Gerard Kho
Steve Melhuish
KUCHING: Motivated by cooling measures recently introduced by the Singaporean government, Singaporeans continue to view properties across the Causeway favourably, especially in the key locations of the Iskandar region, Johor and traditional hotspots such as Kuala Lumpur.
According to a press release, the PropertyGuru Malaysia Property Show (MPS) in Singapore, held on July 13 to 14, saw over 2155 Singaporean visitors with over RM30.1 million transacted from more than 30 units sold.
This was followed suit by the inaugural Malaysia Property Show in Johor (MPS JB) held the subsequent weekend on July 27 to 28, which saw over 1,349 visitors transacting a total of RM18.3 million in sales from over 20 units sold.
“A total of RM48.4 million in sales was transacted in just two weekends as a result of our Malaysia Property Shows in Singapore and Johor. This is a telling sign that Malaysia properties are still highly sought after,” said Gerard Kho, country manager, PropertyGuru Malaysia.
“Reception for the first Malaysia Property Showcase in Johor was especially positive as it was the first time visitors were able to visit the actual showroom gallery or the site of the property before purchasing. Shuttle buses were provided from the event venue and pick up was also available from Singapore to Johor,” mentioned Kho.
Among factors fuelling demand are higher property prices in Singapore, existing cooling measures and most recently, the introduction of a new Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) that requires Singaporean loan providers to take borrowers’ other outstanding debts into account before granting property loans.
“The momentum for Malaysian properties among Singaporeans remains strong. What’s interesting is that we notice a growing interest in Iskandar Malaysia.
“This shows that Singaporeans are well aware of the developments occurring in Johor and believe in the future prospects of the area.
“ It also appears that KL and Penang are now competing with Iskandar Malaysia for the overseas property investor dollar,” shared Steve Melhuish, co-founder and chief executive officer of PropertyGuru Group.
Statistics from the MPS show an almost equal number of sales transactions for both landed and high-rise residential units.
“With space being a premium in Singapore, it makes perfect sense for Singaporeans to choose Iskandar Malaysia when looking for more spacious condos or even landed properties. However, we need to look beyond just transaction numbers.
“There are key insights and buying trends happening that are indicative of the bigger property landscape and how Malaysia and Singapore are connected via the Iskandar region,” added Melhuish.
Receiving strong support from Malaysian property developers, both MPS saw participating developers including leading names such as UM Land, UEM Land, Country Garden, OSK Property, Tropicana Danga Cove and Tropicana Danga Bay, KIP Group, Land & General Berhad, HCK Capital Group, Tanah Sutera, Mah Sing, Zhuoyuan Iskandar and Bandar Utama Development Bhd.