Capital: Kuala Lumpur
Language(s): BahasaMelayu
Population: 27,170,000
Total Area: 329,847 km²
GDP (in million USD): 218,950
Comprising the territories of Malaya, Sarawak, and Sabah, Malaysia stretches from peninsular Malaysia to northeastern Borneo in Southeast Asia. Central mountains divide peninsular Malaysia (Malaya), separating the narrow eastern coast from the fertile western plains, with its sheltered beaches and bays.
The Malaysian housing market remains strong, though house price rises are now slowing sharply, mainly due to stricter lending guidelines. The national house price index rose 7.29% during the year to end-Q3 2012, the lowest year-on-year increase since Q2 2010, according to the Valuation and Property Services Department (JPPH). On a quarterly basis, house prices actually fell by 1.8% in Q3 2012 the first quarterly drop since Q4 2008.
Kuala Lumpur has the country's most expensive housing, with average house prices of RM497, 535 (US$164,241), followed by Sabah and Selangor, with average prices of RM382,414 (US$126,239) and RM372,499 (US$122,966), respectively.
Housing approvals rose 47.4% in 2012 to 235,249 units, according to the Ministry of Housing and Local Government. The value of residential construction work rose 24.9% on the year in Q4, to RM5.76 billion (US$1.9 billion). From 2002 to 2012, the "Malaysia My Second Home" (MM2H) program attracted 19,488 foreign buyers, mostly from China, Bangladesh, Britain, and Iran. 1,659 properties worth RM1.5 billion (US$495 million) were purchased under the program from 2007 to 2012.