Foreigner are allowed to buy as many housing units as they wish in Sabah provided they meet certain conditions.
Effective January 2010, the Federal Government announced that foreigners could only buy residential property valued above RM 500,000.
Foreigners are not allowed to buy land or properties located on land which has been designated “Malay Reserve Land”. In order to to aquire ownership of Malay reserve land, it would be nescessary for that land to be re titles. this would require buying land elsewhere in the Sabah which is not Malay reserve land and get approval to exchange with the land you want to convert to buy. this can be quite a complex and some foreigners who have been assured that this is not a problem have found themselves disappointed. Try not to part with any money until you are sure it is possible.
Foreigners cannot buy land which is deemed agricultural land unless it is over 5 acres and is being used for commercial purpose. It should be notes that Malaysian law allows homes to be built on agricultural land designates “orchard land” providing not more than one building is constructed on each acre of land. These one acre plots can be rented by foreigners but not purchased. In some cases this land can be reclassified but again be cautious and seek evidence that it can be dome.
Many properties developments have a brumiputera ( Malaysian indigenous tribes) quota which means that the developer has to ensure only brumiputeras are allowed to buy a certain percentage of the properties. If after a certain period of time the developer cannot find the required number of Bumiputera buyers ,they can request approval to have the unsold units made available to anyone