Singaporean property buyers snub Malaysia as economic woes escalate

Australia is the new rising star.

Malaysian properties used to be extremely popular among Singaporean buyers, but prospective buyers are now shying away from the country’s intensifying economic and political turmoil.

According to a survey by iProperty, the number of respondents looking to buy property in Malaysia has dropped sharply in the second half of the year, from 34% in the first half of the year to just 6% in the latest survey.

Meanwhile, the number of respondents looking to buy property in Australia jumped from 18% in H1 to 26% in H2.

“The economy and political stability are considerations when investing overseas, for 38 per cent and 24 per cent respectively, for respondents in our survey. The depreciating ringgit and instability in Malaysia has certainly affected sentiment,” noted Sean Tan, Singapore General Manager and Chief Business Development Officer at iProperty Group.

Australia attracts lots of attention and sentiment towards it is strong. The strengthening Sing dollar against the Aussie dollar, strong growth of house prices in Australia and the implementation of the Singapore-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership are all factors that keep Australia on top, the survey showed.