Malaysia Short-Term Rental Market Review 2025: Revenue, Occupancy & Supply Growth
Malaysia Short-Term Rental Market Overview 2025
Number of Airbnb Listings Changes in Malaysia 2025
Which markets are experiencing rapid saturation?
A key consideration when entering a new short-term rental market is assessing whether it may become oversaturated. To evaluate this, we analyze the year-over-year supply change in Airbnb listings. The national average YoY supply change in Malaysia was 24.83% in 2025, indicating the overall growth trajectory of the market.
Markets with Largest Absolute Supply Increases in Malaysia
In absolute terms, Kuala Lumpur experienced the largest increase with +4,676 new listings added in 2025. This was followed by Johor Bahru (+985 listings) and Melaka (+698 listings).
Markets with Fastest Relative Growth in Malaysia
In relative terms, Shah Alam experienced the most significant growth, with 40.24% more supply added over the 12-month period in 2025. Other rapidly expanding markets include Genting Highlands (+33.82%) and Kuching (+30.50%).
Short-Term Rental Revenue Trend in Malaysia 2025, and Future Outlook for 2026
Does increased supply necessarily indicate market saturation?
To assess market saturation, we examine year-over-year revenue trends. A decline in revenue per listing typically indicates heightened competition and potential oversaturation. The Malaysia average YoY change in revenue was 2.05% in 2025, representing an increase from $8,394 in 2024 to RM40,686 in 2025.
Top Markets Revenue Performance
Kuala Lumpur
Johor Bahru
Melaka
For more detailed revenue YoY change analysis by market, access the Airbtics dashboard to explore specific market performance metrics.
Easiest Markets for Hosts in Malaysia 2025
Markets with high occupancy rates provide hosts with greater booking consistency, while markets with high booking volumes offer expanded opportunities across various property types and sizes.
Highest Occupancy Rate Markets in Malaysia 2025
George Town recorded a year-round occupancy rate of 60.00%, which is among the highest in Malaysia. This was followed by Kuala Lumpur (59.00%) and Kota Kinabalu (59.00%).
Highest Booking Volume Market in Malaysia 2025
Markets with high booking volumes present additional advantages, as they offer diverse opportunities across various property types and price points. The market that recorded the highest booking volume in Malaysia is Kuala Lumpur, with approximately 4,382,372 nights booked in 2025.
Regulatory Landscape
We define a professionalized or strictly regulated market as one where over 50% of active Airbnb listings hold valid license information, indicating consistent enforcement and higher compliance. Markets below this threshold are considered unregulated or lenient.
In Malaysia, 0 out of 15 markets fall into the professionalized / strict regulation category. For detailed license compliance data and market-specific regulatory insights, the Airbtics dashboard provides the percentage of listings with valid licenses for each market, enabling investors to assess regulatory risk at a granular level.
Which Malaysia Markets Are Growing Healthily vs Overheating?
Understanding market saturation requires looking at both supply growth and revenue trends together. Markets are categorized by comparing their YoY supply and revenue changes against Malaysia's national averages. Markets where supply is growing faster than revenue (relative to national averages) may be approaching saturation, while markets with below-average supply growth but above-average revenue growth may present hidden opportunities.
Benchmark: Markets are categorized relative to Malaysia's national averages (Supply: 24.8%, Revenue: 2.0%). Markets above the national average are marked with ↑, while those below are marked with ↓.
Healthy Growth
Supply > avg, Revenue > avg
Expansion with demand keeping up
- Kuching Supply: +30.5% | Revenue: +12.9%
- Kuala Lumpur Supply: +29.8% | Revenue: +10.7%
- Klia - Nilai Supply: +26.9% | Revenue: +9.2%
- Johor Bahru Supply: +25.8% | Revenue: +8.8%
- Penang Supply: +28.1% | Revenue: +3.5%
Early Saturation
Supply > avg, Revenue ≤ avg
Competition rising
- Shah Alam Supply: +40.2% | Revenue: -6.5%
- Genting Highlands Supply: +33.8% | Revenue: -23.4%
Under-the-Radar
Supply ≤ avg, Revenue > avg
Hidden opportunities
- Langkawi Supply: +19.5% | Revenue: +13.4%
- Cameron Highlands Supply: +20.1% | Revenue: +11.0%
- Kota Kinabalu Supply: +21.9% | Revenue: +9.1%
Declining
Supply ≤ avg, Revenue ≤ avg
Risky markets
- Melaka Supply: +21.1% | Revenue: -9.8%
- Iskandar Puteri Supply: +20.5% | Revenue: -4.2%
- Ipoh Supply: +20.1% | Revenue: -2.9%
- Petaling Jaya Supply: +16.1% | Revenue: -1.3%
- George Town Supply: +17.9% | Revenue: +0.4%
For the latest updates of the market data in Malaysia, check out our Best Airbnb Markets in Malaysia.
All metrics are calculated using active short-term rental listings tracked weekly by Airbtics. Revenue, occupancy rate, ADR, and supply growth are estimated from historical booking calendars, listing activity, and proprietary aggregation models.
Source: Airbtics
Learn data methodology →
Cite this report
Airbtics (2026). Malaysia Short-Term Rental Market Review 2025: Revenue, Occupancy & Supply Growth. https://airbtics.com/short-term-rental-market-report-2025-malaysia
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