This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on September 14, 2026 - September 20, 2026

Malaysia’s Property Market Report for 1H2026 showed unsold completed homes had risen 8.6%, to 33,094 units worth RM17.78 billion, with unsold serviced apartments up an even sharper 24.7%. In announcing the figures, Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan urged developers and local authorities to rely on data “instead of assumptions” when planning new projects.

Developers already use data extensively. Property Industry Surveys from the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia (Rehda) poll more than 100 members on take-up rates, price bands and regional performance every half-year. Major developers run feasibility studies and catchment analysis before committing hundreds of millions in gross development value.

The more telling number in the report is not about fresh miscalculation. It is that 55.2% of unsold serviced apartments were priced between RM500,000 and RM1 million, and around 71% of unsold high-rise stock was launched six to 10 years ago. That is old inventory, approved under a different economic cycle, not a fresh failure of market research.

Three structural factors sit largely outside of developers’ control. The first is the affordable-housing quota. Rehda has long argued that the mandatory allocation of 30% is applied uniformly regardless of verified local demand. A developer cannot simply ignore the quota where the data shows no buyer for the homes, as the requirement comes from the state. This could lead to a housing mismatch, namely building where there is no demand.

Secondly, end-financing. Rehda’s surveys found loan rejection rates of 31% to 45% in the RM500,000 to RM700,000 range. A developer can build the right unit in the right location and still lose the sale when the bank says no. This is a lending policy issue, not a planning one.

And thirdly, approval lag. Projects launched in 2016 to 2020 reflect that era’s demand signals and zoning decisions, both of which are controlled by the local authorities.

Thus, the overhang may not be solely the consequence of an industry not doing its homework. If policymakers want to act on the “data synergy” message, the quota policy and lending criteria are the two levers actually worth revisiting. That, and perhaps reclassifying completed unsold properties above 10 years for better clarity.

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