PETALING JAYA (Aug 17): Residential sales in Peninsular Malaysia jumped close to four times to 11,273 units in the first half of 2023 (1H2023), from 3,163 units in 1H2022, according to a survey by the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (Rehda) Malaysia.

Residential launches in Peninsular Malaysia also doubled to 14,392 units in 1H2023, from 7,350 units in 1H2022. During the period under review, 3,945 units or 35% of homes launched were sold.

Rehda president Datuk NK Tong, who presented the data, said most of the new launches comprise apartments and condominiums at 7,183 units, followed by two- to three-storey terrace houses (3,729 units) and serviced residences (1,223 units).

“Residential launches and sales performance increased in 1H2023, most sellable was RM300,001 to RM500,000, with serviced residences and apartments/condominiums taking the lead,” Tong said at a media briefing.

He said apartments and condominiums performed the best sales-wise at 3,749 units, followed by serviced residences (3,688 units) and two- to three-storey storey terrace houses (2,040 units).

Rehda’s survey of 148 property developers also found that 53% of respondents reported having unsold completed residential units as at June 30, with 47% of these completed up to 12 months ago, while 31% were beyond 36 months.

“End-financing loan rejection, unreleased Bumiputera lots and high price were cited as the top three reasons for unsold completed units,” said Tong.

Nonetheless, about 53% of respondents are planning to launch their projects in 2H2023, with three quarters of them expecting to achieve sales of up to 50%, six months after the launch.

"Most of these planned launches are priced between RM150,001 and RM300,000, particularly in the states of Kedah, Perlis, Melaka, Pahang, Penang and Perak," he noted.

Meanwhile, most respondents had a "neutral" view of the business and property industry outlook for the coming year, with increased optimism for 1H2024, said Tong.

“The increase in the number of launches and sales is a positive sign towards a property market that is slowly returning to normalcy.

“However, true recovery is still out of reach as developers are still struggling with challenges that have yet to be properly addressed such as material price hike, cross-subsidisation, as well as high compliance and utility costs,” he added.

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