KUALA LUMPUR (April 15): Interest in residential investment remains resilient in the local property market, despite movement restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Knight Frank Malaysia.
Its managing director Sarkunan Subramaniam, referring to the company’s “Wealth Report: Asia-Pacific Perspective”, said the trend is backed by wealth growth in Malaysia, which showed a healthy increase of 8% from the year 2015 to 2020.
“Despite the decrease of 8.3% from the year 2019 to 2020 that was possibly caused by the uncertainties during the pandemic period, we foresee there will be a significant recovery of 36% in the growth of wealth for Malaysians, specifically high-net-worth-individuals (HNWI) in the upcoming five years,” he said in a statement.
Knight Frank’s survey found that global response to the pandemic has supported the wealthy, prompting a real estate and investment behavioural shift.
The low-interest-rate environment, increase in fiscal stimulus, and surge in asset prices have resulted in the world’s ultra-high-net-worth population increasing by 2.4% higher over the past 12 months.
The Knight Frank Wealth Sizing Model also predicts that the global population of the ultra-high-net-worth will grow over the next five years, with Asia emerging as the fastest growth in UHNWI at 39% compared to the 27% global average, while the number of millionaires is forecast to rise by 41%.
Through that, the upsurge of interest for post-pandemic investment has increased significantly to 76%, said the independent real estate consultancy.
Due to global uncertainty caused by Covid-19 pandemic, it also said there has been change in strategy for the ultra-wealthy, with many planning to invest in additional homes domestically, followed by second homes in cities and countries that fit their requirement and lifestyle in the new normal.
