Auctions in Sabah and Sarawak: a small, different market

Of the 2,201 auctions live on this site in this snapshot, 21 are in Sabah and 12 in Sarawak. Every one of them is a bank sale. That is not because East Malaysian courts do not auction property; it is because the court lane this site reads is e-Lelong, the portal of the High Court in Malaya, and the High Court in Sabah and Sarawak is a separate court with its own process. What we can show you across the South China Sea is the bank lane, and the recorded sales behind it.

What is actually for sale

The Sabah listings are a mix of houses and shop lots; the Sarawak listings lean commercial — shophouses and offices, with the odd house and land lot. Small numbers move quickly, so read the live count on the state page rather than this paragraph, and expect the mix to look different next month.

Tenure is where the two states stop resembling the peninsula. Land in Sabah is held under the Sabah Land Ordinance, and the auction stock is almost entirely state leases — most on ninety-nine-year terms, with the expiry printed in the tenure line. Land in Sarawak is held under the Sarawak Land Code, and much of the auction stock sits on sixty-year leases, a term that barely exists in the peninsula and that changes what a lender will do. The site shows the tenure line as the notice states it; the years remaining are worth computing before anything else.

The law is different, and so is who may buy

The National Land Code 1965 does not apply in either state. That matters in three practical ways.

Restrictions read differently. The peninsula's "restriction in interest" line, and the classes this site counts for it, come from National Land Code titles. Sabah and Sarawak titles carry their own categories — native title and native customary land in Sabah, and Sarawak's division of land into zones, some of which only natives may hold. A buyer who is not a native of the state may find a title simply cannot be transferred to them, whatever the hammer price. Both states also screen buyers from outside the state in ways the peninsula does not. Ask before you bid, not after.

The bank's conditions of sale govern. With no court file behind these sales, the deposit, the balance period and the treatment of arrears are all the bank's own terms, set out in the notice. The court-lane figures this site quotes elsewhere — the deposit and balance period stated on the proclamations we hold — describe the peninsula, not these listings.

Fees follow the state. Conveyancing fees in Sabah and Sarawak run on their own scales, not the peninsular Solicitors' Remuneration Order. Stamp duty and RPGT are federal and apply as they do anywhere.

What the benchmarks can and cannot tell you

We hold NAPIC recorded sales for both states, by scheme and by area, and where a live listing's scheme has enough recorded sales of the same type, the listing page shows the reserve against that median. In these two states that is a minority of listings: the schemes are smaller, the recorded sales thinner, and a benchmark built on a handful of sales is an indication, not a price. Where the page says the pool is too thin to compare, believe it.

Before you bid from the peninsula

1. Confirm you can hold the title. Native status, state residency and the zone or category of the land decide this, and the auctioneer will not check it for you.
2. Read the lease term and the expiry. A sixty-year lease with twenty years left is a different purchase from a ninety-nine-year lease with seventy.
3. Read the bank's conditions of sale for the deposit, the balance period and who pays the arrears. Nothing on this site substitutes for them.
4. Use a lawyer admitted in that state. Sabah and Sarawak have their own bars; a peninsular firm will refer you.

FAQ

Are there property auctions in Sabah and Sarawak?

Yes. This site carries 21 live in Sabah and 12 in Sarawak in this snapshot, all bank sales. Court auctions there run through the High Court in Sabah and Sarawak, which is not on the e-Lelong portal this site reads.

Can a West Malaysian buy an auction property in Sabah or Sarawak?

Sometimes. It depends on the category of the land and on the state's rules for buyers from outside it. Some titles can only be held by natives of the state; others are open. Confirm for the specific title before bidding.

Why do so few Sabah and Sarawak listings show a benchmark?

Recorded sales of the same type in the same scheme are fewer there, and the site will not publish a median built on too few sales. A missing benchmark means the pool was too thin, not that the price is fair.

What this is, and is not

The counts are live listings on this site and refresh daily; the tenure and category descriptions come from the notices as stated. This is not a statement of Sabah or Sarawak land law, which differs from the peninsula in ways this guide only names, and it is not legal advice on any title.