Sabah’s residential property market has recorded an increase in the number of transactions for the second quarter of 2025, according to Rahim & Co International Sdn Bhd’s Kota Kinabalu director Max Sylver Sintia.

Presenting The Edge Malaysia | Rahim & Co Kota Kinabalu Housing Property Monitor 2Q2025, Max notes that the residential segment achieved a total of 1,423 transactions in 2Q2025 valued at RM581.03 million — up 9.71% and 4.39% year-on-year respectively. Quarter-on-quarter, the volume and value of residential transactions rose 5.49% and 6.01% respectively.

He anticipates overall sentiment in the Sabah property market to be cautiously optimistic for the second half of 2025, supported by stable transactions and a resilient market. “Infrastructure development and government housing initiatives are expected to continue to drive demand. Developers are anticipated to be more cautious about new launches because of high costs and potential policy shifts,” says Max.

Residential properties priced below RM300,000 dominated the residential property market in the state in 2Q2025 with 686 transactions worth RM128.19 million.

This is followed by residential properties in the RM300,001 to RM500,000 price bracket with 401 transactions valued at RM158.45 million; RM500,001 to RM1 million with 269 transactions worth RM188.98 million; and above RM1 million with 67 transactions totalling RM105.41 million.

In terms of property types, 1- to 3-storey terraced houses saw the most transactions in the quarter under review with 541 transactions worth RM215.67 million.

This is followed by condominiums and apartments (371 transactions; RM126.89 million), 1- to 3-storey semi-detached houses (143 transactions; RM97.60 million) and detached houses (85 transactions; RM53.63 million).

The combined adjacent districts of Kota Kinabalu, Penampang and Putatan made up the bulk of the volume with 747 transactions worth RM383.90 million.

“Comparing 2Q2025 with 2Q2024, the number of residential property transactions in Kota Kinabalu, Penampang and Putatan rose 9.53%. Consequently, the value of transactions increased 2.55% y-o-y,” says Max.

In terms of property types for the districts of Kota Kinabalu, Penampang and Putatan, condominiums and apartments saw 263 transactions worth RM104.17 million, followed by 1- to 3-storey terraced houses (248 transactions; RM117.50 million), 1- to 3-storey semi-detached houses (88 transactions; RM68.58 million) and detached houses (39 transactions; RM38.02 million).

The next districts with the highest volume of residential property transactions are the combined districts of Sandakan, Labuk-Sugut, Tungod and Kinabatangan (293 transactions; RM76.43 million) and Tawau district (144 transactions; RM49.61 million).

“The 2-storey terraced houses sampled in the monitor recorded an average price growth of 2.31% y-o-y, a decline of 0.02 percentage points,” says Max.

The highest y-o-y price growth was recorded in Ujana Kingfisher with an increase of 3.03% to RM680,000. This is followed by Millenium Height (3.01% to RM685,000), Taman Sri Borneo (2.78% to RM740,000), Taman Jindo (2.76% to RM745,000), Luyang Perdana (2.48% to RM825,000), Taman Golden Hill Garden (1.11% to RM910,000) and Indah Permai (1.02% to RM495,000).

Taman Indah Permai increased 1.02% q-o-q, followed by Ujana Kingfisher and Millenium Height (both +0.74%), Taman Sri Borneo (+0.68%), Taman Jindo (+0.68%) and Luyang Perdana (+0.61%). No q-o-q price growth was recorded for Golden Hill Garden.

In terms of rental performance, rents in Ujana Kingfisher improved by 5.13% y-o-y to RM2,050 per month. Taman Indah Permai registered rental growth of 3.13% y-o-y to RM1,650 per month, followed by Taman Sri Borneo (+2.38% to RM2,150 per month), Millenium Height (+2.33% to RM2,200 per month), Taman Jindo (+2.22% to RM2,300 per month), Luyang Perdana (+2.04% to RM2,500 per month) and Golden Hill Garden (+1.82% to RM2,800 per month). Average y-o-y rental growth for 2-storey terraced house samples is 2.72%.

Meanwhile, rents in Taman Indah Permai grew 3.13% q-o-q, followed by Ujana Kingfisher (+2.50%), Taman Sri Borneo (+2.38%), Millenium Height (+2.33%), Taman Jindo (+2.22%), Luyang Perdana (+2.04%) and Golden Hill Garden (+1.82%). “The average gross yield for 2-storey terraced houses was 3.71%, up 0.02 percentage points y-o-y,” says Max.

The highest gross yield was registered in Taman Indah Permai (4%), followed by Millenium Height (3.85%), Taman Jindo (3.70%), Golden Hill Garden (3.69%), Luyang Perdana (3.64%), Ujana Kingfisher (3.62%) and Taman Sri Borneo (3.49%).

“For 1-storey terraced houses, the y-o-y price growth for the quarter in review was 3.7%, down from 3.84% recorded in 2Q2024, a decrease of 0.14 percentage points,” says Max.

The highest y-o-y price growth was recorded in Taman Tuan Huat with an increase of 3.85% to RM540,000, followed by Taman Sri Kepayan (+3.64% to RM570,000) and Taman Nelly Ph 9 (+3.60% to RM575,000).

As for q-o-q price growth, Taman Tuan Huat registered a 0.93% increase, Taman Sri Kepayan (+0.88%) and Taman Nelly Ph 9 (+0.88%).

In terms of rental, Taman Tuan Huat improved 6% y-o-y to RM1,750 per month, Taman Nelly Ph 9 (+5.88% to RM1,800 per month) and Taman Sri Kepayan (+5.56% to RM1,900 per month). The average rental growth y-o-y for the 1-storey terraced house samples is 5.83%.

Q-o-q rental in Taman Tuan Huat improved by 2.94%, Taman Nelly Ph 9 (+2.86%) and Taman Sri Kepayan (+2.74%).

“Average gross yield achieved for 1-storey terraced houses was 3.88%, up 0.08 percentage points from 2Q2024,” says Max.

The highest yield was registered at Taman Sri Kepayan with 4%, followed by Taman Tuan Huat (3.89%) and Taman Nelly Ph 9 (3.76%).

“The condominiums sampled in the monitor recorded an average of 1.51% price growth y-o-y in 2Q2025, down 0.09%,” says Max.

Likas Square registered the highest y-o-y price growth (+4.7% to RM445 psf), followed by The Peak Condominium (+3% to RM685 psf), Alam Damai (+2.5% to RM620 psf), Radiant Tower (+1% to RM505 psf), Bayshore Condominium (+0.9% to RM580 psf) and Jesselton Condo (+0.8% to RM610 psf). No y-o-y price growth was recorded for Marina Court and 1 Borneo Condominium.

“Overall, prices of our condominium samples averaged at RM556 psf in 2Q2025,” says Max.

Likas Square registered a q-o-q price growth of 1.1%, followed by Jesselton Condo (+0.8%) and The Peak Condominium (+0.7%). No q-o-q price growth was recorded for the other samples.

Rental rates at 1 Borneo Condominium rose 3.03% y-o-y to RM1.72 psf per month, followed by Likas Square (+2.44% to RM1.56 psf per month), Alam Damai (+2.38% to RM1.95 psf per month), Radiant Tower (+2.13% to RM1.85 psf per month), The Peak Condominium (+1.92% to RM2.04 psf per month), Marina Court (+1.89% to RM2.08 psf per month), Bayshore Condominium (+1.67% to RM1.69 psf per month) and Jesselton Condo (+1.64% to RM2.07 psf per month). Average y-o-y rental growth for the condominium samples is 2.14%. No q-o-q rental growth was recorded for the condominium samples.

“Condo yields, on the other hand, registered an average gross yield of 4.11%, up 0.03 percentage points from 2Q2024,” says Max.

The highest gross yield for the condominium samples was recorded at 1 Borneo Condominium with 5.22%, followed by Radiant Tower (4.39%), Likas Square (4.19%), Marina Court (4.12%), Jesselton Condo (4.07%), Alam Damai (3.78%), The Peak Condominium (3.57%) and Bayshore Condominium (3.51%).