Study on Foreign Property Ownership in Malaysia

This paper is about foreign property ownership in Malaysia, focusing on Malaysia My Second Home Programme. Secondary data was collected by desk study. Primary data was collected via self administered postal questionnaires. A group of 100 participants of Malaysia My Second Home Programme were randomly selected for this purpose. The findings discovered that foreign second homebuyers are mainly those who are above 45 years old and married. Three main reasons for foreigner to buy second home in Malaysia are retirement, investment and enjoyment. Respondentís preferences were influenced by his/her age, nationality and reasons to purchase a second home. The most important criteria for the foreign homebuyer will be Warm climate, accessibility and local infrastructure, security and management arrangements, access to leisure and health facilities and cost of living. Most of the respondents preferred to live in suburban area and purchase a condominium or bungalow as their second home. There are twelve features which have been stated out by Tourism Malaysia on why foreigner should choose Malaysia as their second home destination. Generally, majority of the respondents are satisfied with the quality of house and agree that Malaysia is a good second home destination. This paper can be used as a practical and useful guide for tourists who are interested to own a residential property in Malaysia as their second home. This paper also offers help to developers and Ministry of Culture, Art and Heritage Malaysia on foreignerís preferences in purchasing their second home in Malaysia.