eligible buyers are typically provided by state authorities such as the Selangor Housing and Property Board (LPHS) and similar agencies in other states and federal territories.
However, he said developers report that 60 per cent to 70 per cent of applicants on these lists face loan rejection, requiring authorities to issue new lists of potential buyers.
On sales and service tax (SST), he said residential properties are exempt, but taxes on construction inputs remain a concern for overall pricing.
Taken together, these factors could raise construction costs.
“Based on simple arithmetic, this may translate into a 3 per cent increase in selling prices. However, adjusting property prices is not a straightforward decision.
“Unlike luxury goods such as Louis Vuitton or Rolex, property pricing depends heavily on bank valuations and buyer affordability,” he added.
As a result, he said developers prefer to absorb or mitigate rising costs rather than raise prices.
He said ongoing discussions with the government are needed to provide clarity on SST implementation and reduce market uncertainty.
