Property purchase

There is no limit on the number that can be bought, but there is a State by State minimum purchase price that must be paid for a property. 

There may be a good or a poor secondary market, so plan your purchases accordingly. The time taken to complete a purchase can be several months, indeed permission to purchase a particular property is the first step (from State and Federal level) and that may take 2-3 months to obtain.

Profits made on the sale of property is subjected to current Real Property Gains Tax rate set by the Government of Malaysia.

1st year - 5 th year : 30%
6th year and above : 5%

So first step is to check the rules in the State where you are interested in purchasing property so that the current rules can be established.

Websites giving rules are very often out-of-date as changes happen quite often e.g. decisions can be reviewed at each annual Budget.

Many thanks,  especially for your Swift response.  I will be purchasing in Perak,  from the chart l see that the minimum is RM350, 000, assuming that the limit has not changed.  Just one further point,  can a foreigner buy agricultural land and build a house?

The properties that foreigners cannot buy:

In addition to the minimum price thresholds mentioned above, there are a few more types properties that foreigners cannot buy, generally.

These are as follows:​

Malay Reserve Land - Malay Reserve Land is exclusive land that can't be sold to any race except for Bumiputeras.

Bumi Lots - Often confused with Malay Reserve Land, each property development has a specific quote for Bumiputras called “Bumi Lots”. Whilst occasionally cases can be made for non-Bumis to buy them, they are off-bounds for foreign buyers.

*Low to Medium Cost Properties - Foreigners are not allowed to purchase low to medium cost housing. This is determined by State authorities but these are usually flats.

**Agricultural Land - Most agricultural land in Malaysia is off limits for foreigners.

*You may run into a problem trying to buy at RM350k if the developments are designated as this type of property. In other words, not all property at that level is purchasable by you.

** Rural land may not be agricultural land and if it has the  required zoning and building permission for a private dwelling, then you can purchase this type of land. Do remember that if you are looking to conduct business from use of your land - you would need to set up a company. You may need to have a piece of land with mixed use permissions in that case.