Destination: Malaysia A great place to own a property Complimentary copy. Complimentary copy. for sale. Not Destination: Malaysia Contents Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 4 Why choose Malaysia? 4 A fertile land for 17 What to do before 42 economic growth you buy? More bang for your buck 5 Ease of property purchase 7 Chapter 5 Tropical weather and 8 Malaysia My Second Home 44 disaster-free land Low cost of living, 9 Chapter 6 high quality of life Thrilling treats & tracks 48 Easy to adapt and fit in 10 Must-try foods 51 Safe country 11 Must-visit places 55 Fascinating culture 12 Chapter 3 and delicious food Where to look? 22 Quality education 13 KL city centre: 24 Quality healthcare 14 Where the action is services Damansara Heights: 26 The Beverly Hills of Malaysia Cyberjaya: Model 30 smart city Useful contact numbers 58 Desa ParkCity: KL’s 32 to have in Malaysia most liveable community Mont’Kiara: Expats’ darling 34 Advertorial Johor Bahru: A residential 37 Maker of sustainable 20 hot spot next to Singapore cities — Sunway Property Penang Island: Pearl 40 The epitome of luxury 28 of the East at DC residensi A beach Destination: on one of the many pristine Malaysia islands of Sabah, Malaysia. PUBLISHED IN JUNE 26, 2020 BY The Edge Property Sdn Bhd (1091814-P) Level 3, Menara KLK, No 1 Jalan PJU 7/6, Mutiara Damansara, 47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia MANAGING DIRECTOR/ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF — Au Foong Yee EDITORIAL — Contributing Editor Sharon Kam Assistant Editor Tan Ai Leng Preface Copy Editors James Chong, Arion Yeow Writers lessed with natural property is located ranging Chin Wai Lun, Rachel Chew, beauty, a multi-cul- from as low as RM350,000 for any Natalie Khoo, Chelsey Poh tural society, hardly residential property in Sarawak Photographers any natural disas- to almost RM2 million for a landed Low Yen Yeing, Suhaimi Yusuf, ters and relatively home on Penang Island. Mohd Izwan Mohd Nazam, low-cost of living A foreigner is also not allowed Sam Fong, Haris Hassan B for a good quality of life, Malaysia to acquire low-to-medium cost Art Director certainly has a lot going for it. residential homes as defined by and Illustrator Many foreigners who have tak- the respective state authorities, Jun Kit en the step to relocate or to reside properties built on Malay Reserved here have found that it is a great lands, and bumiputera-quota units. ADVERTISING & MARKETING place to live, work, retire and even Beyond that, a foreigner is — invest in. allowed to own any type of Advertising & Marketing This publication strives to property in Malaysia, even those Associate Account Director provide compelling reasons for real with freehold status thus making Heidee Ahmad (+6019 388 1880) estate investors and those looking it a good deal and a relatively easy Senior Account Manager for a second home, to make that ownership process. Ian Leong (+6012 359 1668) step and be a property owner in Included within these pages Cecilia Too (+6012 319 7666) this charming part of the world. are introductions to a few pre- There may be some restrictions ferred areas for foreign property Marketing Support & Ad Traffic for foreign property buyers but buyers in the country; the criteria Madeline Tan (+603 7721 8218) rest assured that your rights are and requirements for MM2H Email [email protected] protected. With the exception applications, some reminders of the Malaysia My Second Home on what prospective foreign (MM2H) scheme, a foreign buyer buyers should do in their hunt PRINTED BY Ultimate Print Sdn. Bhd. can only purchase residential for a property in Malaysia; and No. 2, Jalan Sepana 15/3, property of at least a certain price of course, we also want you Seksyen 15, 40200 Shah Alam, depending on the property type to know what Malaysians are Selangor and where the property is located. passionate about — their food! There is a general minimum Have a good read and This magazine is published with the June 26, 2020 issue price set by the respective state get in touch with us at of EdgeProp.my or federal territories in which the [email protected]. DESTINATION: MALAYSIA — 2 Where to look? Chapter 3 Chapter 1 Why choose Malaysia? What’s there to love about Malaysia? Why is it highly favoured as a country to buy a home or reside in? Here are nine good reasons. Why buy property in Malaysia? Chapter 1 alaysia’s capital city, Kuala Lumpur (KL) is the largest city in the country. M Naturally, housing prices in this me- 1 tropolis is the highest in the nation. Interest- More ingly, though KL’s comprehensive infrastruc- ture is just as good as, if not better than some of its counterparts in the Asian region, its housing price is comparatively low. bang for According to CBRE’s Global Living 2019 report that covered housing markets in 35 cities worldwide, KL’s average housing price was at US$119,738 (about RM485,872) per unit your buck whereas the top three cities with the highest average housing price on the list — Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai — recorded an average house price of US$1.24 million, US$874,372 and US$872,555 respectively (see Table 1). On per square foot (psf) basis, the housing prices in the three cities were US$2,091 psf, US$1,063 psf and US$714 psf respectively. In contrast, it is not difficult to find a house in KL priced between RM500 and RM600 psf(or around US$118 and US$142psf). The only caveat for foreigners is there is a minimum purchase price for the properties they intend to buy. The Malaysian federal gov- ernment in October 2019 proposed in its Bud- get 2020 to lower the minimum purchase price for foreigners from RM1 million to RM600,000 for unsold and existing high-rise properties in urban areas in the federal territories. Howev- er, land matters in the country are under the Table 1 purview of the respective state governments, Average property prices in 35 cities (2019) hence you would need to confirm the mini- Rank City Average property mum price in the 13 different states and three price (US$) federal territories before making a buying 1 Hong Kong 1,235,220 decision. The low price does not mean low quality 2 Singapore 874,372 though, as most of the homes in Malaysian cit- 3 Shanghai 872,555 ies are well-built, spacious, close to amenities 4 Vancouver 815,322 and easily accessible by road. In fact, high-rise homes priced above RM600,000 are considered 5 Shenzhen 680,283 mid-luxury for the majority of Malaysians. 6 Los Angeles 679,200 According to the Savills Prime Index: World 7 New York 674,500 Cities Report, KL was the cheapest city in 2019 8 London 646,973 to buy a luxury home among the 28 cities cov- ered in the survey. You just had to pay US$280 9 Beijing 629,276 psf for a premium residence compared to, for 10 Paris 625,299 instance, Hong Kong where it cost a whopping US$4,610 psf. 32 Kuala Lumpur 119,738 33 Bangkok 106,383 34 Ho Chi Minh City 103,057 35 Istanbul 97,396 Source: Global Living 2019 report by CBRE DESTINATION: MALAYSIA — 5 Chapter 1 Why buy property in Malaysia? Chart A Property volume and value (1990-2019) Volume ('000) Asian 911 Crude oil price Cooling measures financial terrorist Subprime <US$40/bbl - Ban DIBS Value (RM bil) crisis attacks crisis - Strict lending guidelines Developer Interest 500 Bearing Scheme (DIBS) 180 450 160 400 140 350 120 300 100 250 80 200 60 150 100 40 50 20 0 0 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Source: Safe haven for National long-term investment Property Information Centre As at 1Q2020, the Malaysian population stands (NAPIC) at 32.73 million, with 70% aged between 15 and 64. With the working population forming the greater part of the populace, the housing demand and price growth could be supported in the long term as many Malaysians still place homeownership as one of their life priorities. Property transaction volumes and values have been steadily rising over the past three decades, with significant rebounds after every global financial crisis. Of note was a property boom in the years 2010 to 2012, when the average selling price for condominiums in KL city centre shot up to RM1.22 million in 2010, from RM500,000 in 2001 — a jump of 145%. To prevent excessive speculative activities that may disrupt a sustainable price growth of the property market, the Malaysian govern- ment then implemented cooling measures, hence prices have remained stable in recent years (See Chart A). DESTINATION: MALAYSIA — 6 Why buy property in Malaysia? Chapter 1 2 Ease of property purchase alaysia has no restrictions to the transfer Malaysia with an amount between RM150,000 and of capital to and from other countries. RM300,000. M Banks operating in the country are also A portion of the fixed deposit could be withdrawn eager to lend to foreigners. Nevertheless, get a later to buy a car or a house, pay for medical good lawyer and real estate agent to help navigate insurance or children’s education expenses. MM2H the dos and don’ts of foreign property purchase in holders could even enjoy a margin of finance for Malaysia. house loans of up to 80%.