Big Land Auctions Draw No Bidders: Lessons for Lelong Buyers

Two very large land auctions in Malaysia have ended the same way in the past few weeks: nobody turned up to bid.

The most recent was in Penang. According to The Edge, the state government's auction of a six-acre plot in Tanjung Pinang, known as Plot 7A and located along Jalan Peter Paul Dason between Gurney Drive and Andaman Island, drew no bidders on Wednesday, 7 October 2026. The auction agent, One Asia Property Consultants (PG), waited an hour before closing the sale. The reserve price was RM313.632 million, or RM1,200 per square foot. Sources quoted by The Edge said nearby vacant land is reportedly changing hands at more than RM1,000 psf on the open market, and pointed to a soft property market and uncertainty over the permitted plot ratio for a mixed development. The land was being sold to help fund the Ayer Itam bypass under a land-swap arrangement with the contractor, and the state had not decided whether to hold another auction.

Closer to home, EdgeProp reported on 23 September that a court-ordered e-Lelong auction of about six acres of commercial land on Jalan Sinar Pagi, Kajang, owned by Country Heights Holdings, was cancelled for lack of bidders. The reserve was RM55 million. The chargee is CGS International Capital Singapore, which holds the land as collateral for a loan of S$11.5 million (about RM35 million). The same plot had already failed to sell in March 2025 at RM69.85 million, so the reserve has come down by roughly 21% across the two attempts without finding a buyer.

What these failed auctions tell lelong buyers

A reserve price is the seller's number, not the market's. In Penang, the reserve sat above what sources said comparable land was fetching. In Kajang, a reserve that was cut by about a fifth still did not attract a bid. A proclamation of sale tells you the minimum the chargee will accept. It does not tell you what the land is worth to a developer or end user.

First rounds rarely clear, and this is normal. BidNest's own records show the same pattern across the wider market. According to the BidNest market report, only 11% of first-round auctions sold, against 28.3% in round two and 56.7% in round five or later, with each unsold round typically cutting the reserve by around 10%. A blank first auction is usually the start of the price discovery process, not the end of it.

Land carries extra uncertainty. With a house or shop office, buyers can benchmark against recent transactions in the same street. With development land, value depends on zoning, plot ratio, access and approvals. The Penang case shows how one open question on density can keep every bidder away from a nine-figure lot.

Practical steps before bidding on auction land

1. Confirm the planning position first. Check zoning, permitted plot ratio and any conditions on the title with the local authority or a planning consultant before you commit to a figure.
2. Price it yourself. Build your own valuation from comparable land transactions and what you would realistically build, then compare that with the reserve.
3. Track repeat auctions. If a lot fails, watch for the next proclamation. Our land listings include later, discounted rounds of lots whose first reserve was RM1 million or more.
4. Read the conditions of sale. Deposits, the completion period and any encumbrances matter more on large lots, where a forfeited deposit can be substantial. Our lelong guide walks through the process.
5. Line up funding early. Banks lend cautiously on vacant land, so confirm financing before the auction date, not after.

None of this is legal or financial advice: get professional advice on the specific title and conditions before you bid.

If you are tracking land or commercial lots in Selangor or Kuala Lumpur and want a second opinion on a reserve price, contact Peter Tan, Real Estate Negotiator (REN 12771) with CID Realtors.

Sources

• Penang state land auction draws a blank, sources say, The Edge Malaysia, 8 October 2026
• Forced auction of Country Heights land cancelled due to lack of bidders, EdgeProp, 23 September 2026