Malaysia has maintained its advantage against regional competitors in the competition for international property investment, according to insights released by global property firm Juwai IQI.

Its Co-Founder and Group Chief Executive Officer Kashif Ansari said the 9,815 holders of Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H), Premium Visa Programme, or Sarawak or Sabah visa have poured a fortune of their own income into Malaysia's economy by importing and spending locally amounting to an estimated value of RM5.1 billion.

"Meanwhile, when it comes to residential housing, foreign purchases are generally linked to part-time or full-time residency. So, every buyer also spends a significant share of their income on local businesses.

"That's why the data suggested that Malaysia has increased its foreign homebuyer lead over its ASEAN competitors and Malaysia has outperformed in two key areas: A stable property market and attractive visa requirements for businesspeople, digital nomads and wealthy retirees," Ansari said, adding that Juwai IQI believes foreign property investment in the country will likely climb in 2025.

"We calculated the spending total using officially announced approval numbers for the various visa programmes. Note that for 2024, we used a conservative estimated number of 700 approvals for the federal MM2H programme.

"We assumed each approved applicant became a resident in the year of approval and has remained so. We estimated annual per person spending at RM134,000 based on research out of the US about digital nomad's average spending in their host communities," Ansari said.

Ansari revealed that for 2025, Juwai IQI is projecting an increase in Malaysia foreign home buying, however, it will be at a sustainable rate of no more than 5%.

"Top buyer groups are likely to remain unchanged, with those from mainland China and greater China leading the list," Ansari said.