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- The call follows the release of the National Property Information Centre’s market snapshot for the first half of 2025 (1H2025), which highlighted weak absorption of new residential launches and a growing overhang in the high-rise segment.
KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 8): Fiabci Malaysia, the local chapter of the international body, Federation Internationale des Administrateurs de Bien-Conselis Immobiliers (International Real Estate Federation), has urged policymakers and developers to shift from broad-based housing initiatives towards targeted, data-driven planning to address persistent imbalances in the Malaysian property market.
The call follows the release of the National Property Information Centre’s market snapshot for the first half of 2025 (1H2025), which highlighted weak absorption of new residential launches and a growing overhang in the high-rise segment.
According to a press release on Sept 4, Fiabci Malaysia president Yu Kee Su (pictured) said: “Building more units is not the sole solution. We must build the right units in the right places.”
The group welcomed existing government measures, including First Home Tax Relief and the 13th Malaysia Plan target to deliver one million affordable homes between 2026 and 2035, but stressed that current data points to the need for more granular intervention.
A total of 23,380 new residential units were launched in 1H2025, with only 24% sold. Of these, 58.7% were priced at RM500,000 and below. At the same time, 26,111 completed units remained unsold, valued at RM16.44 billion.
Among its proposals was the adoption of rental-first strategies for high-rise properties, which account for 58.5% of unsold completed stock, including 17,883 serviced apartments. Over 61% of these are priced between RM500,000 and RM1 million.
The organisation also called for closer integration of affordable housing with public transport through transit-oriented development, and for underperforming office and retail spaces to be repurposed into alternative uses such as data centres or co-living hubs.
“By moving from broad-based policies to targeted, data-led interventions, we can effectively address this mismatch and steer the market towards a more sustainable and balanced recovery,” said Yu.
As Penang girds itself towards the last lap of its Penang2030 vision, check out how the residential segment is keeping pace in EdgeProp’s special report: PENANG Investing Towards 2030.
