KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia will next year lower the minimum price for foreigners to buy its high-rise properties in urban areas to RM600,000 (S$197,000), from RM1 million now, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said on Friday (Oct 11).

The move is expected to help reduce supply overhang of condominiums and apartments totalling some RM8.3 billion, he said in presenting the 2020 Budget.

The announcement followed warnings by the central bank and property players over the glut in housing and commercial units in big cities including Johor Baru.

Last month, Johor's Housing, Communication and Multimedia Committee chairman Dzulkefly Ahmad said the state government is looking at lowering the RM1 million threshold for foreigners to buy property, as it tries to clear 51,000 unsold units in the southern Malaysian state.

He said that homes priced at RM600,000 and above make up between 60 per cent and 70 per cent of unsold properties in Johor.