Homebuyers of Indian ethnicity are playing a bigger role than ever in Malaysia’s home market, and the number of Indian Malaysian agents is increasing to keep pace, according to new data from IQI, the global real estate agency network that is part of Kuala Lumpur proptech group Juwai IQI. 

“Our team sees it every day,” said AG Sasidar, who is Head of Team at IQI. “In the first quarter, we received 29% more enquiries from Indian buyers, while other enquiries only increased by a small percentage. Indian buyers are most active in the big markets, especially Selagor, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and Johor Bahru. 

“On the business side of real estate, we also see more Indian participation. Our recent Tamil-language business opportunities event was a huge success. In a single day,  94 new real estate negotiators joined IQI, all of them Indian Malaysians. My team, called IQI Elite’s Top Notch team, has over 800 agents and negotiators. It was already the largest Indian team within IQI, but this single event boosted its numbers by 12%.

“I’m Indian Malaysian myself, and I find it reassuring that as a group we are assertive and confident property seekers and professionals.

“We see some trends with Indian buyers and renters. Most Indian Malaysian buyers aim to spend RM500,000 or less. They overwhelmingly prefer landed homes over condominiums. They tend to seek property close to central urban areas rather than remote, rural locations.

“Indian buyers are not shy about committing early to a new project, and Indian buyers are more likely to buy in the pre-construction phase than the average Malay or Chinese buyer.

“In an informal survey of my 800-strong team of agents and negotiators, just over two-thirds told me that Indian Malaysian buyers are more likely to buy an investment property than others. That suggests many are thinking beyond just a family home and are taking a long-term view on building wealth through real estate.

“All of this suggests confidence, but challenges remain. As someone who grew up poor and without a father, I understand how hard it is to get financing when you have no credit history or don’t have a big paycheck coming in. 

“It’s common for first-time Indian buyers to face challenges getting financing and obtaining rentals. Developers should build more large homes and family-oriented developments. Indian buyers like to buy new homes and may have a larger family. Yet, many new projects are aimed at one- to three-person households

“The statistics show that Indian Malaysians make up approximately 7% of the national population and make up a big segment of Malaysia’s growing middle class, with good jobs and rising educational attainment. 

“And a new generation of Indian Malaysians is moving into the high-income brackets, making their mark on industries ranging from real estate to finance. Personally, I take inspiration from the example of people like Ananda Krishnan, who sadly passed away in November. He shows that it is possible for any of us to transcend whatever limitations our upbringings might have and to achieve great things in business and philanthropy.”