What do you guys think about prospect of property investment in Malaysia especially in Klang Valley? Is it still valid and relevant?

- Oversupply of housing units. First time buyers/younger buyers mostly do not have 10% and money for lawyer cost etc. So they opt for new development which most offer zero entry cost. As a consequence, subsale unit very hard to get buyer (especially unit priced rm400k to RM800k).

- Not easy to get tenant, very competitive market. Maybe oversupply also the factor.

- Cost to own a rental unit is not cheap.
1) Have to installed lighting, fans, aircond, kitchen cabinets, curtains, etc for bare unit. That might cost around RM20k minimum in average.
2) Cost for agent fee, every 2 years or every year.
3) Cost owner have to bear in between period to get a new tenant, maybe minimum can lost 1 month rental, if not lucky can be 2 or 3 months before get new tenant.
4) Cost for monthly Maintenance fees (for condos or landed wioth facilities). This not cheap.
5) Headache to handle bad tenants that give problems or damage the unit. In some cases the deposits cannot cover the repair cost. Owner can consider being lucky if can get good tenant. In general from my experience not easy to get really good tenant. Becos peoples with good financial mostly live in own house, not renting.
6) Cost to pay yearly Cukai pintu/cukai petak.
7) Most cases I notice owner cannot cover bank monthly installment wioth the rental money. Need to top-up.
Considering all these costs, if you carefully calculate, at the end, landlord are are loosing end.

- Condominium can be very less attractive after 10 to 15 years. Looks rundown, old. But not all. So, to sell old condo, not that easy to get buyer. That is one thing, to get the buyer. Another thing is the price might be same or if not lucky, the price is lower that the price owver buy from developer. If higher, not that much. If you calculate all the cost owner have to beat during years of tenancy, after get some untong after sell, is it still worth or just break even? or rugi?
If rugi, all the headache having unit for investment, just for nothing. Only penat and waste of time. Or at least only had the pride of becoming a landlord Feel like orang kaya when have title as landlord.

8) If rent received > installament plus maintenance cost, please factor in contributions to LHDN. Kenot lari.

If you don’t have the interest, nor the patience then definitely no.

So much hidden fees in having a property, no wonder I see those people who are super in to investing would always say property is the worst.

And it’s very hard to find or even analyse what will be the next Laurel residence, that can help you generate a positive cash flow.

Bottom line for me is, if you don’t have the interest in property then just save your money and invest in other stuff.

Owning a property is a lot of patience and it’s heartbreaking to see your money go when you just look at it through a pure investment lens.

If u got the money, buy the developer's share better.

Not just oversupply or maintenance or interest. The risk is ever-evolving, a policy change could alter everything.

Example: The factories in Senawang & Sungai Gadut Industrial Estate used to place their foreign labors at nearby housing estates. Thus the demand has always been there for 20+ years.

Then suddenly the N9 state govt came out with this CLQ policy. CLQ - Centralize Living Quarters, aka centralize labour hostel lah. Forcing the factories to place their workers in CLQ of designated areas (of cos developed by those connected lah).

Overnight, the housing demand of nearby Taman shrunk drastically. Meanwhile the CLQ operators are laughing all the way to the bank. Every month sit there collect rentals from tens of thousands foreign labors.

Yes, the Govt is also fighting with u for money.

Condo is a lousy investment in bolihland.

I do agree with that, but ppl keep on telling me, they are flipping it like hamburger, each time flip, 200K - 300K in pocket....must be nonsense

In KL Selangor we can still rent an empty condo at RM1000 for 900sqf. After 10 years maybe rental go up to RM1200. Imagine if total 30 years renting a house and total payout is RM432k. And among 30 years if we put RM1500 into our KWSP account, after 30 years with compounding interest the amount will be RM 1.3m.

During the tenure of renting house, we do not need to pay any maintenance fee, cukai tanah and most important is saving huge interest from bank loan. A property of RM 500k the total interest payout is similar like RM 500k for 35 years, whopping RM1m paying to bank. But after 35 years the property especially condo may worth less than the purchasing price because the condo age is "old" while there are other newer condo at affordable price.

Condominium and Flat property value will stagnant and the property itself aging, facilities need to fix/ replace. If the Persatuan Penduduk is under perform then the whole asset will depleting from time to time.

My friend got a house at Damansara Damai double storey and rented out for RM900 for pass 15 years and rental amount remain same until today. Setapak PV old condo (PV2 PV5) more than 1200sqf, the 2nd hand market value at once went up to RM550k but now around RM400k. The rental once reach RM1700 for bare unit last time but now the rental goes down to RM1500. Because this area got too many new projects and newer condo. If you don't believe you can go survey around the area. I stay nearby Setapak and Sentul and I know the movement of these areas.

I strongly believe even in 2035 you can still get the RM1200 for a unit less than 1000sqf and 20 years old condo because too many vacant unit by then.

I read as, property speculators refuse to realize their loss, rather hold property with inflated asking price, then blame developers for lowering cost and barrier for new properties, and young adults for not allocating 80% of their paycheck to mortgage and downpayment.

I do agree with u also... in next 10 years, Gen X which is the first group who migrate from Kampongs to Klang Valley will reach retirement age. Most like they will sell their house/units (go back to hometown) or maybe passaway. So, in the next 10 years there will be too many vacant subsale unit available in market. Remember, we are not Singapore. In Spore they dont have option but to remain in same house same area until die thats why in Spore property is crazy and always up up up. But in Malaysia, we can move and live outside Klang Valley at certain age. Malaysians have options. House in other states are still cheap and can live in landed house.

Again, oversupply of new highrise development kills subsale market.

I make survey around Setapak and Wangsa Maju, a 15 years old condo but still looks nice units with size 1500 to 1800sqfeet fully nicely renovated, listed for sale only for RM600k to RM700k! Imagine those who buy from developers in same area on newly developed condo size 950sqft priced at RM600k already, in next 5 to 10 years that 950sqft unit the price will go down to Rm350k highest considering there are abundance of competition with older condos with bigger sqfeet.

I dont understand why buyer opt to buy 950 ~ 1000sqft for 600k from developer but not buy 1500sqft for RM600k ~ 650k of subsale unit in same area. The only reasons I can think is they dont have saving for downpayment and lawyer/stamp duty cost.

from hunter

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Added on March 26, 2011, 11:31 pm
From CMLEE

10th Floor,
Unit 1 - 661K - Type B 1381sf = RM479psf
Unit 2 - 622K - Type B 1381sf = RM450psf
Unit 3 - 622K - Type B 1381sf  = RM450psf
Unit 3A - 822K - Type A1 1567sf = RM525psf
Unit 5 - 468K - Type C1-5 867sf = RM540psf
Unit 6 - 898K - Type A1 1567sf = RM573psf

20th Floor,
Unit 1 - 690K - Type B 1381sf = RM500psf
Unit 2 - 651K - Type B 1381sf = RM471psf
Unit 3 - 651K - Type B 1381sf = RM471psf
Unit 3A - 852K - Type B 1381sf = RM544psf (supposed this is type A1)
Unit 5 - 578K - Type C1-5 867sf = RM667
Unit 6 - 926K - Type B 1381sf = RM591psf (supposed this is type A1)

Price is after discount...

anyone knows how much is the maintenance fee?
saw a unit 1381 sf going for 680k. good buy?

Malaysia’s property bubble: A wake up call
https://www.thestar.com.my/business/busines...-a-wake-up-call

Can share the article please? Ayam no money to subscribe.

A sharp drop that tells it all

To illustrate the gravity of this issue, consider a mixed development in Kota Damansara. Launched in 2016 with an average pricing of RM750 per sq ft (psf), units in this development are now reselling for as low as RM268 psf since their handover in 2020. This represents a staggering plunge of up to 64% in value in one of the Klang Valley’s more prominent and desirable addresses.

How does such a dramatic devaluation occur? The answer lies behind the scenes, obscured by a web of undisclosed rebates, inflated loan approvals and pricing tactics designed to mask the real transaction value. Alarmingly, this is not an isolated incident. This deceptive pattern is increasingly spreading across the broader Malaysian property market, turning a blind eye to genuine market fundamentals.

What initially began as seemingly well-intentioned tools to enhance affordability such as rebates, cashbacks and zero-entry packages have gradually mutated into a pervasive mechanism that profoundly distorts the market. The playbook for this distortion is alarmingly simple yet highly effective:

https://www.starproperty.my/news/malaysia-s...-up-call/132580

I dont understand why buyer opt to buy 950 ~ 1000sqft for 600k from developer but not buy 1500sqft for RM600k ~ 650k of subsale unit in same area. The only reasons I can think is they dont have saving for downpayment and lawyer/stamp duty cost.

mixed development in Kota Damansara. Launched in 2016 with an average pricing of RM750 per sq ft (psf), units in this development are now reselling for as low as RM268 psf since their handover in 2020. This represents a staggering plunge of up to 64% in value in one of the Klang Valley’s more prominent and desirable addresses.

Any specific? Which dev

mixed development in Kota Damansara. Launched in 2016 with an average pricing of RM750 per sq ft (psf), units in this development are now reselling for as low as RM268 psf since their handover in 2020. This represents a staggering plunge of up to 64% in value in one of the Klang Valley’s more prominent and desirable addresses.

Any specific? Which dev

Only Emporis Kota Damansara handed over at year 2020.

In the world of real estate, what you don't see can hurt you. In Malaysia, what you don't see are the thousands of housing units—neatly painted, quietly lit, but ghostly empty.

More than 22,000 completed homes across the country remained unsold for over nine months as of mid-2024 (NAPIC 2024).

These so-called "overhang units", worth over RM14 billion, represent something far more troubling than unsold inventory—they are a silent indictment of a housing market that has drifted from real need to speculative excess. And experts are beginning to call this what it is: a market failure.

Enter the idea of a vacancy tax. At first blush, it may sound like just another punitive policy. But if done right, it could become one of the most important tools in aligning Malaysia's housing market with its development goals.

Much like how climate activists have pushed for carbon pricing to internalize environmental costs, a vacancy tax puts a price on housing inefficiency and speculative hoarding.

It's not about punishing success or property ownership—it's about ensuring homes are built for living, not just for flipping.

The proposed tax wouldn't need to come from the top. In fact, it might work better if it trickles up from the local level, through Malaysia's Pihak Berkuasa Tempatan (PBTs).

These municipal councils already have the legal tools, like the Local Government Act 1976, which empowers them to collect property assessments.

With some political will and smart engineering, those assessment frameworks can be expanded to include vacancy surcharges.

Think of it as a localized nudge, not a national crackdown. And here's the kicker—state-level by-laws could be passed faster than federal legislation, allowing high-vacancy states like Selangor or Penang to pilot solutions that others can emulate.

That said, some level of federal coordination through KPKT may still be needed, especially in setting national standards, sharing data infrastructure, and harmonizing enforcement across jurisdictions.

Malaysia wouldn't be alone in this experiment. Vancouver, Melbourne, Singapore and Paris have all taken steps to tax homes left empty or held purely for investment.

These cities learned two lessons: first, vacancy taxes can work; and second, they need to be smart, clear, and enforceable. No one wants a Kafkaesque housing policy.

So how do you define vacancy? In a digital age, it's not that hard—use utility consumption thresholds, absence of tenancy registrations and supplement this with transparent public digital registries.

If your water and power usage fall below 10 per cent for six straight months, that's not a home—it's a hollow asset.

Still, any new tax brings risk. If you get it wrong, you might push prices up or create a backlash. So the tax should be graduated—one per cent for second properties, more for third and beyond.

And yes, developers may resist, but perhaps that's the kind of feedback the system needs to realign supply with demand. Offer a grace period—maybe 12 or 18 months post-completion—before taxing unsold units. That's fair.

But past that, hoarding stock should carry a price. And we can't stop at taxes. Pair the stick with a few carrots.

Offer rebates to owners who rent out empty units to B40 or M40 households. Set up public-private rent-toown schemes to absorb overhang units.

Give developers who shift toward demandaligned, sustainable housing faster zoning approvals or density bonuses.

Want to get really creative? Launch a state-level housing buyback fund, where unoccupied properties are converted into civil servant housing or refugee accommodation.

But here's the real issue—Malaysia's housing market has become a mirror of its inequality. Affordable homes are being bought not by those who need them, but by those who can afford to sit on them.

Speculation is no longer just a market behavior; it's a structural distortion. And like all distortions, it warps the very purpose of housing—to shelter people, build families, and grow communities.

When you have nearly 20 per cent vacancy in high-growth states like Selangor and Penang (DOSM 2020), something is broken.

So if we want to rebuild the Malaysian housing dream, we need to treat housing as infrastructure, not just investment. We need a market that rewards circulation, not stagnation.

We need a policy environment where flipping is discouraged, not celebrated. And we need to start asking: Who are we really building for?

A well-designed vacancy tax may not solve everything—but it could spark the kind of mindset shift that modern Malaysia needs: from trading homes like chips on a roulette table, to making homes livable, affordable, and equitable again.

That's not just smart economics—it's nation-building.

Samirul Ariff Othman is an economist, adjunct lecturer at Universiti Teknologi Petronas, international relations analyst and a senior consultant with Global Asia Consulting. The views expressed in this op-ed are entirely his own.

https://www.nst.com.my/business/insight/202...ow-make-it-work

most of these kids dont even have money for dp but die die want to join the bandwagon when kena brainwashed by parents, siblings, friends, aunties uncles , so called prop guru etc