The Malaysian Institute of Professional Estate Agents and Consultants (MIPEAC) is of the view that encouraging more foreigners to take up the MM2H (Malaysia My Second Home) programme and to invest in Malaysian properties could help ease the glut in the property sector.

In a statement today, MIPEAC said it would be a waste not to strengthen the promotion of MM2H and encourage more foreign investments in the country’s property sector.

“With RM20 billion worth of residential overhang, we should be more open to foreign buyers with higher spending power to enter the market,” it said.

International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI) Malaysian chapter president Michael Geh reportedly said in a news portal recently that Malaysia must encourage more foreign buyers of local real estate to resolve the issue of unsold units in the country.

“In general, efforts to drive in foreign investments in other segments like commercial and industrial properties should be taken more seriously as well. MIPEAC believes that more can be done to encourage foreign buyers and investors to enter Malaysia’s property market.

“High-end developments can be marketed more intensively globally, together with the ongoing efforts done in the tourism sector,” it added.

Although stricter background checks for MM2H applications have been implemented recently, MIPEAC applauds the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry’s efforts to speed up the approval process of the backlogged applications by setting up a special task force.

Concurrently, it said growth in the ICT sector in Malaysia will also pull in more professional foreign workers which will in turn encourage more property purchases by expatriates.

Source: TheSunDaily.my