Malaysia

Malaysia is a country that is located in South-East Asia. It is a predominantly Muslim country, with minority races of Chinese and Indians. As for the real estate market, Malaysia is very open to foreigners to buy and own properties here, and encourage them to make Malaysia their second home via the MM2H programme. However, due to property speculation, the authority introduced some curbs and taxes to fend off flippers a few years back.

However, Malaysia is still a developing country compared to Singapore, even though both started independence at the same time with similar wealth level. It is further evidenced by the Malaysia Ringgit currency, whereby during independence the Ringgit was about RM0.80 to SGD1, but now it is SGD1 to RM3.20.

The following chart shows the stark contrast of Malaysian economic growth compared to its tiny neighbour Singapore:

Fortunately, not all is doom and gloom, as despite Malaysia's lacklustre growth, it is still a very liveable country. Malaysia has a very good multi-culture living environment, where one can find all types of Asian food and services here. As for the cost of living, Malaysia is one of the countries with the lowest cost of living in the world. For example, properties are very affordable in Malaysia compared to neighbouring countries, e.g. China, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea.

Unfortunately, the property price boom in Malaysia has prevented many hardcore poor and lower income workers to own a home. Many people have been priced out of the property market as mortgage monthly installment exceeds their salary. Malaysia also has a somewhat high unemployment rate and mortgage interest rates compared to developed countries. However as of May 2018, hope is now high after the country had a change of government for the first time by the formerly opposition party Pakatan after 60 years under the corrupt ruling party Barisan.

The following chart shows Malaysia's overnight interest rates over the years: