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PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s property market is on the road to recovery, as evidenced by improved volume and value in property transactions last year, says housing and local government minister Nga Kor Ming.

In his keynote address for the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia’s (Rehda) Regional Housing Conference 2024, Nga said Malaysia witnessed 399,000 property transactions worth around RM200 billion in 2023, a 2.5% growth in volume and 9.9% in ringgit value.

He was quoted by Bernama as saying that since the Madani government took office, the number of completed but unsold properties, commonly referred to as an overhang, has decreased by over 40% with a drop from 37,066 units to less than 24,000 units.

“We expect steady performance in the property market in 2024. This will help boost our gross domestic product (GDP),” he said, adding that property stocks have appreciated, some by more than 600% in the last 12 months.

The minister also said Malaysia had become a magnet for expatriates, with the number of working permits issued by the immigration department to highly skilled foreigners rising to 154,115 in 2023 against 110,819 in 2022.

He said this 40% rise suggested that the influx of foreign direct investments had created more high-skilled job opportunities.