DOMESTIC INTEREST IN MALAYSIAN PROPERTY HIGHER THAN THAT FROM OVERSEAS

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 29 (Bernama) --Domestic interest in Malaysian property
is now higher compared to that from overseas in contrast to a year ago, an
analysis by thinkproperty.my showed.

The property website had analysed its visitor traffic data over the last
three months and compared it with the status last year.

The data is pertinent because in 2008, 82.7 per cent of visitors were from
Malaysia, while in 2009, that proportion rose to 85.2 per cent.

Over 80 per cent of the visitors were interested in buying or renting
property in Malaysia, Thinkproperty.my said in a statement Tuesday.

While there was increased interest from Malaysian property buyers, it was
less among those from countries such as Singapore, the United Kingdom, India,
Australia, Japan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Pakistan, it said.

Asim Qureshi, the chief executive officer of Think Media Sdn Bhd, the
company that owns thinkproperty.my, commented that the data provided mixed
signals.

"On one hand, it indicates the confidence of Malaysians in investing in
property, has increased in contrast to those from overseas.

"This is to be expected because Malaysia's property market has been
stable.The Malaysian experience of seeing property as an investment has also
been more positive compared to those of most other countries, he added.

"However, the negative is that, we are not seeing as many foreigners
interested in Malaysian property," he said.

According to Qureshi, Malaysia is doing a good job of getting the Malaysian
story across overseas in marketing itself as the gateway to Asia, the lack of
a property gains tax, liberal ownership rules as well as a strong banking
sector.

"These are all strong pull factors for the country.

"However, the weak global economy, must be the prime culprit for the lower
level of foreign interest this year. There is not much Malaysia can do about it,
except wait," he said.

On a positive note, he said there was some increased interest from China,
Vietnam and Thailand, though Hong Kong's level was unchanged.

"In my view, this should be a hint for both the government which is trying
to promote Malaysia's real estate abroad as well as developers trying to do the
same.

"The focus should increasingly be Asia. Asia is leading the world out of
recession. Asian investors will likely play an increasingly important role in
Malaysia's property market in future," he highlighted.

Eddie Chen, the head of Marketing of Think Media Sdn Bhd, pointed out that
Thinkproperty.my's absolute visitor figures have risen by 409 per cent from
this time last year.

"This is the result of a shift from people searching for property in
traditional classifieds to searching online.

"The shift has been dramatic and in my view, it's merely the tip of the
iceberg. We are conservatively expecting traffic to increase at least a further
300 per cent between now and 2010," he said.
-- BERNAMA