Cross-border buyers, with the majority from Asia, purchased 500,000 homes in the G7 countries last year, worth an aggregate value of US$250 billion, says property portal Juwai.com.
While the largest number of cross-border property buyers originate in mainland China, significant numbers also come from the Chinese territories of Hong Kong and Taiwan, and Singapore, India, Japan, Korea, and Malaysia.
Juwai.com said Asia is the scene of wealth creation at a pace not seen anywhere else.
“Asia now has nearly the same number of ultra-high net worth individuals as Europe, but its population of the wealthy is growing at almost twice the rate as is Europe’s, that is 44 per cent versus 23 per cent, respectively,” the firm said.
Juwai IQI executive chairman Georg Chmiel said while the coronavirus pandemic has dealt a painful blow to economies all over the world, the virus has also given added motivation to cross-border buyers from Asia.
In a survey conducted before the pandemic, the top five countries where wealthy Asians look at to purchase residential property are the US, UK, Singapore, Australia, and Canada.
Juwai.com said non-China Asian buyers account for 20 per cent of the real estate buying enquiries that it receives, compared to China’s 71 per cent, the Americas’ four per cent, Europe’s three per cent, and the Middle East and Africa’s one per cent.
In Malaysia, eight of the top 10 foreign real estate investor groups hail from other parts of Asia.
Official data on participation in Malaysia My 2nd Home visa program reveals that citizens from the mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Japan, Bangladesh, Korea, and Singapore acquire more visas and likely also more Malaysian real estate than other nations.
Singapore is a popular destination market for other Asian buyers, especially wealthy professionals and business owners due to its political stability and stable markets.
“Investment by less well-heeled buyers is discouraged by Singapore’s high 20 per cent foreign buyer stamp duty. Foreigners acquired 315 apartments in Singapore’s prime core central region in the first nine months of 2019,” said Juwai.com.
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Source: New Straits Times
