KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, 23 September 2008 – The iProperty.com Group (www.iproperty.com), Asia’s leading network of property portals and owner of Malaysia’s No. 1 property and real estate website (www.iProperty.com.my), today released the results of its online Asia Property Trends Survey 2008.  The Survey, which revealed the buying habits and trends of approximately 2,000 local and overseas property buyers who visited iProperty.com Malaysia website, www.iProperty.com.my, was conducted online from 1 to 31 August 2008.

The survey indicates a positive outlook for the Malaysian property scene. They remain keen on putting their money on property, believing that property prices will appreciate in the near future, and projecting that they stand to gain from the price escalation of their purchases. The positive sentiments are further substantiated by 67% of the respondents who believe prices of properties will go up by more than 10% in the next six to 18 months. Fascinatingly, 13% of the respondents feel that Malaysian property prices will increase by over 40% in the same period.

While 50% of the respondents revealed that they have purchased at least one property over the last 24 months, a whopping 89% of them intend to buy property within the next 12 months. Of those who have purchased something over the last two years, 14% have invested in at least two properties, while 4% have bought three or more properties.

In an indication of their eagerness to invest in property, a surprising 27% of the respondents also say they would consider buying property in a foreign country – without physically inspecting it.

Patrick Grove, Executive Chairman of the iProperty.com Group says: “In recent times, Malaysia has proven to be an attractive place to invest in property. iProperty.com as a group has been a primary observer of this trend, and it looks no different this year based on the feedback and results we have collated. As property values continue their consistent rise, Malaysians and those who have an interest in local property have again shown that a healthy demand still exists in this country.”

Grove adds that the findings certainly augurs well for developers: “Through our survey, property developers and professionals now have reliable information on what investors are on the lookout for. A good number of Malaysians believe property prices are moving up, and that is a very significant sentiment that developers could take note of.”

More than half of the respondents (57%) are looking to purchase a property worth below US$100,000 (approximately RM341,000), while 40% are looking in the range of US$110,000 to US$500,000 (approximately RM375,000 to RM1.705 million).

The majority of the respondents (58%) find property investment presently attractive because of the potential profit they stand to gain from the capital appreciation of their purchases.

57% of them say buying property remains a solid and safe investment, while 52% believe they could generate passive rental income from their purchases.

While most of the respondents reveal that their main motivation for purchase is for their own stay, a good number of them (47%) are looking to buy purely for investment purposes.

The survey findings also clearly indicate the kind of property Malaysians are interested to purchase: landed property remains the apparent favourite – 63% are keen on ready-made/completed landed property; 48% on ready-made/completed condominiums and newly-launched/uncompleted landed property respectively, and another 39% on newly-launched/uncompleted condominiums.

60% say ‘location’ remains at the top of their list of considerations, while 16% believe ‘price’ is most important to them. A further 9% says potential capital appreciation precedence over other factors.

On how they are seeking to finance their purchases, 68% of the respondents would likely opt for a margin of financing of up to 80%.

The Internet is the No.1 Medium for Property Hunting

The results show that Malaysians have also become increasingly Internet-savvy. 59% indicated that the internet is the first medium they turn to when initiating their property hunt. Over 60% said it is the number one source they rely on for updates on available property. They use the internet extensively for a variety of other purposes: Research property market trends (58%), read property news (54%), research developers (50%), research financing options (33%) and search for property agents (24%).

Top reasons why the Internet is their preferred medium for conducting their property hunt were: It’s easy and convenient, fast and saves time, 24x7 availability, better way to get updated on the latest properties for sale and ability to view properties through photos.

Commenting on the Internet being the top medium for property hunting in Malaysia, Grove said: “The Internet is fast becoming the most preferred way for people to begin their initial search for properties. It is very useful for people who are looking to shortlist a few properties before making a trip down to visit the actual site.  The Google Map function and virtual tours available on iProperty.com websites also helps give property buyers a better perspective of where the property is located and what it looks like. Another distinct advantage of the internet is that it also allows investors to view overseas properties without having to leave the country.” 

Besides speed, convenience and 24x7availability, iProperty.com provides consumers with a greatly enhanced property hunting experience with a whole slew of features and property hunting tools. Besides our powerful search function, large database of up-to-date and information-rich listings filled with photos, videos, virtual tours, map; we have features like email alerts, a pool of useful resources and guides and iExpert, a platform for people to ask and share property related questions and answers.” 

The iProperty.com Asia Property Trends Survey aims to reveal trends among Asian property buyers; including the key motivations for purchasing property, the types of property they are interested in, the countries they are keen on, their budgets, and how they go about conducting their property search and property research methodologies. This Survey was conducted online from 1 to 31 August 2008, with results yielded from 2,000 respondents.

The majority of the respondents are in the 25 to 49-year-old age group (85%). These are Malaysians at a high point of their purchasing power; 64% of them rake in a household income of more than US$21,000 (approximately RM72,000) annually. They are also highly educated – 68% have at least one degree and a remarkable 10% hold a Masters degree.