Malaysia lures priced-out Hong Kong property buyers

Norman Wong sold his Hong Kong flat and relocated to a rented home in Malaysia after concluding the city no longer offered the quality of life he expected for the price.

“What am I actually getting for this money in terms of quality of life?” asked Wong, a healthcare professional from Kowloon.

“Space is at a premium in Hong Kong that most of us have simply accepted as the norm. When I started seriously looking at Malaysia, I realised I didn’t have to accept that any more.”

Wong is part of a small but increasingly visible cohort of Hong Kong buyers – from families and entrepreneurs to pre-retirees – turning to Malaysia as a second base. They are drawn by lower property prices, larger homes, international schools, private healthcare and a familiar linguistic environment spanning Cantonese, Mandarin and English.

Under Malaysia’s revamped Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) long-stay visa scheme, Hong Kong ranked as the third-largest source of applications last year, with 604 submissions, behind only mainland China and Taiwan.