PETALING JAYA: There were 1,459 property purchases by foreigners last year, says Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming.
He said this accounts for 0.56% or RM3.054bil of the total 259,058 property transactions worth RM103.9bil by Malaysian citizens last year.
"The Ministry's priority is to ensure every citizen has a place to live, whether owned or rented, under the concept of housing as a place to live (shelter for all), in line with the aspirations and goals of the National Housing Policy (2018-2025)," he said.
Nga stated this in a parliamentary written reply dated July 31 in response to Ismail Muttalib (Perikatan-Maran), who asked about the statistics on foreigners owning houses in Malaysia.
Ismail also inquired about the number of Malaysians owning more than two homes.
According to Nga, the Basic Amenities Survey report 2022 by the Statistics Department noted 76.5% of Malaysians owned a home but did not specify if they owned more than two.
Meanwhile, Nga said the Housing Credit Guarantee Scheme under the Syarikat Jaminan Kredit Perumahan Bhd (SJKP) has approved guaranteed loans totalling RM20.9bil based on 88,507 applications.
Nga also said the government is considering expanding the rent-to-buy scheme for the people’s housing programme (PPR), considering changing trends where buyers are concerned about economic stability.
