Johor has most unsold homes in Malaysia

Residential property overhang worsens in Malaysian state

Johor has accumulated 6,066 completed but unsold residential properties over the last two years, the highest of any state in Malaysia, The Star reported.

The unsold units have a combined value of MYR4.068 billion (USD953.2 million), with almost 60 percent of the homes priced at MYR500,000 and above, reported State Housing, Communications and Multimedia Committee chairman Dzulkefly Ahmad.

“High-rise properties, priced at MYR500,000 and above, make up 35.25 percent or 1,278 of the unsold units,” Dzulkefly noted on the sidelines of the Johor Affordable Housing open voting ceremony in Persada International Convention Centre this week.

Perak has the second highest number of unsold homes among Malaysian states with 5,357 units worth MYR1.632 billion still on the market.

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Although Selangor is third with 4,693 unsold homes, the units have a bigger combined value than those in Johor or Perak: MYR4.2 billion.

Penang has the fourth highest number of unsold units (3,502), valued at MYR3.088 billion, followed by Kedah with 3,311 units (MYR889.54 million).

The figures should motivate developers to launch more units below the MYR500,000 pricing threshold, said Dzulkefly.

“Developers need to analyse the current property market in the state before building to reduce the overhang,” he said.

The volume of overhang homes in Malaysia stood at 32,313 units with a value of MYR19.86 billion in 2018, up from 24,738 units in 2017, according to the National Property Information Centre (NAPIC).