This article first appeared in City & Country, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on December 29, 2025 - January 4, 2026

On Jan 11, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim officially launched construction of the Penang LRT Mutiara Line. Stretching 29.5km with 21 stations, the LRT line will connect key areas of Penang island and the mainland. The construction is slated for completion in 2031/32.

A powerful gas explosion in Putra Heights ignited a massive blaze that took hours to bring under control in April. The incident caused extensive damage, affecting more than 200 houses, of which 87 homes reportedly were written off as total losses. It was reported that the property prices in Putra Heights were expected to drop at least 20% in the short term, following the incident.

The Singapore government agreed to swap land parcels on Holland Road with Johor’s regent Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, who owns 21.1ha of land there. The Johor regent “plans to develop his land”, which has been under the private ownership of the Johor royal family for generations, the authorities said in a joint media release issued in June.

EWI Capital Bhd (KL:EWICAP), formerly known as Eco World International Bhd, announced in June the planned pivot from foreign markets to Malaysia, citing headwinds it faced in the UK and Australia. The move resulted in the termination of its existing collaboration agreement with its single largest shareholder, Eco World Development Group Bhd (KL:ECOWLD). 

The federal government announced its retention of the massive Duta enclave land as the Court of Appeal ruled in June that Semantan Estate (1952) Sdn Bhd is not entitled to the land title. The Federal Court judge ordered, however, that compensation be paid by the government as assessed by the High Court, following the illegal acquisition based on the 1956 market rate, with 6% annual interest until payment of the sum.

EcoWorld sold another piece of industrial land, measuring 135.532 acres within its Eco Business Park I in Iskandar Malaysia, Johor, to Microsoft Corp in February. This follows the sale of a 123.141 acre plot in Eco Business Park VI in Iskandar Malaysia for RM402.3 million for a data centre development in June last year.

The central bank in July moved to cut interest rates for the first time in nearly two years to support an economy facing downside risks to its growth. The overnight policy rate (OPR) has been lowered by 25 basis points to 2.75%, from 3%. The last time Bank Negara moved the OPR was in May 2023, when it was raised by 25 basis points.

In July, SkyWorld officially launched the first phase of SkyWorld Pearlmont in Seberang Jaya, Penang, part of the nation’s largest affordable housing projects under the Rumah Bakat Baru (RBB) Madani initiative. The project has total residential units of 37,368 in two sites at Seberang Jaya and Batu Kawan. The project will be the first development in Penang to fully adopt Prefabricated Prefinished Volumetric Construction (PPVC) technology.

Since July 1, a 6% sales and service tax (SST) has been imposed on construction service providers whose taxable revenue exceeds RM1.5 million within any 12-month period. Exemptions apply to certain categories, such as construction work for residential buildings and public amenities within residential developments.

Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun officially launched the state’s first modern automotive hub — the RM1 billion Auto City project in Nilai Smart City. Covering 728.43ha, the first phase of the high-impact project, which began in September, is expected to create more than 5,000 jobs across the technical, service, logistics, marketing and management fields.

In September, data released from the National Property Information Centre (Napic) showed that affordable homes accounted for 20.7% of unsold units in 1Q2025, the largest category within the residential overhang. Meanwhile, the Rehda Property Industry Survey for 1H2025 showed that developer confidence has weakened sharply, with only 41% of developers planning to launch new projects in 2H2025.

The government announced plans in September to restore seven national landmarks in Kuala Lumpur, with RM700 million allocated to give the heritage sites a new lease of life. The landmarks include Carcosa Seri Negara, the National Textiles Museum, the Sultan Abdul Samad Building and the old General Post Office.

In late 2025, Johor Bahru experienced a series of mild earthquakes with magnitudes of up to 4.1, particularly in August and September, originating near Segamat and Batu Pahat. They were linked to the active Mersing Fault Zone and caused minor tremors that were widely felt and slight damage to some buildings. As a result, the local authorities announced a comprehensive study to reassess the safety standards of existing buildings and review construction standards for new developments.

Several housing-related incentives were rolled out under Budget 2026, which was tabled in October, focusing on easing homeownership for first-time buyers, encouraging adaptive reuse of commercial buildings, and ensuring inclusivity across communities. Key measures include full stamp duty exemption for first-time homebuyers and a flat stamp duty rate of 4% to 8% to be imposed on property transfers by non-citizens and foreign companies.

MUI Group and Mah Sing Group Bhd (KL:MAHSING) inked a strategic agreement in July that saw the MUI Group divesting its prime 1.485 acre freehold land, occupied by Corus KLCC Hotel, for RM260 million. Mah Sing will redevelop the parcel into a premium serviced apartment project with an estimated gross development value of RM1.28 billion.

The government announced the raising of the consent threshold for urban renewal projects to 80% across the board in August. Originally, Clause 19 of the Urban Renewal Bill set different thresholds: 80% for buildings less than 30 years old; 75% for those over 30 years; and 51% for abandoned or structurally unsafe buildings certified by a professional engineer.

KSK Group’s maiden property venture — 8 Conlay, which marks its ambitious pivot from insurance to property development — has been officially put up for sale in September. The sale is the culmination of more than two years of legal disputes and financial impasse between KSK Land Sdn Bhd and its main contractor, GDB Holdings Bhd (KL:GDB).

RTS Link trains will start test runs on tracks in Johor Bahru as part of the project’s first phase of testing, slightly more than a year ahead of its scheduled completion, which is targeted for end-2026 and to commerce operation from January 2027. Each RTS-Link train will have a standing capacity of 607 passengers, and can carry up to about 1,000 passengers at peak hours.

The World Bank Group entered into a partnership with Johor and Ditrolic Energy in November to develop the Southern Johor Renewable Energy Corridor (SJREC). The project is valued at US$6 billion (RM24 billion) and will be developed as a key component of the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) master plan. The policy outlines joint efforts across project development, technical and financing for the project, which spans a 2,000 sq km zone for hybrid solar and battery energy storage systems in Johor. The initial phase of SJREC is expected to include up to 4gm peak of solar capacity and 5.12GWh of energy storage capacity on a 10,000 acre site.

In November, the government announced five Madani housing reforms to be implemented from Jan 1, 2026, to build an accountable and high-integrity housing ecosystem, aiming to strengthen buyer protection, enhance housing system efficiency, close regulatory gaps and push the country towards a world-class digital housing ecosystem. The five reforms are the introduction of a new law — Real Property Development Bill; an electronic Sale and Purchase Agreement (eSPA); the Housing Integrated Management System (HIMS); Transforming and Empowering Data Usage in Housing (Teduh); and audits of the Housing Development Account (HDA).

Sunway Group and Railway Assets Corp (RAC), a federal statutory body under the Ministry of Transport, launched a RM2 billion Seremban Sentral transit-oriented development in Seremban. The 20.8 acre private-public partnership will be developed over two phases, with the construction of the first phase beginning in 2026, consisting of the 250-bed Sunway Seremban Medical Centre, a 1.2 million sq ft shopping mall and a 300,000 sq ft office tower. The phase is slated for completion by 2030.

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