PETALING JAYA: The number of unsold property in Malaysia is on the rise, with only 40% of the new units launched in the first quarter of this year sold.

Sales has dropped 9% compared to the same period last year, according to a survey by the Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda).

In the first quarter this year, 10,877 units were launched, of which 10,550 were residential units, and only 4,373 were sold.

According to the Rehda Property Industry Survey 1H 2015, the number of unsold units rose to 78% in the first half of this year from 64% in the previous half – a 14% increase. The unsold units are mainly in Kedah, Penang, Selangor and Johor, and mostly in the RM500,001 to RM1mil price range.

“Unreleased bumiputra lots and loan rejections by banks are the top reasons for the unsold units,” said Rehda president Datuk Seri Fateh Iskandar Mohamed Mansor at a press conference yesterday.

He said the percentage of potential property buyers who had failed to secure loans had increased from 29% in the second quarter of last year to 35% in the first half of this year.

Most of the loans rejected, he said, were those involving residential property priced between RM250,001 and RM500,000 and between RM700,001 and RM1mil.