Malaysia has maintained its ranking as the sixth most preferred destination in the world for Chinese property buyers for the second consecutive year.
Based on a report by Juwai IQI on top 10 Chinese buyers picks for 2019, Malaysia is more popular with Chinese buyers than the United Kingdom (7th place), Vietnam (8th place), and Singapore (11th place).
“The data is based on real estate buying enquiries on properties in more than 90 countries from the company’s more than 3.3 million Chinese visitors per month,” said Kuala Lumpur-based Juwai IQI executive chairman Georg Chmiel in a statement today.
“Malaysia has long been a favourite investment choice for Chinese buyers. It has affordable standards of living, high quality of life, medical facilities and accessible educational institutions,” he said.
Chmiel also said that the attractive terms of the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) Scheme also made the country a truly attractive destination as Malaysia consistently ranks as among the best places to live in.
In 2018, Malaysia’s average house price stood at RM416,993 (US$100,685) which is considered as affordable and attractive compared to other nations in Asia and beyond.
“The Expat Insider 2019 survey revealed that expatriates in Malaysia are generally happy with the affordability of life in the country and they found it easy to settle in.
“Programmes such as the MM2H have made Malaysia a popular investment and retirement destination.
“It has also been popular with Chinese citizens, who accounted for 30 per cent of the more than 42,000 applications approved between 2012 and 2018,” he said.
Chmiel said according to the report, inquiries on residential properties in Malaysia by Chinese buyers had increased by 40.2 per cent in 2019 compared with 2018.
The five top Malaysian markets for Chinese buyers are Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, Malacca City, Kota Kinabalu and Shah Alam.
As the country’s preeminent capital with the largest real estate and new development market, Kuala Lumpur receives the lion’s share of Chinese buyers.