Malaysia 'a popular choice' among Singaporean investors

[INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES]
| August 4, 2011

Investors in Singapore are increasingly turning to the Malaysian property market because real estate in their own country is considered too expensive.

This is the finding of a survey released by Property Guru, which discovered that 37 per cent of respondents are investing in housing in neighbouring Malaysia, making it the most popular foreign nation among Singaporeans looking for somewhere to buy real estate.

Furthermore, some 45 per cent of those questioned said they would consider purchasing a property outside the country.

Commenting on the data, director of Singapore Tenancy Management Tom O'Reilly told Channelnewsasia.com that people can afford to buy several houses or flats in Malaysia for the same amount of money as just one in Singapore.

"Malaysia as a country has extremely strong fundamentals and the property market in Malaysia tends to be a lot less volatile than Singapore," he stated.

Mr O'Reilly added that being able to purchase multiple assets allows investors to "diversify risk but also still generate a positive return".