KUALA LUMPUR, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's real estate market is expected to see an uptick in foreign buyers particularly from Singapore, real estate technology group Juwai IQI said on Tuesday.
The reopening of Malaysia's borders, the strong Singapore dollar versus the Malaysian ringgit and relatively stable prices of Malaysian real estate are among the factors cited by Juwai IQI Group Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Kashif Ansari in a statement.
"Further enhancing the buying power of purchasers holding Singapore dollars is that the Malaysian real estate market offers excellent affordability at the moment. While Malaysia's real estate market did surprisingly well during the pandemic, finance ministry data shows that transactions were nonetheless lower than in prior years," he said.
"Malaysian home prices have remained in the same band since about 2019, but fewer sales and less new construction, combined with a rising economic optimism in the country, suggest that the property market could be at the beginning of a new upcycle. As employment, household income, and the GDP all increase in 2022 and beyond, we expect the home market to also perform well," he added.
Kasif also said the reopening of Malaysia's borders would be the starting gun for the resumption of cross-border real estate investment in both directions and signals a return to re-pandemic economic activity between both countries.
"The border's reopening will have three important impacts on the Malaysian economy. It will lead to a complete resumption of pre-pandemic trade and travel between the nations. It will once again make it possible for Malaysians to seek opportunities in Singapore and for Singaporeans to seek opportunities in Malaysia by enabling the cross-border lifestyle that so many took for granted before 2020," he said.
Malaysia moved to open its borders to international travel in an effort to combat the economic disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, switching to an endemic phase from April 1 after implementing restrictions since March 2020.
Among the measures are relaxed travel restrictions, and simplified standard operating procedures (SOP), with the aim of reviving several badly hit sectors, especially its tourism sector, and boosting economic activity.
Malaysia reported 10,002 new COVID-19 infections as of midnight Monday, bringing the national total to 4,256,469, according to the health ministry.
A further 28 deaths have been reported, bringing the country's COVID-19 death toll to 35,127. ■
