Minimum Property Price for Foreigners in Malaysia by State

The short answer

As at October 2026, a foreign buyer cannot buy a property in Malaysia priced below RM 1,000,000 per unit under the national guideline, and each state then sets its own minimum and its own list of what is allowed. Selangor asks for RM 2,000,000 in its main districts and allows strata property only. Johor asks for RM 1,000,000 across every permitted type. Melaka's published policy allows strata above RM 500,000.

Every foreign purchase needs the approval of the state authority. The table below has only the states whose own published rules I could read on the date shown. For the rest, check with the state land office before you pay anything.

Minimum price by state (checked, updated October 2026)

Selangor zones

Petaling Jaya, Subang Jaya, Shah Alam, Puchong and Cyberjaya all fall in Zone 1, so the figure that matters for most buyers looking around the Klang Valley outside Kuala Lumpur is RM 2,000,000.

State by state

Kuala Lumpur

The national floor of RM 1,000,000 applies, and approval for a home purchase sits with the land authority for the Federal Territory. I could not read the land office's own page on property types on the date of this check, so I am not listing which types are open. If you are looking at a landed house in Kuala Lumpur as a foreign buyer, get the answer from the land office or your lawyer in writing first. For condominiums and serviced residences above RM 1,000,000, see the Kuala Lumpur city centre new launches.

Selangor

• RM 2,000,000 in Zone 1 and Zone 2, RM 1,000,000 in Zone 3.
• Strata property only, which includes landed strata homes. Landed homes on an individual title are not allowed.
• Not allowed: agricultural land, Malay reserve land, Bumiputera units and property bought at public auction.
• Foreign buyers can take up not more than 10% of the non-Bumiputera units set by the state.
• The guideline covers foreign citizens, permanent residents and foreign companies.
• Commercial and industrial property carries a separate minimum of RM 3,000,000 in all three zones.
• The application fee is RM 200 per title, and an approval is valid for two years.

Johor

• RM 1,000,000 and above for every permitted residential type, from a developer or on the secondary market.
• Landed homes must be two storeys or more: terrace, cluster, semi-detached and bungalow.
• Apartments, serviced apartments and holiday homes are permitted.
• Project quotas: 20% for terrace and cluster homes, 30% for semi-detached homes and bungalows, 50% for apartments.
• Not allowed: low-cost and low-medium-cost homes, single-storey and one-and-a-half-storey houses, Bumiputera lots, property sold by public auction and Malay reserve land.
• The approval fee is RM 20,000 per title.
• A permanent resident is treated as a foreign interest.

Melaka

• Strata title priced above RM 500,000. The state's policy notes that a price of exactly RM 500,000 is considered.
• Landed title, including landed strata, priced above RM 1,000,000.
• A processing fee of RM 5,000 per application, and an approval fee of 3% of the price or RM 30,000, whichever is higher.
• The property cannot be transferred for five years from registration.
• A purchase on the secondary market is only allowed where the seller is already a foreign owner, or the project still has foreign quota left.
• Not allowed: low-cost and low-medium-cost units, one-storey and one-and-a-half-storey terrace houses, property sold by public auction, and Malacca Customary Land.
• Melaka's figure for strata is below the national RM 1,000,000 floor. Ask the land office and your lawyer how the two are applied to your purchase.

States to check with the land office

I could not confirm current figures from these states' own published rules on the date of this check, so I am not printing numbers for them: Penang, Perak, Kedah, Perlis, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Terengganu, Kelantan, Sabah, Sarawak, Putrajaya and Labuan. Penang in particular has different rules for the island and the mainland and charges its own approval fee. Ask the state land office, or have your lawyer confirm in writing, before paying a booking fee.

What foreigners cannot buy anywhere

Under the national guideline, a foreign interest cannot acquire:

• property valued below RM 1,000,000 per unit;
• low-cost and low-medium-cost homes, as defined by each state;
• property on Malay reserve land;
• units set aside for Bumiputera buyers in a development.

If you hold MM2H (checked, updated October 2026)

The Malaysia My Second Home programme sets a minimum home value for each category:

State approval is still required. In Selangor, an MM2H buyer may only buy from a developer, in an area the state has designated, and only one unit, at the price level set by the state. Which figure governs where the programme's number and the state's number differ is a question for the state land office. More on the programme is in my MM2H guide.

What else a foreign buyer pays

• Stamp duty on the transfer of a residential property is a flat 8% for foreign buyers: see stamp duty in 2026.
• Tax on the gain when you sell is 30% in the first five years and 10% after: see RPGT rates in 2026.
• The full buying process is in foreigners buying property in Malaysia, and buyers from Taiwan can start with buying property in Malaysia from Taiwan.

Check before you sign

The figures on this page were checked on 3 October 2026. States change these rules without much notice, and this page is not legal advice; confirm the threshold and the property type with your lawyer or the state land office before signing. For current projects that meet the threshold, WhatsApp Shyan Yee (REN 46305, IQI Realty) at +60 17-279 8932.