iProperty.com.my has recently compiled a list of the Top Ten most searched places in Malaysia by property seekers. From January to November 2021, users who viewed a “For Sale” property listing on iProperty.com.my made the most searches in these locations. The list also reported that when a property buyer looks for a property in a certain place and arrives at a search result page on iProperty.com.my, the phrase “search term” is used.
As the government tries to shift to an endemic phase, the general topic for 2021 was to improve confidence in the Malaysian housing market.
Shylendra Nathan, Country Manager, Malaysia (PropertyGuru.com.my and iProperty.com.my) said, “Now that people have developed a better feel for living with the COVID-19 pandemic, more property seekers are keen to take advantage of the low-interest rates for home loans imposed by Bank Negara Malaysia. Overall, the consumer sentiment has been improving in H2 2021 and we hope it will continue to do so next year as the country’s economy steadily recovers.”
Johor Bahru, described as the former darling of the Malaysian housing market and ranked first in 2020, has ranked fourth with a 9.39% percentage of searches in the 2021 compilation list.
The housing market in JB saw a modest dip in 2020 as a result of the pandemic and the closing of the border with Singapore. According to the National Property Information Centre (NAPIC) statistics from Q3 2021, Johor still has a significant property overhang, with 16,343 units of unsold serviced apartments.
However, demand for some residential property sectors remains stable; according to iProperty.com.my’s H1 2021 Portal Demand Analytics, there is significant interest in large landed properties (>2,000 sq ft) in Iskandar Puteri priced up to RM1 million.
iProperty also forecasted that Johor Bahru (JB) will always remain on the minds of property buyers because of the millions of people that cross the Johor Causeway every day for work, recreation, or tourism in Singapore.
