Soaring prices leave more than 140,000 Malaysian homes unsold

The number of unsold residential properties in Malaysia is now at its highest level in a decade, according to Malaysia’s central bank.

Home prices have skyrocketed in recent years - pricing out a majority of families – and now The Central Bank has published a report citing the lack of affordability as the biggest reason for homes not finding buyers.

A total of 146,497 housing units remained unsold during the second quarter of 2017, up from 130,690 units in the first quarter. During the second quarter of 2017, almost 82% of unsold units were priced above 250,000 ringgit ($63,873).

The majority of families in Malaysia cannot afford homes priced more than 282,000 ringgit (US$72,420), but the median home price averaged 313,000 ringgit (US$80,381). The median national household income is only 5,228 ringgit (US$1,342).

The central bank said that over the period from 2007 to 2016, house prices rose 9.8% while household income only rose 8.3%. Additionally, the report notes that new housing supply has been skewed towards the high-end segment since 2012.

In response, the Malaysian government has recently frozen approvals for luxury property developments. Finance Minister II Johari Abdul Ghani said that development of condominiums valued above RM1 million (US$ 241,312), plus shopping malls and commercial complexes was being stopped until the excess supply was cleared.